2023 has been a good year for SBB whose traffic has returned to its record level of 2019. Every day, 1.32 million people travelled on Swiss trains. compared with 1.16 million in 2022. Total passenger traffic over the year will be close to 482 million.
The return of our customers naturally led to an increase in revenue. For the first time in three years, long-distance services return to profit (2023: CHF 117 million, compared with a loss of CHF 47 million in 2022). Taken as a whole, the profit amounts to CHF 267 million (2022: CHF -245 million). While this profit is good news, it is still not enough to cover the company's costs. significantly reduce debt. The latter amounts to 11.26 billion francs.
However, the increase in patronage has led to a drop in customer satisfaction with cleanliness and the number of available seats. The satisfaction rate reached 78.7% compared with 80.5% a year earlier. The good punctuality of passenger traffic was also maintained. At overall train punctuality of 92.5% and a punctuality rate of 98.7%. However, this rate remains lower in French-speaking Switzerland and in the south of the country.
SBB is working to return to sound finances with a savings programme worth six billion Swiss francs between now and 2030. Three major digital transformation programmes will help SBB to plan and manage rail operations more efficiently and productively.
Higher output by 2025 in French-speaking Switzerland
Major projects include the launch of a more robust timetable in French-speaking Switzerland from 2025 onwards. More trains will also be offered on the busiest lines as well as on train routes to neighbouring countries. By 2050, Switzerland wants to offer a 15-minute service between the country's main cities.
A major improvement will be the launch in 2024 of a new "Customer Information" skills centre. It will provide travellers with simple, rapid and centralised access to information, particularly in the event of disruption, worksites and replacement services.
