SBB predicts a massive boom for international train travel by 2035

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has shared which international rail routes it expects to see the biggest passenger boom by 2035, with Germany, France and Italy projected to grow the most.

Germany to remain top market for Swiss rail travellers

SBB’s projections, which come from an internal report shared by Watson, outline the cross-border train routes predicted to expand the most by 2035. More and more people are already opting to travel via public transport, with cross-border passenger numbers growing by 6,7 percent to 12,4 million passengers in 2025.

Perhaps surprisingly to some, given the frequent delays and cancellations on the Zurich to Munich route, SBB predicts that routes running to Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg (the Rhine corridor or Rheinschiene) in Germany will see the most growth.

Routes to Germany are already surging in popularity, with the Zurich to Munich line seeing a 27 percent increase in passengers in 2025 compared to 2024. Looking ahead, the SBB report predicts that the average daily number of passengers travelling to the German Rhine corridor will increase from 13.860 in 2019 to 18.600 by 2035.

France, Italy and London to grow in popularity

Several other destinations in Europe are also expected to grow in popularity. Routes to Paris are forecast to see the second-largest growth, with over 10.500 passengers per day expected by 2035. The numbers are similar for routes to cities in Italy, such as Milan.

While SBB does not currently operate a direct connection to London, it sees the UK capital as a major growth area in the future. The company expects future passenger numbers between Switzerland and London could reach 6.000 a day. Just recently, SBB, SNCF and Eurostar signed a memorandum of understanding, inching closer to making the long-awaited train route a reality. 

Other international destinations that SBB plans to prioritise include Amsterdam/Brussels, Austria, Lyon, Munich, Provence/Côte d’Azur, Stuttgart and Barcelona. 

While confirming that the internal figures were published by SBB, a spokesperson declined to add any more details about future expansion plans and train timetables.