City to benefit from eight express train services to Zurich every hour

The Federal Council in Bern has announced that funds will definitely be provided to lay an additional track through the Zimmerberg tunnel, enabling as many as eight express train services to Zurich per hour to pass through it from 2030 onwards.

The Zimmerberg tunnel, between Sihlbrugg (Baar) and Horgen Oberdorf in the canton of Zurich, is currently single track only. This CHF 1.6 billion project to provide an additional track will also mean a third track being laid between Baar and Zug. In addition to increased services, the journey time to Zurich will be cut by five minutes, too.

Following this announcement by Doris Leuthard, the retiring federal councillor who heads the Federal Department of Transport, Communications and Energy, not surprisingly, Matthias Michel, the retiring director of economic development in the canton, said he was delighted that finance for the project was now definite “after years of fighting for it”, adding how it would be a great boon for rail travellers.

Further benefits will include half-hourly services between Zurich and Rotkreuz.

While delight was expressed in Zug, there was disappointment in Lucerne that the conversion of the terminal station there to a through one was not included in this project at this stage, though it could be realised in 2039.