Eurostar takes a further step to link London to Switzerland

This marks an important milestone in the long-term planning for the establishment of a potential new direct connection to the United Kingdom.

The demand for international rail travel is high, and Eurostar, SBB, and SNCF Voyageurs see significant potential for connecting London to Switzerland. Best proof is the total number of passengers flying to London from Switzerland which makes the UK capital the number one flight destination from Geneva, Basel and Zurich. At the same time, there is strong customer demand for a direct rail connection to the United Kingdom.

Studies show that direct connections between London and Zurich with a travel time of 6 hours, between London and Basel with a travel time of 5 hours, and between London and Geneva with a travel time of 5.5 hours could respond to a market demand and to international travellers’ expectations.

Cooperation with experienced partners
A Cooperation Agreement has been signed in March between SBB and SNCF Voyageurs, aiming at strengthening the partnership and developing potential new routes, among them links between the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and mentioning SNCF Voyageurs’ subsidiaries to achieve this objective.

The three companies SNCF Voyageurs, its subsidiary Eurostar and SBB have now signed a MoU, and are dedicated to work together on the project of potential direct connections between London and Switzerland. The partners are ideally suited for this: SNCF Voyageurs already works closely with SBB today, and a direct connection to London would necessarily run through France; Eurostar has been operating cross Channel connections between continental Europe and the United Kingdom for more than 30 years.

The signed MoU is an important milestone. The next step is to analyse potential timetables and operational concepts. Based on this, the key steps and milestones for the potential introduction of such a direct connection from London to Switzerland.

Further steps required
The three partners aim to offer the potential direct connection to London as soon as possible and are continuously driving the project forward. However, several steps are still required before the new service can be introduced, for example preparing the entry formalities and the necessary infrastructure and intergovernmental agreements, and ensuring the availability of suited trains and train paths. Implementation would be feasible at the earliest sometime in the course of the 2030s.

Building on previous studies and on the MoU for an intergovernmental agreement signed in London on 8 May 2025 by Swiss Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, and by UK Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander, SBB is conducting further studies on behalf of the Federal Office of Transport, while Eurostar and SNCF Voyageurs are looking to continue their development with new international connections.