Green light for railway extension between Zurich and Winterthur
The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) has approved the additional rail link between Zurich and Winterthur. The nine-kilometre Brüttener Tunnel is to be built for this purpose. The expansion should shorten journey times and enable more connections. It will cost 3.3 billion Swiss francs.
According to a press release, the Federal Office of Transport has granted planning permission for the expansion of the link between Zurich and Winterthur. A nine-kilometre double-track tunnel is to be built for this purpose, which will be reached in the south with two access routes from Bassersdorf and Dietlikon. In the north, it ends at Tössmühle in Winterthur. At the same time, the railway stations in Winterthur-Töss, Dietlikon, Bassersdorf and Wallisellen are to be rebuilt and extended.
The expansion will widen the current bottleneck through Effretikon and Kemptthal to four tracks throughout. This will shorten journey times and expand the range of regional connections in particular.
The costs are estimated at CHF 3.3 billion in 2014 prices. The expansion is part of the 2035 railway expansion phase approved by the Federal Parliament in 2019.
The planning approval can be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court within 30 days. Otherwise, SBB can determine the definitive expansion programme and start the preparatory work at the beginning of 2026.