Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFS) confirmed on May 4 that it will provide 58 additional trains and around 130,000 extra seats through the Gotthard Base Tunnel over the Ascension and Pentecost weekends. The move is designed to ease pressure on the parallel A2 motorway, where ASTRA expects kilometre-long tailbacks. Extra EuroCity services will also run between Locarno and Milan Porta Garibaldi, boosting cross-border capacity for holidaymakers and business travellers heading to northern Italy. SBB warns, however, that high demand may still lead to crowding and recommends seat reservations. Bicycle reservations remain mandatory on the Gotthard route until at least 31 October.
![SBB adds 58 extra Gotthard services for Ascension and Pentecost rush]()
For travellers who may need visas for onward journeys beyond Switzerland or Italy, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. The service’s Swiss portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) provides step-by-step guidance, real-time status updates and corporate dashboards, making it easier for both individual passengers and HR teams to keep travel plans on track.
For companies with field engineers and project staff who routinely commute between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino or Lombardy, rail may be the most reliable option during the holiday peaks. HR travel teams should lock in tickets early and remind employees that Interrail and GA travelcards do not automatically include bicycle space. The additional trains underscore SBB’s strategy of favouring rail capacity expansions over temporary motorway widening to manage seasonal demand surges. Longer-term, the operator plans to introduce 250-metre Giruno sets on the route from December 2027, which will raise peak-hour capacity by a further 20 percent. SBB also reiterated that until the ETIAS launch in late 2026, passport checks on board Switzerland–Italy trains will continue to be random rather than systematic, although travellers should still carry valid ID.
For travellers who may need visas for onward journeys beyond Switzerland or Italy, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. The service’s Swiss portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) provides step-by-step guidance, real-time status updates and corporate dashboards, making it easier for both individual passengers and HR teams to keep travel plans on track.
For companies with field engineers and project staff who routinely commute between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino or Lombardy, rail may be the most reliable option during the holiday peaks. HR travel teams should lock in tickets early and remind employees that Interrail and GA travelcards do not automatically include bicycle space. The additional trains underscore SBB’s strategy of favouring rail capacity expansions over temporary motorway widening to manage seasonal demand surges. Longer-term, the operator plans to introduce 250-metre Giruno sets on the route from December 2027, which will raise peak-hour capacity by a further 20 percent. SBB also reiterated that until the ETIAS launch in late 2026, passport checks on board Switzerland–Italy trains will continue to be random rather than systematic, although travellers should still carry valid ID.
