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TheInterCity, abbreviatedIC, is acategory of mainline train services inSwitzerland operated bySwiss Federal Railways, connecting the country's major cities, the range of services (in Switzerland) of which is located betweenInterRegio (IR) (inter-regional) andEuroCity (EC).
Swiss InterCity lines have been numbered byanalogy with theSwiss motorway network since the timetable change of December 2018.[1][2] Some former InterCity trains werenamed.
These trains are generally equipped withair-conditioned equipment, arestaurant or abistro, amini-bar service, a quiet area and abusiness area in1st class as well as afamily area or, occasionally, afamily car in 2nd class.[3]
The operation of the Swiss InterCity train network is based on the concept of thecadenced timetable. Appeared during the schedule change of December 12, 1982, it ensures that each line is served at least every hour with the same service at the same minutes. When trains cross at the right minutes in stations, this ensures efficient and systematic connections between the different lines every hour. These stations are callednodal points.
So that the main lines can systematically cross each other in the various nodal points, the travel time between them must be (taking into account the stopping time at the station) a multiple of half of the chosen timing frequency. When theRail 2000 plan was put in place, the Swiss railways had to improve travel speeds between the nodes of Lausanne and Bern, Biel and Zurich or even Zurich and St. Gallen to obtain multiple travel times of 30 minutes.[citation needed]
SBB introduced individual numbering for InterCity routes with the December 2017 timetable change, with the numbers (in general) corresponding to the routes ofSwitzerland's motorways.[4] As of the December 2022 timetable change,[update] there are eleven InterCity routes in Switzerland, ten of which carry numbers. Most run on an hourly schedule:[5]
:Geneva Airport–Bern–Zürich HB–St. Gallen
:Zürich HB–Zug–Lugano
:Basel SBB–Zürich HB–Chur
:Lausanne–Biel/Bienne–Zürich HB–St. Gallen (–Rorschach)
:Basel SBB–Bern–Brig
:Brig-Bern–Zürich HB–Romanshorn
:Basel SBB–Lucerne–Lugano
:Basel SBB–Biel/Bienne
:Basel SBB–Bern–Interlaken Ost
:Interlaken Ost–Bern–Zürich HB–Romanshorn
:Zürich HB–Schaffhausen–Singen (Hohentwiel) (–Stuttgart) (continues asIC 87 in Germany)
Initially, the main difference between InterCity and conventional express trains was the presence ofair-conditionedpassenger coaches. Onlyfirst-class cars could be used in 1982 (at least one car per InterCity train) asVU IV cars were still being delivered. In addition, with the exception of Swiss Express trains consisting ofVU III coaches, there were hardly any other air-conditioned coaches circulating in Switzerland. SBB's only other large series of air-conditioned coaches, theEurofima, were already in use in international traffic due to the quality criteria required forEuroCity trains. With the continued delivery of VU IV coaches, the proportion of air-conditioned coaches in InterCity train arrangements has steadily increased over the years. Since 2005, the cars have all been air-conditioned with some exceptions; the same goes forInterRegio trains.
As part of the Rail 2000 project,a new line capable of 200 km/h (120 mph) was built and put into service at the end of 2004 in order to reduce the journey time between the stations ofBern andOlten to less than half an hour and between Bern and Zurich to less than an hour, as well as increasing traffic density on this structuring axis of the Swiss rail network. The Rail 2000 project was also marked by the entry into service of the compositions ofIC 2000 double-deck passenger coaches towed byRe 460 electric locomotives capable of 200 km/h.
The InterCity network was also strongly marked by the construction ofnew railway lines across the Alps. The opening of theLötschberg base tunnel at the end of 2007 to passenger traffic reduced the journey time betweenSpiez andBrig from approximately one hour to 35 minutes while inserting one more train every two hours and creating a node connection atVisp station with trains running on theSimplon line. The commissioning of theGotthard base tunnel for mainline traffic during the timetable change of 11 December 2016 has reduced the journey time of InterCity trains running fromBasel andZurich to thecanton of Ticino. Passenger traffic increased by 30% according to the SBB between the timetable change in 2016 and April compared to the same period in 2015. Finally, theCeneri Base Tunnel was put into service for the InterCity traffic during the timetable change on December 13, 2020, allowing an additional time saving of 20 minutes betweenBellinzona andLugano in the crossing of Ticino.
In addition to air-conditioned cars, from the 2017 timetable, a catering service is also part of the compulsory service provided by a Swiss InterCity train. It is adining car and/or amini-bar that circulates on the train. They also include a family car with a family zone or second classplayground, usually in thepilot car.
Since the SBB timetable change in 2017, theInterCity tilting train category (InterCityNeigezug) has been abolished and included in the InterCity train category. In addition, InterCity trains as well asInterRegio have been given line numbers. The numbering is based on that of the national road network (InterCity 1 on the east–west axis of theA1 motorway, InterCity 2 similar to theA2 motorway, etc.).
