New topic highlight: Setting the track. Since 1847.

Happy anniversary: Swiss Travel System takes a closer look at the developments that not only shaped Swiss railway history but rail-bound public transport in general.

Its roots can be found in industrialization. Electrification and the proliferation of Alpine tourism acted as catalysts for Swiss innovations. Advances in Swiss railway infrastructure and railway architecture have been also instrumental on a European level, as the Gotthard Tunnel of 1882 and the Gotthard Base Tunnel of 2016 illustrate.

At the same time, railway history powerfully demonstrates how we are moving towards a new era: from steam locomotives powered by coal to engines running on clean waterpower. In the new digital society, the effects of novel technologies are felt here as well, and automation of complex processes has become standard. At its core, railway history is about people first, machines second.

Looking for a story idea? We have compiled a document with highlights from 175 years of railway history that you can download here: