Basel and St. Gallen will soon benefit from a fast direct rail service running between the two cities, the German subsidiary of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has confirmed. Through just one train, the Hochrhein-Bodensee-Express or HBE, several northern Swiss cantons will be connected with stations in southern Germany.
In a statement, SBB Germany confirmed that the new service between Basel and St. Gallen will be made a reality. Thanks to funding from five Swiss cantons and several communes in Baden-Württemberg, the HBE will take to the tracks at the start of 2027.
The new public transport service provides the first direct connection between Basel and St. Gallen, stopping at Waldshut, Schaffhausen, Singen and Konstanz before going along the spine of Lake Constance to St. Gallen and Herisau. Despite running along the German side of the River Rhine for a great part of the route, the service will be run by the SBB subsidiary using the latest Flirt Evo trains.
In all, journey times between Basel and St. Gallen will be two hours and 20 minutes, roughly the same as the time via Zurich but without the hassle of a connection. What’s more, journey times between all other stations will be dramatically reduced. It will be served every hour off-peak, and every 30 minutes during rush hour.
In announcing the new line, SBB explained that it is taking advantage of the latest expansion of the Hochrhein railway. Between now and 2027, the line will be completely electrified and platforms, bridges and tunnels will be upgraded.
The company said it hopes the service will promote “economic and cultural exchange between Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland.” With the service promising to be up to half an hour quicker than driving on some routes, they also hope that it will convince more commuters to take the train.
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