UK-Switzerland rail link agreement an "exciting milestone" - new working group set to meet later this year

A formal agreement to explore the possibility of direct train service between the UK and Switzerland has been hailed as an “exciting milestone”.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Albert Rösti, the Swiss government’s Federal Councillor, at St Pancras station on May 9.

RAIL revealed in March how the Department for Transport was working with Swiss counterparts ahead of signing an MoU and setting up of a subsequent working group.

RAIL understands that the Swiss government is particularly keen to establish a direct link.

Potential destinations for direct services are Basel, Geneva and Zurich. However, all three cities are likely to need dedicated platforms to accommodate border security infrastructure that’s not needed for existing international high-speed services from other European countries because the UK is not a member of the Schengen area.

Geneva station is currently being rebuilt while Basel to Zurich is said to be the most congested section of the Swiss network.

A working group will examine ways to overcome barriers currently preventing a direct service, such as establishing Channel Tunnel safety requirements, security arrangements and liaising with potential operators.

Its first meeting is expected to be in Q4. At first, it’s set to continue discussions between the two governments while sessions containing industry organisations, train operators and infrastructure managers will also be organised.

Potential rivals to Eurostar are also hoping to be involved with the working group.

Adrian Quine, Chief Executive of Gemini Trains, said the MoU showed “the Swiss are serious”, and added: “We expect future operators to be part of any working group looking at implementing services between London and Switzerland.”

While there are no immediate plans for a direct service between the UK and Switzerland (and no timeline including in the MoU), RAIL understands that a Eurostar red (formerly Thalys) service from France to Switzerland is on the cards. However, no timescale or precise destination has been confirmed.

Eurostar currently enables customers to book entire journeys between London and Basel, Geneva, Lausanne or Zurich via Paris, something its Chief Executive, Gwendoline Cazenave, said was “a first step in a wider plan with our partners to grow connections in the greenest way”.

No operator for a London-Switzerland service has been discussed so far.

The signing of the MoU comes a few weeks after London St Pancras Highspeed, which owns HS1, said it expects passenger numbers to triple by 2040, going from the current 11 million per year to 35m.