Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
has a dense network of roads and railways. The Swiss
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
transport network
A transport network, or transportation network, is a network or graph in geographic space, describing an infrastructure that permits and constrains movement or flow.
Examples include but are not limited to road networks, railways, air routes, ...
has a total length of 24,500 kilometers and has more than 2600 stations and stops.
The crossing of the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
is an important route for European transportation, as the Alps separate Northern Europe from Southern Europe. Alpine railway routes began in 1882 with the
Gotthard Railway
The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between no ...
with its central
Gotthard Rail Tunnel
, it, Galleria del San Gottardo
, other_name =
, line = Gotthard Line
, location = Traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the middle of the Swiss Alps
, coordinates =
, os_grid_ref =
, status =
, system ...
, followed in 1906 by the Simplon Tunnel and the
Lötschberg Tunnel
, line = Lötschberg Line
, location = Circumventing the Lötschen Pass in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland(Canton of Bern, canton of Valais)
, coordinates = –
, system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS
, status =
, st ...
in 1913. As part of the
New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) in 2007 the
Lötschberg Base Tunnel
, line = Lötschberg Line
, location = Traversing the Bernese Alps in Switzerland
, coordinates = –
, system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS
, status =
, start = Frutigen, canton of Bern,
, end = Raro ...
opened and in 2016 the
Gotthard Base Tunnel
, rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard
, image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station
, line = Gotthard Line
, location = Switzerland (Uri, Grisons and ...
opened on 1 June.
The Swiss road network is funded by
road tolls and vehicle taxes. The Swiss motorway system requires the purchase of a
road tax disc - which costs 40
Swiss franc
The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...
s for one calendar year - in order to use its roadways, for both passenger cars and trucks. The Swiss motorway network has a total length of 1,638 kilometres (as of 2000) and has also - with an area of 41,290 km
2 - one of the highest motorway densities in the world.
Zurich Airport
Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switze ...
is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway, handling 24.9 million passengers in 2013. The second largest airport,
Geneva Cointrin, handled 14.4 million passengers (2013) and the third largest
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
6.5 million passengers; both airports are shared with France.
Switzerland has approved billions of
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
for the improvement of its public transportation infrastructure. The
modal split
A modal share (also called mode split, mode-share, or modal split) is the percentage of travelers using a particular type of transportation or number of trips using said type. In freight transportation, this may be measured in mass.
Modal share ...
for public transportation is one of the highest in Europe, standing at 21.3% in 2010. In many cities with a population above 100,000, the modal split for public transportation lies above 50%.
Railways
Switzerland has a very high density of railway network, with an average of 122 km of track for every 1,000 km
2 (average of 46 km in Europe). In 2008, each Swiss citizen traveled, on average, 2,422 km by rail, which makes them the most frequent users of rail transport.
Many of the Swiss standard gauge railway lines are part of the nationwide
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
system, although other standard gauge lines are operated by independent companies such as
BLS AG. In addition numerous narrow gauge railways are operated, the largest company of its kind being the
Rhaetian Railway
The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB ...
. In total 5,100 km of rail network are used.
The Swiss Federal Railways run some 5000 passenger train services covering about 274,000 kilometres daily. Half of these train services are long distance services; the other half are regional and suburban services. In 2013, 366 million passengers used the Swiss Federal Railways.
Rail transport in Switzerland also includes a car and truck transportation service (German: ''Autoverlad'') on some lines.
Urban rail
Urban commuter rail networks are focused on the country's major cities:
Zurich,
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
,
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
and
Neuchâtel
, neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier
, twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...
.
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
is the only city with a metro system (
Lausanne Metro
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
), which includes two lines: one is
light rail; the other, a fully automated metro, opened in 2008. After its opening, Lausanne replaced
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
as the smallest city in the world to have a full metro system.
