Story by SBB
Bern, Switzerland, March 7, 2025 – Never before had Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB), transported as many passengers as it did in 2024: every day, 1.39 million passengers travelled on SBB’s long-distance and regional trains. Growing demand calls for an expansion of rail services and the company needs to be profitable for this. SBB is heading in the right direction: the company is satisfied with its slightly higher annual profit of CHF 275 million, but its debt burden remains high, and it must continue to save and become more efficient. On the positive side, both passengers and employees are more satisfied.
More and more people are choosing the train as their preferred mode of transport. This positive development reached a new record high in 2024, with 1.39 million passengers taking SBB’s long-distance and regional trains every day. This record passenger count led to a positive result for Long-Distance Services. SBB Real Estate and SBB Infrastructure Energy also generated profits. SBB Cargo International returned to profitability, though SBB Cargo Switzerland recorded a significant loss. The overall profit amounted to CHF 275 million.
BB is satisfied with the overall result, albeit with reservations. The increase in debt was curbed thanks to the consistent implementation of savings and efficiency measures. However, SBB needs to generate an annual profit of CHF 500 million in the medium-term. As a result of increasing demand, rail services need to be steadily expanded. Such expansion requires SBB to be profitable. This is the only way the company can make investments, such as in new trains, and stabilise its debt in a sustainable way. The pressure to make savings and operate efficiently remains high.