SWITZERLAND's Federal Office of Transport (BAV) has approved construction of the initial 4.6km phase of the light rail network Lausanne.

THE German state of Baden-Württemberg has signed a memorandum of understanding with the municipalities of Waldshut and Lörrach, Hochrhein-Bodensee Regional Council, the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (BAV) and the Swiss cantons of Basel-Stadt and Schaffhausen on planning, financing, and implementation of a project to electrify the 75km Basle - Waldshut - Erzingen Upper Rhine Line, which straddles the border between the two countries.

SWISS railfreight operator BLS Cargo reported an 11% increase in traffic last year with a total of 18,225 trains operated compared with 16,486 in 2014.

With at least two sets of national rules and numerous location-specific technical considerations to contend with, cross-border ERTMS deployments can represent a daunting challenge for infrastructure managers. Keith Barrow looks at two key projects which are seeking to streamline international train movements on the Rhine-Alpine Corridor.

SWITZERLAND's Federal Office of Transport (BAV) published a report on January 14 detailing the reasons behind the deterioration in the condition of the country's standard-gauge infrastructure and outlining potential solutions to the problem. 

ALPTRANSIT Gotthard has carried out a series of test runs in the Gotthard base tunnel with a 1500m-long freight train in preparation for the opening of the 57km tunnel later this year.

PROPOSALS to construct a metre-gauge line linking Switzerland's Zentralbahn (ZB) and the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway (MGB) via a tunnel beneath the Grimsel Pass were unveiled in Berne on February 4.

SWITZERLAND's largest private railway BLS confirmed on February 2 that it has shortlisted four suppliers to bid for a contract to supply 60 EMUs for S-Bahn and regional services.

SWITZERLAND's largest private railway BLS has awarded IG Valbt, a consortium of Swiss engineering companies led by SRP Ingenieur, a contract to plan to the extension of double-track in the Lötschberg Base Tunnel.

SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has exercised an SFr 38m ($US 37.3m) option with a German consortium of Windhoff and Dräger Safety for three additional self-propelled firefighting and rescue trains (LRZs), which will be delivered by the end of 2018.