On 10 July 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport (FOT) announced government plans to subsidise new international rail services, with priority given to a planned Basel–Copenhagen–Malmö night train.
Malmo station © Mino Surkala | Dreamstime.com
The FOT will provide CHF 10 million a year between 2025 and 2030 to promote cross-border passenger rail, especially night services, following a mandate from the federal government and parliament.
Swiss Rail applied for funding this spring. The FOT has approved 1.2 CHF million this year for preparatory work on the EuroNight connection, which is expected to run three times per week in each direction from April 2026.
Over its first five years, the service will receive about CHF 47 million in subsidies under Switzerland’s CO2 law, covering both launch and operation.
The FOT will also spend CHF 5 million this year to support the certification of Swiss Rail’s Giruno trains for 250 km/h service in Italy. This will allow faster, more reliable direct routes to Venice and Genoa, and ultimately cut travel times.
An additional CHF 1.9 million will be allocated to maintain service quality on the EuroCity route from Zurich to Innsbruck and Graz. The funds will ensure the continued provision of quality dining cars once the current restaurant coaches are retired on the nearly ten-hour journey.
The subsidies are politically contentious. Some politicians argue there is little point subsidising rail services that will never be economic, viewing them as a waste of tax payers’ money. While others argue that to make train transport, a less polluting form of transport, competitive with flying requires government support.
More on this:
FOT press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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