Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (German: Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, SBB; French: Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, CFF; Italian: Ferrovie federali svizzere, FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland.
Head office in Bern | |
Native name | Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB (German) Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses CFF (French) Ferrovie federali svizzere FFS (Italian) Viafiers federalas svizras VFF (Romansh) |
|---|---|
| Company type | state-owned AG/SA regulated by public law |
| Industry | Rail Transport |
| Founded | 1 January 1902 |
| Headquarters | , Switzerland |
Key people | Vincent Ducrot, CEO |
| Revenue | CHF 10.727 billion (2022) |
| -CHF 245 million (2022) | |
| Total assets | CHF 53.562 billion (2022) |
| Total equity | CHF 12.196 billion (2022) |
Number of employees | 34,227 (2022, FTE) |
| Divisions | Passenger, SBB Cargo, Infrastructure, Real Estate |
| Website | sbb |
SBB network (for the whole Swiss railway network see: Rail transport in Switzerland) | |
InterCity on the old Gotthard Line | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1 January 1902–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Electrification | 100% 15 kV, 16.7 Hz Overhead line |
| Length | 3,230 km (2,007.0 mi) |
The company, founded in 1902, is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a government institution, but since 1999 it has been a special stock corporation whose shares are held by the Swiss Confederation and the Swiss cantons. It is currently the largest rail and transport company of Switzerland; it operates on most standard gauge lines of the Swiss network. It also heavily collaborates with most other transport companies of the country, such as the BLS, one of its main competitors, to provide fully integrated timetables with cyclic schedules.
SBB was ranked first among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index for its intensity of use, quality of service, and safety rating. While many rail operators in continental Europe have emphasised the building of high-speed rail, SBB has invested in the reliability and quality of service of its conventional rail network, on both national and regional scales. In addition to passenger rail, SBB operates cargo and freight rail service, through its subsidiary SBB Cargo, and has large real estate holdings in Switzerland.