The significant expansion of SBB’s services represented by the 2035 service concept (AK 35) is essential to cope with the growing demand for mobility and transport. The existing service concept needs to be revised (or “consolidated”) for the following reasons:
- Expansion step 2035 is based on a series of planning parameters that include requirements for rolling stock in terms of performance, length or profile. These parameters reflect the state of the art as it was in 2014. However, new measuring and simulation methods have shown that the journey times that were calculated based on these parameters cannot always be achieved in reality. SBB has adjusted its scheduled journey times for long-distance services to allow for this.
- SBB has also decided to abandon the use of tilting technology on its new long-distance double-deck trains, since it does not guarantee a more comfortable ride for passengers and is not sustainable.
- In the plans drawn up in the 2010s, it was not yet possible to plan the structures required for operations (such as storage sidings for additional rolling stock, reversing stations at the end points of lines and access routes to service facilities) or the capacity at major stations in detail. It is now clear that the need for installations of this type is significantly greater than previously assumed.
- Last but not least, the implementation of various ongoing expansion projects has fallen behind schedule due to increased traffic on the existing network as well as increasingly frequent and protracted objection proceedings.
Once revised, the service concept will again provide a solid foundation for expansion. The goal of consolidation is to ensure that the concept is sound and ready to go. The focus is on robustness, stability and a service that SBB is capable of delivering. Experts have estimated additional costs of 14 billion Swiss francs spread over a period of around 20 years.
The objectives of the 2035 service concept, namely to significantly increase the number of quarter-hourly and half-hourly services throughout Switzerland and increase the number of seats by around 20%, can be achieved even without the use of tilting trains. In addition to the 160 or so projects that have been planned to date, more tracks, more storage sidings, and station refurbishments are required at around 80 locations nationwide. The decision to abandon the use of tilting trains only accounts for a very small portion of the additional costs of 14 billion Swiss francs. Without tilting trains, however, the originally envisaged reductions in journey times for eastern and western Switzerland are no longer feasible. Additional infrastructure projects would be required to achieve this.
SBB is currently working on behalf of the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) to develop a consolidated version of the 2035 service concept. Detailed information about the consolidation and the next steps in the expansion of the Swiss rail network can be found in this
