Trains between Lucerne, Zug and Zurich are more punctual again

The InterRegio trains between Lucerne, Zug and Zurich were chronically delayed last year., But the SBB's countermeasures now appear to be taking effect.
 

"TheSBB achieved record punctuality in 2025, with 94.1% of trains reaching their destination on time," the national railway company announced last January when it released its punctuality report. But this is an average across all train categories in all regions of Switzerland – commuters on the Zurich-Zug-Lucerne line needed a lot of patience last year. Many trains were delayed, terminated their journeys in Rotkreuz, or didn't run at all due to technical problems. And this was on one of the busiest lines in the entire SBB network. More than 40,000 people use the 210 trains that run between Zurich, Zug, and Lucerne every day.

Longer trains and double locomotives
The punctuality problems are well-documented. A CH Media investigation in April 2025 revealed that every third train on the Lucerne-Zug-Zurich line was delayed during peak hours. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) promised improvements and announced countermeasures: From the timetable change last December, longer trains now run between Zurich and Lucerne, even during off-peak hours. Specifically, the trains are now 300 metres long instead of 200 metres, or 250 metres instead of 200 metres. Another measure was the increase in starting power thanks to the use of two locomotives on the older IC 2000 double-decker trains, which operate on the line alongside the newer double-decker multiple units.

SBB satisfied with first quarter
The first quarter of 2026 has now passed and it's time for an initial assessment. Subjectively, the situation between Zug and Lucerne has improved significantly since the beginning of the year. The SBB confirmed this impression in response to an enquiry from the Luzerner Zeitung newspaper: "Compared to the same quarter last year, there is also an objectively higher level of train punctuality on this corridor." The SBB stated that punctuality has improved by one percentage point. The media office did not specify the exact percentage.

More and more tourists are traveling to Lucerne independently by train, and many of them arrive by train from Zurich                Photo: Boris Bürgisser
 

It remains unclear how much the measures described above, involving longer trains and double locomotives, have contributed to this positive interim result.
The SBB responded to the corresponding question as follows: "Due to the encouraging demand, we were able to deploy longer trains more frequently on the Lucerne-Zug-Zurich line, particularly during off-peak hours and on weekends, following the timetable change in December. It is still somewhat early for an official assessment, but we are satisfied with the progress made in the first few months."

Sufficient capacity = greater punctuality
The SBB seems to have found a basic solution to the chronic unpunctuality between Zurich, Zug, and Lucerne: "On InterRegio (IR) services between Zurich and Lucerne, the focus is on providing sufficient capacity, which generally has a positive effect on passenger exchange times and thus on punctuality." SBB also stated that they are "continuously working on all corridors to make targeted improvements to punctuality."

More and more tourists are arriving independently by train
The increasing occupancy on trains between Zurich and Lucerne is also related to the rising number of independent tourists who travel to Lucerne by train – and they tend to have a lot of luggage with them, which also takes up space. An analysis conducted by the Zentralbahn railway company showed that each individual tourist carries an average of 1.7 rolling suitcases (which poses a problem for the Zentralbahn, as 80% of its passengers are now tourists or leisure travellers).

What is the situation regarding this on the IR 70 and IR 75 trains? The SBB writes: "Taking large and heavy luggage has generally become more convenient, and the low-floor trains further facilitate transport. There may occasionally be limited space on certain routes, for example, during the holiday season on trains to and from Zurich Airport." But they maintain that there are no actual problems. "We are continuously monitoring the situation, but no additional measures have been necessary so far."