Rail 2000 and the NRLA are the two biggest Swiss rail projects of recent decades. They are also closely connected. Rail 2000 builds on the regular-interval timetable introduced in 1982: infrastructure expansion and procurement of new rolling stock shorten journey times between major centres to around an hour and do away with long waits when changing trains. A core element of Rail 2000 is a new stretch of line between Bern and Olten. The project is approved by the electorate in 1987. The NRLA ties in with it, building a denser network on the north-south axis.
« Switzerland’s trains are set to become more frequent and more comfortable, with faster and more direct connections. »
SBB Directorate General, «Taking the Railway into the Next Century» brochure, July 1997
