# Average daily passenger numbers on the rail network A thematic map of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. The map is drawn in the browser; this file describes it and lists its variants and links, but not the data values shown on the map. - Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/average-daily-passenger-numbers-on-the-rail-network/ - Short title: Rail network: Passenger numbers - Map id: 1093 - Categories: Traffic and Communication › Rail traffic › Traffic volume - Published: 2024-03-11 - Last revised: 2024-03-11 - Content language: English - Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/durchschnittliches-taegliches-passagieraufkommen-auf-dem-schienennetz.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/volume-moyen-de-passagers-par-jour-sur-le-reseau-ferre.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/volume-medio-giornaliero-di-passeggeri-sulla-rete-ferroviaria-e-tramviaria.md) ## Description **Rail transport in Switzerland – Historical Overview** Rails have been used as tracks for transport purposes in mining since the Middle Ages. The wooden railway tracks from 1441 found on the Ofen Pass in 1993 are considered to be the oldest in Switzerland. After the development of the first steam locomotive in Great Britain and the adaptation and establishment of railway lines on the European mainland in the first half of the 19th century, the first voices were raised in Switzerland for the implementation of railway projects. However, it was not until after the Sonderbund War on 7 August 1847 that the first railway line to be located entirely on Swiss soil was opened for passenger transport between Zurich and Baden. It became known as the "Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn". Three years earlier, the first trains were already running on Swiss soil, operated by the French Compagnie du chemin de fer de Strasbourg à Bâle, travelling from Strasbourg to Basel. In 1862, the first tram in Switzerland connected Carouge with Geneva. In the early years, the construction and operation of railway lines was based on private initiatives, which were able to start operations in the cantons concerned after obtaining licences. The federal government only issued guidelines on the most important technical issues. As a result, competition between the private railways continued to increase and the national network could not be standardised, the federal parliament transferred the right to grant licences to the Confederation with the second Railway Act in 1872, which thus regained control over construction, operation and tariff regulations. As a result of these resolutions, the Federal Railway Department was founded in 1873, the forerunner of today's Federal Office of Transport (FOT). In the years that followed, dissatisfaction with the operators of the private railway companies became increasingly loud, so that at the beginning of the 20th century the federal government initiated the gradual takeover of the private railways. On 1 January 1902, SBB was founded as a Swiss state railway. The Swiss railway network now covers over 5,300 kilometres with more than 1,600 stations and stops, some of which are still operated by private providers. By comparison, the tram network in Switzerland has a total length of 315 kilometres with over 500 stops. **The difference between railway, tram and rack railway** In Switzerland, railway tracks are mainly used by railways, trams and rack railways. The Federal Statistical Office defines these modes of transport as follows (analogous translation): Railways are rail-bound vehicles on which public passenger or freight transport is operated, with the exception of rack railways, trams and funicular railways. Trams, on the other hand, are rail-bound public passenger transport vehicles that are used exclusively for urban and/or local transport. Rack railways are also rail-bound vehicles on which public passenger or freight transport is operated, but they have at least a track-related cogwheel share of 50 per cent. **Passenger numbers on the rail network** This map shows information on the entire rail network in Switzerland. The focus of this map is on passenger volumes, i.e. the number of passengers travelling in rail vehicles on the respective sections of track in Switzerland. The data set was collected in 2017 and these values can be compared with projections (year 2050) from the National Passenger Transport Model (NPMV) of the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE). Both data series are available in two different recording/projection intervals: 1. average daily traffic (Monday to Sunday). 2. average weekday traffic (Monday to Friday). The following figure shows the total number of passengers (counted after boarding a rail-bound means of transport) on the rail network over the entire year, in a year-on-year comparison from 2000 to 2022. ## Sources - Mäder (2022): [175 Jahre Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn: Grund zum Feiern](https://www.sbbhistoric.ch/blog/175-jahre-spanisch-broetli-bahn-ein-grund-zum-feiern/) - Glatthard (2022): [175 Jahre Eisenbahn in der Schweiz](https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=geo-007%3A2022%3A120%3A%3A405). In: Geomatik Schweiz: Geoinformation und Landmanagement - Bärtschi & Dubler (2015): [Eisenbahnen](https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/007961/2015-02-11/). In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) - BFS (2023): [Infrastruktur und Streckenlänge](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/mobilitaet-verkehr/verkehrsinfrastruktur-fahrzeuge/streckenlaenge.html) - BFS (2023): [Statistik des öffentlichen Verkehrs: Definitionen Verkehrsmittel](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/mobilitaet-verkehr/erhebungen/oev.assetdetail.27325691.html) - Beglinger (2015): [Öffentlicher Verkehr](https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/007965/2015-06-19/). In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) ## Data sources - Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung (ARE) (2017): [Load (passengers) on the Swiss rail network (passenger traffic)](https://data.geo.admin.ch/browser/#/collections/ch.are.belastung-personenverkehr-bahn?.language=en) - Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung (ARE) (2021): [Load (passengers) on the Swiss rail network (passenger traffic) 2050](https://data.geo.admin.ch/browser/index.html#/collections/ch.are.belastung-personenverkehr-bahn_zukunft?.language=en) ## Data owners - Rolf Giezendanner (ARE) ## Authors - [Atlas of Switzerland (AoS)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/) ## Citation The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as: > Atlas of Switzerland (2024): Average daily passenger numbers on the rail network. ETH Zürich. Map data © Rolf Giezendanner (ARE). https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/average-daily-passenger-numbers-on-the-rail-network/ ## Variants The map has 4 variants. Levels: variant → spatial unit → time. The `u` value of a variant selects it in the links below. - Mon - Sun - Transport - 2017: `u=AtYA8QG2` (default) - 2050: `u=A_gA8QG2` - Mon - Fri - Transport - 2017: `u=AtYA8QG3` - 2050: `u=A_gA8QG3` ## Links Replace `{u}` with the `u` value of a variant above, or leave out `u={u}` for the default variant. The map opens at its full extent; a link cannot set the map position. - Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/average-daily-passenger-numbers-on-the-rail-network/?u={u} - Short link, stays valid when the title changes: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/t/1093/?u={u} - Side by side with another map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/comparison/?lt=1093&lu={u}&rt={id of the other map}&ru={u of the other map, or leave out} Embed in another website (allowed by the terms of use, as long as the source references stay visible): ```html ``` In the embed URL, `dm` sets what is shown: `e` the map with its title bar (default), `p` also the values of an object clicked on the map, `m` only the map with a button that opens it in the atlas. `ig=1` (default) lets the map react to scrolling and dragging only after a click into it, `ig=0` right away. The size can be changed in `style`. For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).