Maglev
In response to the increasing need for transport capacity and the cost of ground surface infrastructures, an underground transportation system has been proposed and studied. The trains would use linear motor and magnetic levitation to reach speeds about 500 km per hour. The project is not likely to be realized in the near future, but a license for application has been deposited for a trial line between Geneva and Lausanne.
Mountain rail
Trains cannot climb steep gradients, so it is necessary to build large amounts of track in order to gain height gradually. Transversals through the Alps were made possible with the use of hidden circular tunnels, which are called
Spiral
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point.
Helices
Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:[Jungfraujoch
The Jungfraujoch (German: lit. "maiden saddle") is a saddle connecting two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx ...]
, Europe's highest station in the Bernese Oberland, at an altitude of 3,454 metres (11,330 ft).
Roads
Switzerland has a network of two-lane national roads. These roads usually lack a median or
central reservation
The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...
. Some stretches are controlled-access, in that all traffic must enter and exit through ramps and must cross using grade separations.
Two of the important motorways are the
A1, running from
St. Margrethen
St. Margrethen (Saint Margrethen/Sankt Margrethen) is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Geography
St. Margrethen has an area, , of . Of this area, 28.3% is used for agric ...
in northeastern Switzerland's
canton of St. Gallen
The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen.
Located in northeastern ...
through to Geneva in southwestern Switzerland, and the
A2, running from Basel in northwestern Switzerland to
Chiasso
Chiasso (; lmo, Ciass ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
As the southernmost of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is on the border with Italy, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a frazione of C ...
in southern Switzerland's
canton of Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
, using the
Gotthard Road Tunnel.
''Autobahn'' (plural: ''Autobahnen'') is the German name; in
French-speaking Switzerland
Romandy (french: Romandie or )Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (french: Suisse française) waalso used german: Romandie or , it, Romandia, rm, Romanda) is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 milli ...
they are known as ''autoroutes'', and in Italian-speaking Switzerland they are known as ''autostrade'' (singular: ''autostrada''). Swiss motorways have general
speed limit
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...
s of 120 km/h (75 mph).
Road passenger transport
Local bus services cover the whole country.
Postauto
PostAuto Switzerland, PostBus Ltd. (known as in Swiss Standard German (), in Swiss French (), in Swiss Italian (), and in Romansh () is a subsidiary company of the Swiss Post, which provides regional and rural bus services throughout Swit ...
cover the smaller urban areas and every region not connected to the rail network.
Switzerland also has a well-developed network of
car sharing
Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
organised by the
Mobility Carsharing
Mobility Carsharing (officially Mobility Cooperative, also known as Mobility Car Sharing or simply Mobility for short) is a Swiss cooperative of car sharing. It covers almost all organised carsharing in Switzerland."Today, the co-operative cover ...
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
.
Biking
Cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
is included and promoted in the
Swiss constitution
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...
since 2018. Concretely, the authorities must develop bike-lanes and related infrastructures.
The Asian trend of bike sharing came to Switzerland in 2017 with new companies emerging such as
oBike
oBike was a Singapore-registered stationless bicycle-sharing system started by businessmen Shi Yi and Edward Chen with operations in several countries. The bikes have a built-in Bluetooth lock and can therefore be left anywhere at the end of a ...
, PubliBike and Smide. The Singaporean-based company
oBike
oBike was a Singapore-registered stationless bicycle-sharing system started by businessmen Shi Yi and Edward Chen with operations in several countries. The bikes have a built-in Bluetooth lock and can therefore be left anywhere at the end of a ...
launched in the city of Zurich on 5 July 2017.
Air transport
*64 (2012)
*Airports - with paved runways
**total: 41
**over 3,047 m: 3
***
Zurich Airport
Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switze ...
***
Geneva Airport
Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It i ...
***
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
**2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
**1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
**914 to 1,523 m: 6
***
Bern Airport
The Regional Aerodrome Bern- Belp , marketed as ''Bern Airport'',, french: Aéroport de Berne, it, Aeroporto di Berna, rm, Eroport da Berna officially referred to as in German, is a regional aerodrome serving Bern, the de facto capital of S ...
