Railway (R)evolution: Trains to the Skies. The Swiss Have Built the World’s Highest Train Station at 3,454 Meters

The Swiss have overcome incredible challenges and turned the mountains into their allies. From the first tracks to modern super projects, how did this small country become a railway giant that has literally traversed Europe?

The history of independent Switzerland began in 1291 when the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden broke free from Habsburg control. Gradually, other cantons and free cities joined them. This expansion, fueled by victorious wars, led to the practical independence of the Old Swiss Confederacy by 1499. Switzerland then became a hub of the Reformation, hosting leading church reformer John Calvin. This political entity lasted until 1798 when it was occupied by Napoleonic France, resulting in the creation of the puppet state, the Helvetic Republic.

Switzerland finally gained independence from France after Napoleon's defeat. The Congress of Vienna recognized Switzerland's permanent neutrality and approved its restoration within the 1798 borders. This status remained until 1847 when a civil war broke out between Protestant and Catholic cantons. The last armed conflict on Swiss soil resulted in fewer than 100 casualties and ended in 1848. In its aftermath, Switzerland adopted a federal constitution that shaped the nation’s future.

The history of Swiss railways began later than in neighboring countries. Due to Switzerland's slow start, the French built the first railway on its territory, extending the Strasbourg line from the French-Swiss border to Basel, completed in 1844. The first domestic Swiss railway was finished three years later, connecting Zurich to the Baden border, linked to the network built by the Grand Duchy of Baden. Switzerland soon realized its lag in railway development.

Instead of hesitating, Switzerland sought foreign expertise, enlisting the renowned English engineers Robert Stephenson and Henry Swinburne to plan the railway network across its mountainous terrain. Both engineers agreed and provided a plan that Switzerland would follow. After adopting the federal constitution and decentralizing in 1848, responsibility for railway construction shifted from the central government to the individual cantons. These cantons hired private companies to build the railways, with financial support from cities or cantons when necessary. Although the chosen method was somewhat cumbersome, it proved effective. By 1860, Switzerland had connected its western border with France to its northeastern border with Austria, and other major routes were completed by 1870.

The problem was that many companies building the railways went bankrupt during construction, leading to mergers. From the start, the Swiss were committed to doing things thoroughly and comprehensively. Consequently, the railway routes were coordinated with steamboat routes designed to connect with the railways and transport passengers across Switzerland’s large lakes.

Switzerland revised its railway policy after the Franco-Prussian War in 1872, realizing that private companies could not quickly transport troops and materials to the front. The Swiss refused to risk this potential complication in defending their country. A new law transferred control of railway construction, operations, tariffs, accounting, and licensing from the cantons to the federal government. The possibility of nationalizing the railways became part of the political agenda.

Another ambitious plan involved crossing the Alpine passes to Italy. The first of these was the Gotthard Pass, completed in 1882 with the help of the longest railway tunnel of its time. Referendums, an integral part of Swiss culture, also affected the railways. A significant referendum in 1878 approved increased investments in railways to cross additional Alpine passes. Perhaps the most important series of referendums concerned the nationalization of the railways. The decisive referendum took place in 1898, and nationalization was approved. As a result, the state began purchasing individual railway companies, merging them in 1909 into the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFS).

The lengthy debate over nationalization caused the current owners to stop investing in the lines long before the state took control, leaving Switzerland with the task of modernizing the entire network. This involved electrification, increasing capacity, and improving safety. Despite these challenges, the Swiss continued with their mountainous projects. Perhaps the most significant was completed in 1912—the world’s highest railway station, located at an astonishing altitude of 3,454 meters (11,332 feet) above sea level at the Jungfraujoch mountain pass.

Thanks to Switzerland’s neutrality in both World Wars, the railway continued to develop without suffering damage from enemy forces. As a result, the Swiss railway had few competitors after the wars, particularly in electrification. By the start of World War II, 77% of the Swiss railway network was electrified, while in many neighboring countries, the figure barely exceeded 5%.

The post-war years in Switzerland, as in neighboring countries, were marked by competition for passengers between rail and automobiles. In response, the Swiss railway system changed. In 1972, Switzerland introduced a fixed timetable, with trains departing from stations at the same minute every half-hour or hour. This decision brought a massive influx of passengers to the railways.

The most significant railway project was approved by referendum in 1987, known as Rail 2000, involving 130 construction projects. Its goals included reducing travel times between key stations to less than an hour, perfectly suited to the fixed timetable. Other objectives were to increase passenger comfort and the frequency of services. This project was followed by Rail 2030.

Rail 2030 aims to maximize the potential of existing infrastructure, increase capacity, and improve connections, with a budget of 5.4 billion Swiss francs. Significant investments are planned for suburban transport, which SBB sees as having enormous potential. Another goal is to increase the amount of freight transported domestically by rail. In long-distance transport, the aim is to surpass the travel times of automobiles on all routes. The final key point is to work in tandem with the EU on implementing DAC (Digital Automatic Coupling), which automatically couples and decouples freight cars both physically (mechanical coupling and brake piping) and digitally (power supply and data communication).

Source: House of Switzerland; The National Archives