Plans to launch a thrice-weekly overnight ‘EuroNight’ service from Basel via Germany to Copenhagen and Malmö have collapsed after Switzerland’s House of Representatives refused to release the final CHF 10 million subsidy needed to close the financing gap. The Senate had already rejected the payment, leaving Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) without federal backing.
SBB had marketed the train as part of its climate-friendly long-distance expansion, with ticket sales opening in early November for an April 2026 start. Coaches—complete with modern sleeping, couchette and seated accommodation—were already allocated. Without public funding, however, SBB says the service cannot cover its higher track-access charges in Germany and Denmark, on-board staffing and rolling-stock depreciation. Roughly 350 passengers per departure would have been able to board in Basel and continue overnight to Hamburg, Copenhagen and Malmö, slashing door-to-door CO₂ emissions by up to 90 percent versus flying.
The parliamentary debate exposed widening fault lines over how much taxpayer money should support loss-making but environmentally desirable rail services. Opponents argued that subsidies should prioritise domestic commuter bottlenecks, not leisure-oriented night trains. Supporters countered that pan-European sleepers fill a genuine sustainability niche for business travellers who prefer productive, single-mode journeys.
![Swiss Parliament Pulls Funding Plug on Basel–Malmö Night Train Project]()
For travellers now forced to piece together alternative routes, VisaHQ’s Switzerland portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) can ease at least one headache: the paperwork. The platform lets individuals and corporate travel managers secure visas and passport renewals for Denmark, Sweden, Germany and dozens of other destinations in one streamlined workflow, helping to keep schedules on track even when direct transport links are not.
Customers who already purchased promotional tickets will receive automatic refunds. SBB says it will re-assess the route only if new funding partners—possibly the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility or Scandinavian regions—step in. For mobility and relocation teams the cancellation removes a low-carbon travel option between Switzerland and Scandinavia just as firms step up Scope 3 emission reporting. Employees planning spring relocations or assignments to Denmark and Sweden will now need to revert to daytime rail-air combinations or longer train itineraries via Hamburg and the Öresund Bridge.
More broadly, the decision signals that future cross-border night-train projects touching Switzerland may face higher political scrutiny. Operators interested in new corridors—such as Zurich–Barcelona or Geneva–Amsterdam—will be watching the budget process closely before committing rolling stock.
SBB had marketed the train as part of its climate-friendly long-distance expansion, with ticket sales opening in early November for an April 2026 start. Coaches—complete with modern sleeping, couchette and seated accommodation—were already allocated. Without public funding, however, SBB says the service cannot cover its higher track-access charges in Germany and Denmark, on-board staffing and rolling-stock depreciation. Roughly 350 passengers per departure would have been able to board in Basel and continue overnight to Hamburg, Copenhagen and Malmö, slashing door-to-door CO₂ emissions by up to 90 percent versus flying.
The parliamentary debate exposed widening fault lines over how much taxpayer money should support loss-making but environmentally desirable rail services. Opponents argued that subsidies should prioritise domestic commuter bottlenecks, not leisure-oriented night trains. Supporters countered that pan-European sleepers fill a genuine sustainability niche for business travellers who prefer productive, single-mode journeys.
For travellers now forced to piece together alternative routes, VisaHQ’s Switzerland portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) can ease at least one headache: the paperwork. The platform lets individuals and corporate travel managers secure visas and passport renewals for Denmark, Sweden, Germany and dozens of other destinations in one streamlined workflow, helping to keep schedules on track even when direct transport links are not.
Customers who already purchased promotional tickets will receive automatic refunds. SBB says it will re-assess the route only if new funding partners—possibly the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility or Scandinavian regions—step in. For mobility and relocation teams the cancellation removes a low-carbon travel option between Switzerland and Scandinavia just as firms step up Scope 3 emission reporting. Employees planning spring relocations or assignments to Denmark and Sweden will now need to revert to daytime rail-air combinations or longer train itineraries via Hamburg and the Öresund Bridge.
More broadly, the decision signals that future cross-border night-train projects touching Switzerland may face higher political scrutiny. Operators interested in new corridors—such as Zurich–Barcelona or Geneva–Amsterdam—will be watching the budget process closely before committing rolling stock.