***
Lugano Airport
Lugano Airport , german: Flughafen Lugano-Agno, french: Aéroport de Lugano, rm, Eroport da Lugano is a regional airport located west of the Swiss city of Lugano, approximately north of Milan, in the municipalities of Agno, Bioggio and Muzz ...
**under 914 m: 17 (2012)
*Airports - with unpaved runways:
**total: 23
**under 914 m: 23 (2012)
*
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...
s: 1
Zurich Airport
Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switze ...
also called Kloten Airport, located in
Kloten
Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal).
History
Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''.
Geography
Kloten is located in the Gl ...
,
canton of Zurich
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
, is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
and
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
. The airport handled 27.6 million passengers in 2016.
In 2003, Zurich International completed an expansion project in which it built a car park, a midfield terminal, and an automated underground train to move passengers between the existing terminal complex and the new terminal. Zurich International lost traffic when
Swissair
Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.
It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
shut down its operations. When
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
took over its successor
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
(SWISS), traffic grew again.
Zurich Airport's railway station (
Zürich Flughafen
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich () i ...
) is underneath the terminal. There are trains to many parts of Switzerland; frequent
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
services, plus direct Inter-regio and intercity services to
Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
, Bern, Basel and
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
(Luzern). By changing trains at
Zürich Hauptbahnhof
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland a ...
most other places in Switzerland can be reached in a few hours.
The second largest airport of the country,
Geneva Airport
Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It i ...
, handled 16.5 million passengers in 2016.
The airport has a single runway, the longest of its kind in Switzerland at 3,900 meters, built in 1960. The runway could only be built after an agreement was reached with France to exchange a piece of territory since it wouldn't otherwise fit entirely in Switzerland. In compensation, the airport has a french sector in its terminals, and therefore flights incoming/outgoing from/to France are considered domestic and a segregated road leads to the airport from France without crossing the Swiss customs.
A turnaround occurred in 1996 when Swissair decided to abandon all the intercontinental routes departing from Geneva except for New York and Washington (that is, all its African destinations). The airport then requested the Swiss Federal Government to implement an open skies policy for Geneva and abolish the legal monopoly enjoyed by Swissair. Following the open skies policy, Geneva Airport now serves over 110 direct destinations from more than 55 airlines. It is the main hub for
easyJet Switzerland
EasyJet Switzerland SA, styled as easyJet, is a Swiss low-cost airline based in Meyrin, canton of Geneva.[Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...]
, as well as home to the executive office of
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
.
Road access to the airport is provided by highways: It's directly connected to the rest of Switzerland by the A1 highway and France via the A40. It has its own railway station,
Geneva Airport railway station
Geneva Airport railway station (french: Gare de Genève-Aéroport) is a train station located underground next to the terminal building of Geneva International Airport (french: Aéroport international de Genève) (IATA code: GVA), in Grand-Sacon ...
, from the Swiss Federal Railways (CFF) located right besides the main terminal with trains regularly departing to the rest of Switzerland, towards Neuchâtel, Lausanne-Fribourg-Berne-Zurich, and Lausanne-Vevey-Montreux-Sion-Brig and stopping in all cases in Geneva main train station located in the city centre, which lies only 7 minutes away from the airport by train. Geneva train station is also connected via
HSR to France, and to the
Léman Express
The Léman Express is a commuter rail network for the transborder agglomeration of Grand Genève (''Greater Geneva'') in west Switzerland and the French Alps (Haute-Savoie and Ain). Six lines serve Swiss and French towns along 230 km of ra ...
rail network. The airport is also served by several Genevan public transport lines such as trolleybus line 10.
The third largest Swiss airport is
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
which handled 7.3 million passengers in 2016
and is located entirely on French territory.
Water transport
Inland waterways
*65 km;
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
(Basel to
Rheinfelden,
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
to
Bodensee
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake ...
