Rail 2000

1986
The NRLA’s big sister
The NRLA’s big sister

Politicians attend the ground-breaking ceremony for Rail 2000 in 1996. (1996, SBB Historic)

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
55 minutes

current journey time between Zurich and Bern.

69 minutes

journey time before Rail 2000.

6 billion francs

cost of the first phase of Rail 2000.

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