Grid restoration within five minutes of blackout.
SBB has developed a method which allows to restore the electrical power grid within five minutes after a nationwide blackout. This compared to the state-of-the-art worldwide, which takes several hours. In doing so the SBB is setting a new benchmark in network resilience.
On 22 June 2005, Switzerland experienced a blackout that cut off the entire SBB railway power supply, with drastic consequences for passengers and freight services. There were no trains operating for hours on end, and on the following day rail services were still restricted.
Since then, we have been investing heavily in the SBB traction network to reduce the likelihood of blackouts occurring. Furthermore, since 2022 we have been minimising the impact of blackouts by gradually reducing the time taken to restore the grid. Currently it takes around two hours. As of 2026, we can accelerate grid restoration to around five minutes following blackouts with typical causes. This innovation makes the SBB traction network a global leader.
The blackout in Spain and Portugal in April 2025 showed that outages can occur at any time. Grid operators are able to accelerate grid restoration, significantly reducing the economic impact of blackouts.
