Plans for a new high-speed rail service linking the UK and Switzerland have moved a step forward after Eurostar, SNCF Voyageurs and Swiss rail operator SBB signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Eurostar, which is majority-owned by SNCF Voyageurs, last year announced plans to launch services from the UK to both Switzerland and Germany.
The signing of the MOU between Eurostar, SNCF Voyageurs and SBB has been described as “an important milestone” in the long-term planning of a new direct route between London and Switzerland. It also comes after SNCF and SBB agreed in March to extend their partnership until 2032.
“The demand for international rail travel is high, and Eurostar, SBB and SNCF Voyageurs see significant potential for connecting London to Switzerland,” said the companies in a statement.
“This is because London is the number one flight destination from Switzerland, and at the same time, there is strong customer demand for a direct rail connection to the United Kingdom.”
They added that studies had shown potential routes from London to Zurich, Basel and Geneva could “respond to a market demand and to international travellers' expectations”. Travel times on these routes would range from five to six hours.
Eurostar, SNCF Voyageurs and SBB will now analyse potential timetables and “operational concepts” for a direct UK-Switzerland rail service, which would launch “as soon as possible”.
But the project still needs to create the infrastructure and gain the necessary intergovernmental agreements for the route, with the earliest feasible launch date set to be “sometime in the course of the 2030s”.