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  • Tunnel instead of bottleneck: SBB upgrades line between Zurich and Winterthur

    Tunnel instead of bottleneck: SBB upgrades line between Zurich and Winterthur

    Today, all rail traffic between Zurich and Winterthur uses the only double-track connection via Effretikon. This section of the line is therefore a veritable bottleneck. To eliminate the bottleneck, SBB is upgrading the line on behalf of the federal government. A new double-track line through the Brüttener Tunnel as well as the expansion of four stations and existing lines should bring relief.

    The core of the Zurich-Winterthur multi-track project is the Brüttener Tunnel. It will be about 9 kilometres long and have two tunnel tubes with one track each. Trains will travel at 160 kilometres per hour. The journey time in the tunnel is around 3 minutes.

    The northern portal of the Brüttener Tunnel is at Tössmühle before Winterthur. The tunnel tubes divide and end in two tunnel portals in the south: at Bassersdorf and at Dietlikon. This route is the fastest and most efficient connection between Zurich and Winterthur, as it connects both Zurich Airport (via Bassersdorf) and Zurich HB (via Dietlikon) directly to Winterthur. Because most of the new double track runs underground, no major interventions in the landscape will be visible after construction.

    The project will increase the rail capacity between Zurich and Winterthur by 30 per cent to around 900 trains and 156,000 passengers per day. Two long-distance lines will run between Zurich and Winterthur every quarter of an hour in future.

    The project will be made public at the end of May 2023. If the project progresses without any appeal proceedings, construction work is currently expected to start in the mid-2020s and the service could be put into operation in the mid-2030s.

    With the “2035 expansion stage”, the federal government is investing around CHF 12.89 billion in numerous projects to expand the railway infrastructure throughout Switzerland. The “Zurich-Winterthur multi-track” project is the largest of these projects, with estimated costs of around CHF 2.9 billion.

  • Major project MehrSpur Zurich-Winterthur goes on public display

    Major project MehrSpur Zurich-Winterthur goes on public display

    On behalf of the federal government, SBB is planning a new double track through the Brüttener tunnel, the expansion of the Dietlikon, Bassersdorf, Wallisellen and Winterthur Töss stations as well as other construction measures on the railway infrastructure between Zurich and Winterthur. The planned infrastructure upgrades of the major Zurich-Winterthur MehrSpur project will eliminate the current bottleneck in the railway network. Thanks to the second double track through the Brüttener Tunnel, two long-distance lines will run every quarter of an hour between Zurich and Winterthur in future. On Zurich’s S-Bahn network, the quarter-hourly service will become the basic service.

    The project will be open to the public in the municipalities concerned from 30 May to 28 June 2023. The documents can be viewed during the official opening hours of the municipal administrations. During the public display, SBB project managers will be on site at certain times to answer questions from residents in the project perimeter. Information and registration for the event on the SBB website “MehrSpur Zürich-Winterthur”.

    Expansion enables 30 percent more capacity
    The expansion of the Zurich-Winterthur railway line includes the following projects:

    • Around nine-kilometre-long Brüttener tunnel between Dietlikon / Bassersdorf and Winterthur
    • Expansion of the four stations Dietlikon, Bassersdorf, Wallisellen, Winterthur Töss
    • Construction of two bridges and two short tunnels. These structures will connect the new tracks to the existing railway network and unbundle traffic: Trains can cross each other without obstructing oncoming traffic.
    • The project also includes the planning and realisation of projects by the Canton of Zurich (bicycle connections), cities and municipalities, as well as investments by the federal government for the maintenance of the railway infrastructure.

    With the large-scale project MehrSpur Zurich-Winterthur, the railway capacity between Zurich and Winterthur will be expanded by 30 percent: Every day, 900 trains will be able to transport around 156,000 passengers. This will make travelling faster, easier and more comfortable.

    Around ten years construction time
    If the project proceeds without appeal proceedings, from today’s perspective, construction can start in the mid-2020s and the service can go into operation in the mid-2030s. SBB will be able to draw up a definitive construction programme as soon as it has received the legally binding construction permit from the federal government and the construction work has been awarded.

    Largest project in the federal government’s 2035 expansion plan
    The costs for the planned extensions between Zurich and Winterthur amount to around 2.9 billion Swiss francs. This makes MehrSpur Zurich-Winterthur the largest project in the federal government’s 2035 expansion stage. Financing is provided by the federal government’s railway infrastructure fund, which is fed by contributions from the federal government and the cantons, among others.