Project

Basel regional commuter railway

Working on behalf of Agglo Basel, EBP established the service objectives for the tri-national development of the Basel Regional Commuter Railway and then worked together closely with the participating agencies in the Basel metropolitan area to ensure their alignment.

The tri-national Basel Commuter Railway encompasses railway lines in the cantons of Basel City, Basel Country, Aargau, Solothurn and Jura, as well as in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the French region of Alsace. Although the realisation of a cross-border, tri-national Basel Commuter Railway had been the subject of many planning initiatives at the cantonal, regional and tri-national level for many years, these initiatives lacked a coordinated plan for the entire region. In light of the proposals made by the cantons of Northwest Switzerland for the next federally sponsored infrastructure expansion programme (STEP AS 2030) and the further development of the Basel Agglomeration Programme (Agglo Basel), a coordinated tri-national service plan was presented at the end of 2014 as a guide to the future service offer of the tri-national Basel Commuter Railway.

The following two modules were developed:

  • Concept/overview: survey and compilation of proposed service objectives for the future tri-national Basel Commuter Railway (service frequencies, railway stops, train transfer locations, links) and the identification of essential technical prerequisites by EBP
  • Concept timetable: draft of hub systems and evaluation of the associated technical and operational feasibility, represented in the form of a network graphic (including timetable data) as well as a draft optimisation completed by SMA and Partners Ltd.

The results of the process include a medium-term and a long-term service concept for the Basel region:

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We conclude that it would not be feasible to develop the tri-national Basel Commuter Railway – with a main hub in Basel – based only on infrastructure-projects within Switzerland. The complexity of the timetable require the inclusion of considerable additional infrastructure located in the respective neighbouring countries:

  • Electrification of the High Rhine railway line
  • Linking of the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg to the existing network
  • Construction of a new interchange railway station at Lörrach-Zollweg
  • Expansion of the St. Louis – St. Johann railway line to four tracks
  • Capacity increases at Basel Badischer Bahnhof

In addition to linking the Basel hub to the existing network, measures will also need to be carried out in the Swiss network at the Basel SBB, St. Johann, Muttenz, Pratteln and Liestal railway stations. Two-track extensions will also be necessary in Laufental.

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