Swiss Federal Railways is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usually referred to by the initials of its three official names – defined by federal law SR/RS 742.31 (SBBG/LCFF/LFFS) Art. 2 §1 – in German, French, and Italian, either as SBB CFF FFS, or used separately. The official English abbreviation is "SBB". While the official Romansh name, Viafiers federalas svizras (VFF) is used in federal documents and laws and Romansh-language media, it is not used by the SBB.
The Swiss rail network is noteworthy for its density, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-alp freight system. This is made necessary by strong regulations on truck transport, and is enabled by properly coordinated intermodal logistics.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of 57.09 km (35.5 mi), it is the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. It lies at the heart of the Gotthard axis and constitutes the third tunnel connecting the cantons of Uri and Ticino, after the Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel.
The Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland runs from Göschenen in the canton of Uri at its northern portal, to Airolo in Ticino to the south, and is 16.9 kilometres (10.5 mi) in length below the St Gotthard Pass, a major pass of the Alps. At time of construction, in 1980, it was the longest road tunnel in the world; it is currently the fifth-longest. Although it is a motorway tunnel, part of the A2 from Basel to Chiasso, it consists of only one bidirectional tube with two lanes. With a maximum elevation of 1,175 metres (3,855 ft) at the tunnel's highest point, the A2 motorway has the lowest maximum elevation of any direct north-south road through the Alps.
Swiss Post is the national postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer with about 54,000 employees. The group is based in Bern and has branches in 25 countries. Roberto Cirillo is its CEO since April 2019. In 2021, Swiss Post was ranked as the world's best by the Universal Postal Union for the fifth time in a row. In December 2022, it was announced Swiss Post has acquired the St. Gallen-based sustainable packaging company, Kickbag GmbH.
Switzerland has a two-class highway system: motorways with separated roads for oncoming traffic and a standard maximal speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph), and expressways often with oncoming traffic and a standard maximal speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).
SBB Cargo is a subsidiary of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) specialising in railfreight and is operated as the Freight division. Swiss Federal Railways is a former state-owned and -controlled company that was transformed in 1999 into a joint-stock company under special legislation following the first Swiss railway reform and divided up into three independent divisions: Passenger, Freight and Infrastructure. The headquarters of Swiss Federal Railways SBB Cargo AG, the Freight division's official designation, are in Olten. In 2013, SBB Cargo had 3,061 employees and achieved consolidated sales of CHF 953 million. In Switzerland, SBB Cargo is the market leader in rail freight, transporting over 175,000 tons of goods every day. This corresponds to the weight of 425 fully loaded jumbo jets.
Basel SBB railway station is the central railway station in the city of Basel, Switzerland. Opened in 1854, and completely rebuilt in 1900–1907, it is Europe's busiest international border station. Basel SBB is owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). The other major railway station is Basel Badischer Bahnhof, operated by the German railway company Deutsche Bahn, on the north side of the Rhine from the city centre.
Lucerne railway station is a major hub of the rail network of Switzerland, in the city of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne. It is a terminal station serving domestic and international traffic on several rail lines, and is situated in a city centre and waterfront location on the south side of Lake Lucerne.
The Bözberg railway line is a railway line in Switzerland, running between Basel and Brugg via Pratteln, Rheinfelden, Stein-Säckingen, Frick and the Bözberg Tunnel. At Brugg it connects to Zürich via Baden and to the Gotthard Railway via the Aargauische Südbahn.
Rail 2000 is a large-scale project of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) established in 1987 to improve the quality of the Swiss rail network for the New millennium. It includes measures to accelerate a number of existing connections and the modernisation of rolling stock. The federal government decision to support the project in 1986 was approved by a referendum in 1987. In 2004 the first phase was completed consisting of around 130 projects with a budget of around CHF 5.9 billion.
The construction and operation of Swiss railways during the 19th century was carried out by private railways. The first internal line was a 16 km line opened from Zürich to Baden in 1847. By 1860 railways connected western and northeastern Switzerland. The first Alpine railway to be opened was under the Gotthard Pass in 1882. A second alpine line was opened under the Simplon Pass in 1906.
Lausanne railway station is the main intercity and regional railway station for the city of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. It is often known as Lausanne CFF to distinguish it from others in the town.
Zürich Airport railway station is a railway station serving Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The station is located underneath the Airport Centre, the main ground-side passenger terminal of the airport, which is in the canton of Zürich and the municipality of Kloten.
Brig railway station is an important railway junction in the municipality of Brig-Glis, in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. Opened in 1878, it is adjacent to the northern portal of the Simplon Tunnel and is served by two standard gauge lines. Another two metre gauge lines serve the physically adjacent Brig Bahnhofplatz railway station.
Bellinzona railway station serves the town of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railways' Gotthard line. The station is nicknamed Porta del Ticino since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016.
Biel/Bienne railway station serves the bilingual municipality of Biel/Bienne, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.
The Simplon Railway is a line that links Lausanne in Switzerland and Domodossola in Italy, via Brig. The 20 km (12 mi)-long Simplon Tunnel is a major part of it. The line between Lausanne and Vallorbe is sometimes considered to form part of the line, making it 233 km (145 mi) long.
High-speed rail in Switzerland consists of two new lines and three new base tunnels, including the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel: the Gotthard Base Tunnel whose length is 57 km (35 mi). Each of these tunnels have a technical maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), which is reduced, at least in the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Ceneri Base Tunnel, to a maximum authorized speed of 230 km/h (145 mph), for environmental and economic reasons. The normal operating speed of passenger trains is limited to 200 km/h (125 mph), in order to accommodate freight traffic, but in case of delays, speeds up to 230 km/h (145 mph) are possible.
The InterCity are mainline trains in Switzerland connecting the country's major agglomerations, the range of services of which is located between InterRegio (IR) and EuroCity (EC). These trains are generally equipped with air-conditioned equipment, a CFF restaurant or a CFF bistro, a mini-bar service, a quiet area and a business area in 1st class as well as a family area or, occasionally, a family car in 2nd class.
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