Zurich and Geneva to be given direct trains to London under new plans

It will soon be possible to take a train from Switzerland straight to the heart of the UK capital, under plans revealed by the owners of St. Pancras station. Alongside brand-new services to Germany and France, a direct link between London, Zurich and Geneva is in the pipeline.

Massive expansion of direct trains between the UK and European cities

In a statement, London St. Pancras Highspeed - the owner of the station and the High Speed 1 line between London and the Channel Tunnel - said it wanted to encourage “new and existing train operators” to open more rail routes between the UK and Europe. "Many European cities could be reached directly by train in under six hours, which we believe is really competitive with short-haul air travel," they told the BBC.

Together with its French equivalent Getlink, the company has signed a memorandum committing to expanding public transport services through the Channel Tunnel. As it stands, Eurostar monopolises services, which only run regularly between London, Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. In the end, they hope that the number of international passengers going through the tunnel will rise from 1.800 to 5.000 passengers per hour.

Support for Swiss-UK rail service grows

Getlink argued that direct services should be established between London and Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Marseille, Geneva and Zurich. Though a timeline for the new services was not revealed, two new firms, Virgin Group and Evolyn, are currently planning to launch rail services to rival Eurostar.

The announcement joins calls from the government to establish a rail link between Switzerland and London. In September 2024, Transport Minister Albert Rösti said that the benefits of a direct rail service are “obvious”, given that London is the top destination for Swiss airports. It’s estimated that at its fastest, trains could get from Swiss cantons to the UK capital in just six hours, with the Zurich route likely to run via Basel, Dijon and Paris.

The Federal Council is expected to meet with their British counterparts to discuss establishing the route this spring, while Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) are in the midst of a feasibility study regarding a UK-Swiss rail service, which will published on March 6.

Switzerland to the UK by train: What issues remain?

With support growing on both sides of the channel, what are the main hurdles facing train services between Switzerland and the UK? First is which rail provider (SBB, TGV Lyria, SNCF, Eurostar or a new company) would run the service, and which trains they would use.

Back in September, Rösti noted that the biggest problem was the lack of free movement between Switzerland and the UK. 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.