Global history Initially, the main difference between InterCity and conventional express trains was the presence of
air-conditioned passenger coaches. Only
first-class cars could be used in 1982 (at least one car per InterCity train) as
VU IV cars were still being delivered. In addition, with the exception of Swiss Express trains consisting of
VU III coaches, there were hardly any other air-conditioned coaches circulating in Switzerland. SBB's only other large series of air-conditioned coaches, the
Eurofima, were already in use in international traffic due to the quality criteria required for
EuroCity 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 for
InterRegio trains. As part of the Rail 2000 project,
a new line capable of was built and put into service at the end of 2004 in order to reduce the journey time between the stations of
Bern and
Olten 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 of
IC 2000 double-deck passenger coaches towed by
Re 460 electric locomotives capable of 200 km/h. The InterCity network was also strongly marked by the construction of
new railway lines across the Alps. The opening of the
Lötschberg base tunnel at the end of 2007 to passenger traffic reduced the journey time between
Spiez and
Brig from approximately one hour to 35 minutes while inserting one more train every two hours and creating a node connection at
Visp station with trains running on the
Simplon line. The commissioning of the
Gotthard base tunnel for mainline traffic during the timetable change of 11 December 2016 has reduced the journey time of InterCity trains running from
Basel and
Zurich to the
canton 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, the
Ceneri 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 between
Bellinzona and
Lugano 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 a
dining car and/or a
mini-bar that circulates on the train. They also include a family car with a family zone or second class
playground, usually in the
pilot car. Since the SBB timetable change in 2017, the
InterCity tilting train category (InterCityNeigezug) has been abolished and included in the InterCity train category. In addition, InterCity trains as well as
InterRegio have been given line numbers. The numbering is based on that of the national road network (InterCity 1 on the east–west axis of the
A1 motorway, InterCity 2 similar to the
A2 motorway, etc.). In 2018, SBB launched a renovation program for their 341 IC 2000 double-decker coaches aimed at extending their operation until
2035 or even beyond. This work is carried out by the workshops of
Olten and should last from 2019 to 2024. The first two refurbished cars, presented in
prototype 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 of
radiotelephony waves is improved in order to anticipate the use of
5G in trains. The number of spaces for
bicycles is also increased from 200 to 360 for the 44 cars that can accommodate bicycles. During the timetable change in December 2019, the first
Bombardier TWINDEXX Swiss Express trains were deployed on the IC 3 line connecting
Basel,
Zurich and
Chur. 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 connects
Geneva,
Lausanne,
Bern,
Zurich and
St-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 from
Winterthur to
St. Gallen on the IC 1, resuming the service with four intermediate stops. This change ensures, with the new EuroCity service between
Zurich and
Munich 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 every
rush hours. This commissioning in successive stages follows the many technical difficulties encountered by
Bombardier on these trainsets, in particular on the computer systems but also on the
tilting roll compensation device, not to mention the
dispute with the associations of
disabled people on the subject,
accessibility of cars for people with reduced mobility. The SBB has also launched a renovation program for the 44
RABDe 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 of
Yverdon-les-Bains.
Evolution of the InterCity network 1982 network 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). •
InterCity:
Geneva-Airport -
Geneva -
Lausanne -
Fribourg/Freiburg -
Bern -
Zurich Central Station -
Zurich Airport -
Winterthur -
Wil -
Gossau -
St. Gallen (present ) •
InterCity:
Brig -
Goppenstein -
Kandersteg -
Frutigen -
Spiez -
Thun -
Bern -
Olten -
Basel; every two hours (present ) •
InterCity:
Basel -
Olten -
Lucerne -
Arth-Goldau (-
Bellinzona -
Lugano -
Chiasso -
Milan-Centrale); every two hours (present ) •
InterCity:
Zurich Main Station -
Zug -
Arth-Goldau -
Bellinzona -
Lugano -
Chiasso -
Milan-Centrale; every two hours (present ) •
InterCity:
Basel -
Zurich Main Station -
Ziegelbrücke -
Sargans -
Landquart -
Chur; every hour to Sargans, service every two hours from Ziegelbrücke and Sargans to Chur as well as from Sargans to
Buchs and
Austria (present )
2002 network 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). •
InterCity:
Geneva-Airport -
Geneva -
Lausanne -
Fribourg/Freiburg -
Bern -
Zurich Central Station -
Zurich Airport -
Winterthur -
Wil -
Uzwil -
Flawil -
Gossau -
St. Gallen (present ) •
InterCity: (
Brig -
Visp -
Goppenstein -
Kandersteg -
Frutigen -, alternating every two hours with:
Interlaken-East -
Interlaken-West -)
Spiez -
Thun -
Bern -
Zurich Main Station -
Zurich Airport -
Winterthur -
Frauenfeld -
Weinfelden -
Amriswil -
Romanshorn (every hour) Note: The service of this line was significantly modified during the schedule change of December 2007 with the entry into service of the Lötschberg base tunnel, the line only serving Visp station between Brig and Spiez. (present ) •
InterCity: (
Brig -
Visp -
Goppenstein -
Kandersteg -
Frutigen -, alternating every two hours with:
Interlaken-East -
Interlaken-West -)
Spiez -
Thun -
Bern -
Olten -
Basel (every hour) Note: The service of this line was significantly modified during the timetable change of December 2007 with the entry into service of the Lötschberg base tunnel, the line only serving Visp station between Brig and Thun. (present ) •
InterCity: (
Basel-
Olten -
Lucerne -, alternating with:
Zurich Main Station -)
Arth-Goldau -
Bellinzona -
Lugano -
Chiasso -
Milan-Centrale; every hour (present ) •
InterCity:
Basel -
Zurich Main Station (present ) •
InterCity:
Zurich Main Station -
Bülach -
Schaffhausen (-
Singen); to Schaffhausen every hour, then every two hours (present ) •
InterCity tilting trains running via
Biel and the
Jura Foot line, operated since 1999 with the
RABDe 500 tilting trains, are part of the special category of ICN until December 2017. == Projects ==