Freight losses fail to dampen state railway profits
Swiss Federal Railways CEO Andreas Meyer presented the company's annual figures on Tuesday at a press conference in Bern.
Keystone
This content was published on
2 minutes
SDA-ATS/swissinfo.ch/ln
The Swiss Federal Railway’s net profit increased by CHF18 million ($19 million) to CHF399 million ($418 million) last year despite posting a loss in its troubled freight division.
The company confirmed a previous decision to cut 800 freight jobs but plans to reduce certain prices for its increasing number of customers, it announced in its annual report on Tuesday.
The Swiss have long been Europe’s ‘train champions’ – last year, 1.26 million people used the Swiss train network on a daily basis.
The increase in profit achieved in 2017 was related to better productivity and improvements in real estate, infrastructure and passenger service, announced the Railways in a press releaseExternal link published on Wednesday.
Its ticket discount programme “RailFit20/30”, which was launched in 2016, also contributed to the positive result, the statement added. The company plans to offer even higher discounts – of up to 70% – to its customers travelling outside of peak times.
Losses in freight business
By contrast, the company’s freight business branch posted a loss of CHF239 million ($259 million) last year, compared to a profit of CHF1 million ($1.1 million) in 2016. As a result of this high loss, the Railways announced earlier this month that it will cut around 800 jobs over the coming years.
More regular customers than ever
The Railways carried more passenger in 2017: 1.26 million per day is a 0.6% rise from the previous year’s figures.
It also had more regular customers using its services than ever before. Last year, some 480,000 customers travelled on a personal annual season ticket (+1.5%) and 2.5 million on a half-fare card (+5.7%).
This means that the railways had almost three million regular customers last year – the highest figure in the company’s history.
To put this number into perspective: the Swiss working population consisted of around 5 million people in 2017, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office’s annual figuresExternal link.
More
More
Gotthard rail tunnel boosts north-south traffic by a third
This content was published on
About 2.3 million passengers have travelled through the new transalpine tunnel in Switzerland over the past eight months.
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva
This content was published on
Preparations for a huge new particle accelerator in Geneva have reached a milestone. After several years of work, a feasibility study for the project has now been finalised.
This content was published on
The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland currently stands at CHF 7.4 billion, the Swiss Confederation announced on Tuesday. This represents an increase of CHF 1.6 billion in one year. Additional assets have been identified, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
This content was published on
The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva.
Most Swiss authorities want to ban Nazi symbols in public
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss political parties, cantons and associations want to ban the use and distribution of Nazi symbols in public.
This content was published on
French and Swiss armoured and artillery units will train together to strengthen the defence capabilities of the Swiss army.
Harmful substances in particulate matter underestimated: Swiss research
This content was published on
Measurements significantly underestimate the amount of harmful substances in particulate matter, says an international research team under Swiss leadership.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss rail cargo to cut over 750 jobs in the hunt for efficiency
This content was published on
Company boss Nicolas Perrin revealed the job cut measures on Saturday in the weekly Schweiz am Wochenende. According to him, the administrative section of the firm is still too big despite already planning a reduction of 80 posts. “A reduction of at least the same magnitude in the administration will be needed by 2020,” he…
Trains take on more cargo – but Swiss target will still be missed
This content was published on
Freight trucks make 975,000 trips through Switzerland each year, according to a survey released on Friday. That’s a fall of 5.6% in the period measured, between July 2015 and June 2017. At the same time, rail freight traffic grew 18.8%, reaching a market share of 71% by the end of last year. That’s almost three…
World’s longest railway tunnel victim of own success
This content was published on
Almost 10,000 passengers and around 67,000 tonnes of freight pass through the Gotthard tunnel each day putting the structure to the test.
This content was published on
The Rheintal (Rhine Valley) rail section is a critical south-north route in Europe, used particularly by freight trains as well as commuters. Trains have been subject to delays of up to an hour and a halfExternal link between Basel and Karlsruhe as commuters have to endure slower replacement services. The route has been severely restricted…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.