Where is Switzerland going? Third National Railway Congress Bahn26

The third National Railway Congress Bahn26 was held on 16. January in Basel with around 500 participants. After the focus areas on agglomeration traffic (2024) and freight transport (2025), the third National Railway Congress 2026 continued its series under the guiding question "Where is Switzerland going?"

We spoke to Esther Keller, Governing Councilor and Head of Construction and Transport Department of Basel-Stadt on various important aspects of the resolution that was signed,

Key players discussed the decisive course for a sustainable transport policy. The great response underlines the growing importance of the Congress. This year, the focus was on the transport policy challenges - between the necessary expansion, secured financing and the sustainability of mobility. The Congress made it clear that Switzerland is facing great challenges. At the same time, concrete perspectives and viable ideas exist to further develop the railway as the backbone of the transport system. Among others, Christa Hostettler, Director of the Federal Office of Transport, SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot, ETH professor Ulrich Weidmann and Cloé Jans from gfs.bern provided perspectives. Government representatives from seven cantons, parliamentarians from all parts of the country and representatives from science, business and administration debated on stage.

Against this background, the six cantons formulate three central demands on the federal government. They concern the planning, financing and targeted expansion of the rail network:

• A needs-based planning, in which the offer determines the infrastructure expansion, as well as the binding implementation of the offer targets 2035.
• The provision of 24 billion francs for the expansion of the railway network according to the "High" scenario of the ETH study "Transport '45".
• The targeted expansion of the main East-West and North-South axes, the strengthening of regional transport in the agglomerations and the promotion of international rail connections.

Regional projects with national benefit

In addition to their higher demands, the six cantons are naming concrete projects of supra-regional significance. These projects are intended to eliminate national central bottlenecks and further strengthen international rail transport for people and goods:

• Cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt
  Both Basels demand the financing of the Base'Durchmesserlinie' with the aim of better disentwining of regional, long-distance and freight transport for higher capacities.
• Canton of Geneva
  Geneva calls for additional capacity at the Geneva Airport station to strengthen the East-West Axis, a new city connection and the expansion of the international Geneva-Lyon line.
• Canton of Ticino
  For Ticino, the strengthening of the north-south axis and the axis to Piedmont via Locarno is central. In particular, the general capacity and the travel time between Ticino and Milan are to improve.
• Canton of Vaud
  The canton of Vaud is calling for an additional connection Lausanne-Geneve as well as better connections between Western Switzerland and the rest of the country.
• Canton of Valais
  The Valais demands the expansion of the Lausanne-Geneva route and the strengthening of international rail transport via the Lötschberg/Simplon ache.

A strong common signal

Six cantons from a wide variety of parts of the country – from urban agglomerations to alpine regions – are behind a joint resolution. They are faced with similar challenges in rail transport: growing bottlenecks, increasing demand and the need to secure mobility and economic strength. The government representatives emphasize together: "As government representatives of six cantons, we stand united behind this resolution. Despite different starting points, we are now calling for investment in rail transport – with sustainable decisions, reliable financing and responsibility for the future of our country.

With their joint resolution, the six cantons are making a clear appeal to the Federal Council. They expect the presented demands and projects to be taken into account in the further prioritization, planning and financing of railway expansion - in the interest of a prosperous and easily accessible Switzerland.

For three years, politics and experts from all parts of the country have been meeting in Basel. Until now, Geneva, Ticino, Vaud and Valais were represented as host regions. "The third edition confirms that Basel is not only an important hub in rail transport, but also a central place in the transport policy debate on the railway," says Benno Jurt, public transport delegate of the Canton of Basel-Stadt and chairman of the organizing committee of the National Railway Congress.

The railway congress is organized by the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, the Chamber of Commerce of both Basel (HKBB), SBB and trireno.

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