FRENCH infrastructure manager SNCF Network has confirmed that the 22km Belfort - Delle line, which has been closed since 1992, will become operational again at the timetable change in December 2018, creating a further connection between the French high-speed and Swiss railway networks.

THE temporary closure of the Karlsruhe - Basle section of the Rotterdam - Genoa freight corridor following a major landslip at Rastatt on August 12, caused by water entering the new tunnel, is having a major impact on Swiss rail freight operators.

THE Swiss Canton of Valais has accepted an offer from BLS to take over the operation of the car shuttle through the Simplon tunnel between Brig and Iselle, Italy, from Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) starting on December 10.

LUGANO - Ponte Tresa Railway (FLP) has submitted a planning application to the Swiss Federal Transport Office (BAV) for the first phase of the Lugano tram-train project.

PASSENGER numbers on Switzerland’s north-south Gotthard axis have surged since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, according to figures released this week by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which show ridership on the route has risen by 30% over the last eight months compared with the corresponding period in 2016.

ALPTRANSIT Gotthard announced on July 28 that installation of railway infrastructure has begun in the 15.4km Ceneri Base Tunnel between Camorino and Vezia in southern Switzerland.

THE first Stadler RABe 501 Giruno inter-city EMU for Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) began dynamic testing at the VUZ Velim test centre in the Czech Republic on July 24.

SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Southeastern Railway (SOB), Switzerland’s third largest railway, for the operation of two of its long-distance services under a co-branding arrangement.

STADLER’s EC250 Giruno high-speed train travelled through the Gotthard Base Tunnel for the first time on July 2, and the Giruno steps up its high-speed testingon the Velim test circuit in the Czech Republic.

STADLER handed over the first bi-mode Flirt multiple unit at its plant in Bussnang, Switzerland, on June 15. The train, which is equipped with a 3 kV dc drive for electrified lines and a diesel-electric drive for non-electrified lines, is destined for the Valle d’Aosta region in Italy.