Lausanne: modernisation of the rail station.

To make travel at peak times more pleasant.

Lausanne station is currently approaching saturation point. The platforms cannot cope with 400-metre trains, nor are they wide enough. The capacity limit is being reached during rush hour. To resolve this problem, we are work-ing hard to improve travel comfort and harmonise connection times.

By 2030, over 200,000 people will pass through Lausanne station every day. To meet this increase in demand, as well as the growing number of passengers travelling between Lausanne and Geneva, we plan to construct 3 new, larger and more pleasant underpasses, 5 new, longer and wider platforms and 1 new space under the station foreground, providing waiting areas and shops.

Providing a range of modern services and shops, Lausanne’s new station will be a safe, comfortable and accessi-ble space, providing attractive solutions for everyone.

What does the project to modernise Lausanne station entail?

200,000 people.

200,000 people will travel through the station by 2030, compared with 100,000 today.
12 years of construction work.
0 service cancellations.

That’s the goal as the works are being carried out in parallel with the station’s normal activities.
Double the seat availability.

The estimated cost is around CHF 1.7 billion.

Funding is being provided by the Confederation (via the Future development of rail infrastructure (ZEB) programme), the Canton of Vaud, SBB Real Estate and the City of Lausanne.

More information on the ZEB programme (bav.admin.ch) Link opens in new window.

The construction work at Lausanne station will be carried out while maintaining services for our customers, which means you’ll be able to experience every stage of the project with us. Over time, you will benefit from the new ser-vices.

Image legend: Completed works are shown in green, the duration of forthcoming works in orange and future commencement-of-service dates in red.

Major stages of the construction project.

2021: 4th track Lausanne-Renens
2022: New western end of the station (track geometry)
2026: Commissioning of the Epinettes car park
+3 years: Construction of the new south façade
+9 years: Construction of the multimodal area under the station square
+9 years: Platform work
+12 years: Construction and commissioning of 3 new subways
+8 years: Work on the new east head (track geometry)
2023: Extension of the Avenue d'Ouchy subway
2025: Commissioning of 3 of 5 retention basins
2021: New Jurigoz Bridge

As you can see, work is already well under way! Today, 25% of the total investment has already been made in Lausanne station.

Let’s take a look back to better understand the situation. The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) granted us ad-vance planning permission in 2018 for some of the works and we then received full planning permission in June 2019.

After appeals were submitted to the Federal Administrative Court in January 2021, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in the presence of Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga in June 2021. However, this approval was subject to conditions.

Certain requirements must be met before various stages of the project can be completed. That’s standard prac-tice: such requirements apply to most construction projects and that’s part of life for developers in Switzerland.

Work on Lausanne station has since continued. Some works have already been completed, while others will begin shortly.

The main works, which involve the widening and extension of the platforms, the construction of three new under-passes and the improvement of safety and comfort for customers in the station, will begin at the end of 2027, as set out in the new planning schedule.

For the remaining parts, the planning approval procedures are in progress and the gradual commissioning dates announced in March 2023 are still valid.

The steps of the Lausanne railway station, with the commissioning dates and work durations. — Image legend: The steps of the Lausanne railway station, with the commissioning dates and work durations (green: on schedule or ahead, orange: slight delay with no impact on final commissioning in 2037).

Major stages of the new Lausanne station.

2021: 4th track Lausanne-Renens
2022: New western end of the station (track geometry)
2026: Commissioning of the Epinettes car park
+3 years: Construction of the new south façade
+9 years: Construction of the multimodal area under the station square
+9 years: Platform work
+12 years: Construction and commissioning of 3 new subways
+8 years: Work on the new east head (track geometry)
2021: Renewal of the interlocking system
2023: Extension of the Avenue d’Ouchy subway
2025: Commissioning of 3 of 5 retention basins
2021: New Jurigoz Bridge
2020: New sidings at Les Paleyres

Epinettes.

At Les Epinettes, the retaining wall was completed in June 2023. Since summer 2023, work has been under way on the new building, which will house the car park and provide support for some of the new tracks 8 and 9.

Jurigoz.

In Jurigoz, construction of a water retention basin is under way. One has already been fully completed further west. The second and third are currently under construction and the next two will be completed during the platform ex-tension phases.

East of the station.

To the east of the station, work to modify the track geometry has started. After completion of the Les Paleyres track area (13) in March 2022, the tracks in the direction of Vevey were repositioned over a weekend of intensive work on 15, 16 and 17 March. The new points will be installed over a new special weekend in September 2025. The widening of the railway bridge over Avenue d’Ouchy was completed in autumn 2023.

Southern section.

A new construction site will be opened in summer 2024, with the construction of the temporary footbridge, an-choring works and the filling of the postal tunnels. Backfilling of the postal tunnels beneath the station, for which the full schedule was released in mid-April, will begin on 1 July 2024. This will be followed by anchoring works to en-sure the stability of the platforms replacing the former station car park. Finally, the future temporary footbridge will be built in early 2025.

All of these activities are preliminary stages in preparation for the main works (construction of the station’s new south section, followed by the widening and extension of the platforms).

West of the station.

To the west of the station, works to modify the track geometry of the entire west end of the station are continuing. New points have been installed since March 2024. This work marks the end of an 8-year construction period to install four tracks between Lausanne and Renens. Work has also begun on the construction of a noise barrier for residents living near the tracks.

Underground beneath the station forecourt.

Underground beneath the station forecourt, SBB and the FOT are working to meet the final requirements. SBB and its contractors still have to provide the FOT with additional information to enable it to decide on a complete and definitive schedule of works. Once the schedule has been released, SBB will announce the dates when work will begin.

The Lausanne station modernisation project will help to achieve the goals of the Léman 2030 programme by providing more frequent services, more seats and longer trains between Lausanne and Geneva.

Regional offer.

Regional services will also be improved in stages:

The first stage, which has been in operation since the end of 2022, saw the introduction of four trains an hour on the RER Vaud between Lausanne and Cossonay.
The second stage will extend the four trains an hour on the RER Vaud between Cully and Cossonay.
The final stage will see the introduction of quarter-hourly services on the RER Vaud between Cully and Cos-sonay when Lausanne station is completed.

Framework projects.

The projects below will also contribute to achieving the goals of the Léman 2030 programme:

Between 2018 and 2020, the Paleyres sidings were upgraded to accommodate longer trains. This work will help to meet one of the goals of the Léman 2030 programme – to provide twice as many seats between Lau-sanne and Geneva.
The new Lausanne interlocking system was installed between 2016 and 2021. Acting as the station’s brain, it enables the remote control of safety installations. Lausanne’s new interlocking system is an essential part of the modernisation of the station.