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In 2018, SBB launched a renovation program for their 341 IC 2000 double-decker coaches aimed at extending their operation until2035 or even beyond. This work is carried out by the workshops ofOlten and should last from 2019 to 2024. The first two refurbished cars, presented inprototype form, were delivered by SBB in early 2019. These cars feature a new, brighter interior with new carpet and seat coverings. Electrical outlets are also integrated into the tablets while the reception ofradiotelephony waves is improved in order to anticipate the use of5G in trains. The number of spaces forbicycles is also increased from 200 to 360 for the 44 cars that can accommodate bicycles.
During the timetable change in December 2019, the firstBombardier TWINDEXX Swiss Express trains were deployed on the IC 3 line connectingBasel,Zurich andChur. This deployment continued with the schedule change of December 13, 2020, with the replacement of just over half of the IC 2000 trainsets by these new trains on the IC 1 line which connectsGeneva,Lausanne,Bern,Zurich andSt-Gall, after already several services on this line from June 2020. These trains should eventually use the tilt to reduce the travel time between Lausanne and Bern. During the same schedule change, the IC 5 trains resumed the non-stop service fromWinterthur toSt. Gallen on the IC 1, resuming the service with four intermediate stops. This change ensures, with the new EuroCity service betweenZurich andMunich central station, using the same paths as the IC 5 from Zurich to St. Gallen, a higher service rate from Zurich to St. Gallen, in particular everyrush hours.
This commissioning in successive stages follows the many technical difficulties encountered byBombardier on these trainsets, in particular on the computer systems but also on thetilting roll compensation device, not to mention thedispute with the associations ofdisabled people on the subject,accessibility of cars for people with reduced mobility.
The SBB has also launched a renovation program for the 44RABDe 500 tilting trains, running in particular on IC 5 and IC 51, and scheduled to run from 2021 to 2029 for an estimated amount of 400 million Swiss francs. This work is carried out in the workshops ofYverdon-les-Bains.
The Swiss InterCity network of 1982 materialized the introduction of the cadenced timetable in Switzerland and the beginnings of the InterCity network as it is known today. It has five lines served once an hour or once every two hours (some lines could be served at certain times by other types of train such as ICE, EuroCity or TGV but keeping the same schedule as the Swiss InterCity).
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The Swiss InterCity network of 2002 constitutes a first major advance since the introduction of the synchronized timetable on the InterCity network in 1982. It has five lines served once an hour or once every two hours (some lines could be served at certain times by other types of train such as ICE, EuroCity or TGV but keeping the same schedule as Swiss InterCity).
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 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2022) |
When the timetable change in December 2021, it is planned to extend the IC 5 trains running fromGenève-Aéroport toSt. Gallen once an hour toRorschach station.via LausanneAs part of step 2035 of the strategic development program for Swiss rail infrastructure (also known by theSwiss French abbreviation PRODES), it is planned to introduce the semi-hourly rate on SwissInterRegio and InterCity services in anticipation of train ridership doubling by 2040. The quarter-hour rate in InterCity traffic is also planned for the sections fromGeneva to Lausanne as well as fromBern to Zurich andFrauenfeld.
To achieve this objective, many rail network development projects are planned, the most important of which include the achievement of flagship structures:
Lines in the planned network plan 2025, according to the network usage plan as of August 2019, whereby it is undefined what ultimately runs as InterRegio, InterCity or EuroCity. Trains that do not run at least every hour are not listed :
IR98 (Hourly service)Annemasse –Lausanne (–St-Maurice)
IR 65Biel/Bienne –Bern
IR (Hourly service)Bern –Burgdorf –Olten
IC 6/IC 61(Hourly service to both destinations (Interlaken/Brig))Basel SBB –Bern (–Interlaken Ost/Brig)
By 2035, new InterCity lines should see the light of day. InRomandy,IC 51 should be extended toLausanne -Genève-Aéroport station once an hour and run every half hour fromBiel toBasel, whileIC 5 will run every 30 minutes fromGenève-Aéroport with reversal atLausanne station.IR 90 connecting Geneva to the canton of Valais will become lineIC9 whileIR 15 connectingGeneva toLucerne will be transformed intoIC11 and will run in a path offset by half an hour from that ofIC 1 betweenGeneva andBern. A second train will run in the additional half hour asIC11 betweenBern andLucerne.
InGerman-speaking Switzerland, the creation of theIC7 line will create a half-hourly service fromBern toFrauenfeld viaAarau,Zurich Central Station andWinterthur, via theBrütten tunnel. In addition,IC 1 andIC 8 will run alternately every half hour fromBern toRomanshorn andConstance viaZurich International Airport.IC 5 will be extended once an hour fromSt. Gallen toSankt Margrethen.IC 6 will run hourly fromBrig toBasel and will be completed in the additional half hour by a newIC 61 line connectingInterlaken toBasel with the same service as theIC 6 fromBern toBasel. Likewise,IC 8 will be split by lineIC81 running in the additional half hour betweenInterlaken andBern. Finally,IC 3 will run every half hour fromBasel toChur viaZurich.IC 11