The Lausanne-Berne rail corridor faces deep delays under the Swiss federal government’s “Transports ’45” infrastructure plan, pushing potential service upgrades past the year 2045. As Le Temps reported, the original goal to connect Lausanne and Berne in 55 minutes—pledged during the 1987 Rail 2000 vote—remains unfulfilled, with current travel times dragging at 69 minutes. Led by Albert Rösti, the Federal Council’s project regroups rail, motorways, and urban traffic for the first time, aiming to invest 50 billion CHF in transport by 2045, including a first package of 11 billion francs to be submitted to Parliament in early 2027.
Four Decades of Broken Transit Promises
Nearly four decades after Swiss voters backed Rail 2000 on December 6, 1987, the promise of a sub-hour journey between Lausanne and Berne feels increasingly like a ghost of transit history. Surcost overruns, project delays, and the failure of a new train technology implementation crippled the initial rollout. Instead of gaining speed, passengers watched timetables slip backward. Today, traversing the route requires 69 grueling minutes.
Yet, the fine print tells a different story. Any meaningful infrastructure changes for the Lausanne-Berne axis are deferred until after 2045, leaving western Switzerland stranded in planning limbo.
Regional Leaders Slam Bureaucratic Sidelining
Jean-François Steiert, Fribourg’s Socialist State Councillor and president of the Transport Conference of Western Switzerland (CTSO), did not mince words regarding the timeline. As Le Temps noted, he slammed the proposal for offering empty gestures while sidelining actual construction.
The message «Transports ’45» is paradoxal, d’un côté, on assure que la ligne Lausanne-Berne revêt une importance nationale, d’un _autre, on renvoie les projets à la saint-glinglin.
The CTSO is pushing back against this bureaucratic delay. The organization demands that the Confederation immediately release funding for preliminary project studies on a new Romont-Fribourg line, framing it as an essential first step. Lobby group OuestRail shares this stance, arguing that western Switzerland deserves full integration into the national network rather than empty promises.
A Fifty Billion Franc National Battleground
With the consultation phase closing, deep fissures have emerged over funding gaps and regional priorities. The Federal Finance Administration (CDF) previously warned that the rail fund faces a 10-billion-franc shortfall against its 24-billion-franc price tag through 2045. In an audit in mid-September, the CDF lambsted the project by highlighting “important weaknesses” and had already notified the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) and the Federal Council prior to consultation to suspend the project until problematic points were resolved.
Meanwhile, organizations like the Swiss Transport and Environment Association (ATE) have outright rejected the current draft, arguing that French-speaking Switzerland bears the brunt of the neglect and pointing out that the plan ignores the “no” to motorway extensions expressed in November 2024.
Western Lobbies Draw a Hard Line
Western Swiss lobbying groups are holding their ground against the federal blueprint. OuestRail, led by National Councillor Damien Cottier, has conditioned its support in parliament and potential referendums on concrete timeline guarantees, as detailed by 24 Heures. SBB, the Public Transport Union (UTP), and the CTSO broadly support the project but demand more resources for rail, with the UTP proposing to suspend the repayment of 4 billion francs in public transport fund debts until 2045. Furthermore, over 100 projects across 40 agglomerations worth 1.68 billion francs are intended to be supported.
Commuters Left Waiting in Limbo
As the political wrangling shifts toward parliament ahead of the initial 11-billion-franc funding package slated for early 2027, commuters along the Lausanne-Berne line are left wondering when—or if—the 55-minute promise will ever materialize.
