New direct night rail services between Switzerland, Rome and Barcelona are set to be scrapped before they even take to the tracks. Despite the services being just a year away from being made a reality, the government has decided to cut federal funding for the night train network in Switzerland.
Writing in a statement, the Federal Department of Transport has confirmed that the government will be scrapping funding for cross-border public transport services, totalling 30 million francs a year. According to reports from the Tages-Anzeiger, Transport Minister Albert Rösti (SVP) has ordered that the subsidies, which should have begun in 2025 as part of Switzerland’s revised CO2 Law, will not be paid out at all.
The plans are part of the government’s latest round of austerity measures, which will reduce spending by at least 3,5 billion francs a year from 2027. While this will not impact current rail services running between Switzerland and its neighbours, it means that planned night train services between Swiss cities, Rome and Barcelona will not go forward.
As recently as last Saturday, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) boss Vincent told SRF that the services from Zurich to Barcelona and Rome could be started in “give or take a year,” the Italian railways had already acquired the rolling stock for the Rome route and they were in advanced talks with French authorities regarding the Barcelona train.
However, an SBB spokesperson told the Tages-Anzeiger that the plans hinge on the 30 million francs being provided by the government every year, which will now not be paid out.
The experts who initially proposed the budget cuts in Switzerland argued that the night trains would be too heavily reliant on federal funds to be financially sustainable. ÖBB and its brand Nightjet, the main night train operator between Switzerland and Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Amsterdam among others, barely make a profit - and are only able to do so via generous subsidies from the Austrian government.
Nevertheless, the sudden nature of the cancellation has gone down poorly in parliament. "After all the years of discussions and parliamentary decisions, this is an absolute no-go…[it’s a] gross disregarding of Parliament,” noted Green National Councillor Michael Töngi. Centre Party councillor Martin Candinas noted that the move contradicts the will of lawmakers, with colleague Philipp Kutter adding that while he understood the cuts, he opposed the decision being forced through without a vote.
Green Liberal Party National Councillor Katja Christ wrote that "withdrawing support would destroy years of efforts and weaken rail transport as a sustainable alternative." The Association of Public Transport went further, arguing that “It is more than offensive from a legal perspective not to allow a federal resolution passed by Parliament, which relates to the specific years 2025 to 2030, to come into force."
The decision to scrap the funding is expected to be challenged as part of the wider opposition to the federal budget cuts. The Green Party has already announced that they are planning a referendum against the plans.
Thumb image credit: ToM-5400 / Shutterstock.com