Editing Transport in Switzerland (section)

==Railways==
{{Main|Rail transport in Switzerland}}
{{See also|List of heritage railways and funiculars in Switzerland}}
[[File:Panoramic Train.jpg|thumb|Intercity on the Gotthard line]]

Switzerland has a very high density of railway network, with an average of {{Convert|122|km}} of track for every 1,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> ({{Convert|122|km|disp=out}} per {{Convert|1000|km2|disp=out}}; average of {{Convert|46|km|abbr=on}} in the [[European Union|EU]]).<ref>[http://www.swissworld.org/en/economy/transport/rail/ Rail] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527113029/http://www.swissworld.org/en/economy/transport/rail/ |date=2013-05-27 }} swissworld.org</ref> In 2008, each Swiss citizen travelled, on average, {{Convert|2,422|km|abbr=on}} by rail, which makes them the most frequent users of rail transport.<ref>[http://www.bav.admin.ch/dokumentation/publikationen/00475/01623/01624/index.html?lang=de Schienenverkehr] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815004746/http://www.bav.admin.ch/dokumentation/publikationen/00475/01623/01624/index.html?lang=de |date=2010-08-15 }} admin.ch (German)</ref> There are only a few [[high-speed rail in Switzerland|high-speed railway lines]].

Many of the Swiss [[Standard-gauge railway|standard-gauge]] railway lines are part of the nationwide [[Swiss Federal Railways]] (SBB) system, although other standard gauge lines are operated by independent companies such as [[BLS AG]] or [[Südostbahn]]. In addition numerous [[list of narrow-gauge railways in Switzerland|narrow-gauge railways]] are operated, the largest company of its kind being the [[Rhaetian Railway]]. In total, {{Convert|5100|km|abbr=on}} of rail network are used.

Swiss Federal Railways run some 5,000 passenger train services covering about {{Convert|274000|km}} daily. Half of these train services are long-distance; 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 shuttle train#Switzerland|car and truck transportation service]] ({{langx|de|Autoverlad}}) on some lines.

===Urban rail===
{{See also|List of town tramway systems in Switzerland|S-Bahn#Switzerland}}

Urban commuter rail networks, known mostly as [[S-Bahn]], are focused on the country's cities: [[Zurich S-Bahn|Zurich]], [[Léman Express|Geneva]], [[Basel S-Bahn|Basel]], [[Bern S-Bahn|Bern]], [[RER Fribourg|Fribourg]], [[RER Vaud|Lausanne]], [[Lucerne S-Bahn|Lucerne]], [[St. Gallen S-Bahn|St. Gallen]], [[Schaffhausen S-Bahn|Schaffhausen]] and [[Chur S-Bahn|Chur]]. [[Aargau S-Bahn]] provides regional train services mainly in the canton of Aargau, [[Transports publics Neuchâtelois|transN]] in the canton of Neuchâtel, [[RegionAlps]] in the canton of Valais and [[Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia|TILO]] in the canton of Tessin and the Italian province of Lombardy. Some services near [[Lake Constance]] ({{lang|de|Bodensee}}) also operate for [[Bodensee S-Bahn]].

Several cities, such as Basel, Bern and Zurich, have a [[tram]] network. During the mid 20th century, some cities (such as [[Trams in Lugano|Lugano]] and [[Trams in Winterthur|Winterthur]]) replaced their tram lines with [[List of trolleybus systems in Switzerland|trolleybus]] lines.

Lausanne is the only city with a metro system ([[Lausanne Metro]]), which includes two lines: one is [[light rail]]; the other, a fully automated metro, opened in 2008. After its opening, Lausanne replaced [[Rennes]] as the smallest city in the world to have a full metro system.

===Mountain rail===
{{Main|List of mountain railways in Switzerland|List of rack railways#Switzerland}}
[[File:Muerrenbahn-02.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren|Mürren train]] ]]
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 (railway)|spiral railways]]. In the case of extremely mountainous terrain, railway engineers opted for the more economical narrow-gauge construction.

The many railway viaducts of the Rhaetian Railway in the [[Grisons|canton of Graubünden]], built for the most part in the early 20th century, have become a tourist attraction as well as a necessary transport system, drawing rail enthusiasts from all over the world.

Some railways were built only for tourist purposes as the Gornergrat or the [[Jungfraujoch]], Europe's highest station in the Bernese Oberland, at an altitude of 3,454 metres (11,330&nbsp;ft).

===Funicular===
{{Main|List of funiculars in Switzerland}}

===Proposed Maglev===
{{Main|Swissmetro}}
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 {{Convert|500|km/h|abbr=on}}. The project is not likely to be realised in the near future, but a license for application has been deposited for a trial line between Geneva and Lausanne.