The Minister for Transport in Switzerland has put his full support behind a new direct train service connecting Swiss cities with London. Albert Rösti (SVP) told reporters that the benefits of a rail link between the alpine nation and northern Europe were “obvious”, and that the project should be pushed forward.
The comments come after a formal request made by FDP Councillor of State Pascal Broulis. In it, he asked the government to come up with figures as to how much a rail connection between Switzerland and London would cost, how long the direct journey would take and whether it would stop at any stations along the way.
His vision is for a direct rail service between Lausanne and London, which calls at Geneva along the way. While it is unclear which stations would be served in France, the train would pass either Chambery - Challes-les-Eaux or Dijon, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Lille, before arriving in the British capital. In all, it is hoped that the service would take six hours to get from Vaud to England.
In the past, the idea has been warmly received by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). London is by far the most popular destination to fly to from Swiss airports, making a direct rail route from Zurich or Geneva all the more lucrative for rail operators.
Broulis conceded that while a connection between Switzerland and the UK “will take many years” to become a reality, he said that a public transport service between Switzerland and Lille could be created in a matter of months. This is seen as a good stop-gap solution as it would allow Swiss passengers to change onto the Eurostar to London at Lille Europe, and allow for far faster journeys between Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In response, Rösti said that the benefits of a direct line to Lille from Zurich, Lausanne or any other Swiss city are “obvious.” "We believe that, from an economic and tourist point of view, such a link should be considered."
When it came to a Swiss train entering the Channel Tunnel, he said “it’s an extremely exciting project” but is “still visionary at the moment, given everything that needs to be done.” He explained that he had hoped to meet the British Transport Minister to discuss the idea, but plans were derailed thanks to the recent UK elections.
Swiss officials plan to meet their UK counterparts next spring, where they “want to sign a memorandum of understanding for such a line,” Rösti confirmed. SBB is already in the midst of a feasibility study regarding a UK-to-Geneva, Basel or Zurich service, which will be published at some point this year.
As Rösti alluded to, many questions still remain to be answered when it comes to Swiss-UK rail services. These include but are not limited to which train provider (SBB, TGV Lyria, SNCF, Eurostar) would actually run the service and who would pay for its upkeep.
However, Rösti himself told 20 Minuten that “it's mainly the establishment of customs facilities that would pose certain challenges.” With the UK not a part of the Schengen Agreement and no longer part of the European Union, authorities in Switzerland will have to construct passport and customs facilities at any station the train calls at.