)
*12 navigable lakes
*The
Interlaken Ship Canal
The Interlaken ship canal (german: Interlaken Schiffskanal) is a long canal in the Swiss canton of Bern. It connects Lake Thun with a quay in the town of Interlaken adjacent to Interlaken West railway station, thus allowing shipping services on ...
*The
Nidau-Büren Canal
The Nidau-Büren Canal (german: Nidau-Büren-Kanal, french: Canal de Nidau-Büren) is a -long canal that drains the waters of the river Aare out of the Lake of Biel/Bienne toward Solothurn. It was dug as an important part of the first Jura water c ...
*The
Thun Ship Canal
The Thun ship canal (german: Thuner Schiffskanal) is a long canal in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern. Together with a navigable reach of the Aare of similar length, it connects Lake Thun with a quay in the town of Thun adjacent to Thun rail ...
Ports and harbors
Switzerland is a landlocked country and has only small ports on its rivers, such as the Port of Basel.
Merchant marine
*total: 38 ships (1,000
GT or over) 597,049 GT/
*ships by type: bulk 19, cargo 9, chemical tanker 5, container 4, petroleum tanker 1
Ship lines on lakes
*
Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman
The ' or Lake Geneva General Navigation Company (commonly abbreviated to CGN) is a public Swiss company operating ships on Lake Geneva connecting towns in both France and Switzerland including Geneva, , , , and .
History
The CGN was formed in 187 ...
on
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
*
Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
The ''Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft'' or Lake Zürich Navigation Company (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich.
The company operates services connecting lake-side towns ...
on
Lake Zurich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...
*
Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano
The ''Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano'' or Lake Lugano Navigation Company (SNL) is a Swiss company operating passenger services on Lake Lugano. The company also operates bus routes in the same area, and is based at Cassarate in the city ...
on
Lake Lugano
__NOTOC__
Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated ...
Pipelines
In 2010, Switzerland had of natural gas pipelines, of
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
pipelines, and of refined product pipelines.
Oversight
The Swiss transport system is overseen by several offices within the
Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
The Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation, french: Département fédéral de l'environnement, des transports, de l'én ...
. The principal such offices are the:
*
Federal Office for Civil Aviation, which is responsible for
civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...
.
*
Federal Office of Transport
The Federal Office of Transport (FOT, german: Bundesamt für Verkehr (BAV); french: Office fédéral des transports (OFT); it, Ufficio federale dei trasporti (UFT); rm, Uffizi federal da traffic (UFT)) is a division of the Swiss Federal Depart ...
, which is responsible for public and freight transport, covering
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
,
cableway
Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by driv ...
s,
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s,
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s and
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es.
*
Federal Roads Authority
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
, which is responsible for roads.
See also
*
NRLA
The New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA; german: Neue Eisenbahn-Alpentransversale, NEAT, french: nouvelle ligne ferroviaire à travers les Alpes, NLFA, it, Nuova ferrovia transalpina, NFTA), is a Swiss construction project for faster north†...
*
List of mountain passes in Switzerland
This is a list of mountain passes in Switzerland. They are generally situated in the Jura Mountains or in the Swiss Alps.
Pass roads
Trails
Railway
See also
* List of highest road passes in Switzerland
* List of highest paved roads in Sw ...
*
*
Vehicle registration plates of Switzerland
Vehicle license plates of Switzerland, are composed of a two-letter code for the canton and a number with up to 6 digits. The rear plates also display two shields with the flags of Switzerland and the respective canton.
Since 1972, the size ...
*
Swiss Transport Museum
The Swiss Museum of Transport or Verkehrshaus der Schweiz (literally "Transportation House of Switzerland") in Lucerne opened in July 1959 and exhibits all forms of transport including trains, automobiles, ships and aircraft as well as communicati ...
*
List of Swiss tariff networks
The list of the Swiss tariff networks contains tariff networks with SBB participation.
Switzerland has had a national integrated ticketing system for over a hundred years. This, however, was limited to the regional and mainline services, as we ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
* http://www.autobahnen.ch/ — A website about Swiss motorways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Switzerland