SWITZERLAND: Collaboration between Swiss Federal Railways and the independent BLS is set to continue with the introduction of an additional longer distance service in December 2025.
Taking advantage of the doubling of the 4 km Grellingen – Duggingen section in late 2025, BLS will introduce service IR56 Biel/Bienne – Delémont – Basel running every 30 min. SBB will continue to run the other long-distance service on the same route, IC51, which will be extended from Biel/Bienne to Lausanne.
BLS has ordered seven Stadler Mika trainsets to operate IR56, in addition to its current 30 Mika sets for regional routes and 28 for S-Bahn services. The extra trains are scheduled to be delivered in Q4 2025, and would be identical to the existing regional sets with 242 seats, 2+1 seating in first class, multifunctional zones for bikes and luggage and a buffet.
Further co-operation
Since 2019 SBB and BLS have collaborated on several routes, including Bern – Olten, Bern – Biel/Bienne, and Bern – Neuchâtel – La Chaux-de-Fonds.
SBB, BLS and Südostbahn plan to extend this successful co-operation model into the next concession period starting in December 2029. SBB would retain the concession to operate long-distance services, but would delegate the operation of specific routes to BLS and SOB.
