SNCF Voyageurs has just renewed its partnership agreement with CFF, the Swiss railways, until 2032, to develop rail links between Switzerland, France and neighbouring European countries. The honeymoon between the two carriers has been going on for 45 years, notably within TGV Lyria, which is the subject of a commercial agreement until 2027, a cooperation that will be strengthened with the aim of developing traffic. " In order to meet the growing demand for international mobility, SNCF Voyageurs and CFF will study opportunities to develop European links from Switzerland. Extensions and the introduction of new direct long-distance rail services from Switzerland to France and beyond will be studied. "say the two groups in a joint press release.
This could lead to the launch of European services in the near future? " Offering new services and new destinations has always been at the heart of our partnership and the SNCF Group's strategy. "This is what Jean Castex, CEO of the SNCF group, said at the signing ceremony. It should be noted that a group of users is campaigning for the introduction of a fourth return trip per day between Paris and Lausanne via the Jura. Following an initial working meeting at the Senate on 3 February, the SNCF is due to give its opinion on the economic and operational feasibility of this additional service in April.
New travel classes for TGV Lyria
The renewal and deepening of this partnership is all the more important for SNCF and SBB as new rail operators are likely to launch on the major Paris-Geneva route. Trenitalia once had this project, but the French subsidiary of the Italian group FS has since refocused on launching a Paris-London link by the end of the decade.
To prepare for this future competition, TGV Lyria has undertaken to improve its service offering, which has become more personalised through its new Standard, Première and Première Signature classes. Aimed more specifically at business customers, the new classes include access to the TGV INOUI Grand Voyageur lounge at Paris-Gare de Lyon, express boarding and a meal served at the seat by the chef duo Michel Roth and Danny Khezzar.
18,000 places per day
In 2025, with 17 daily return trips, TGV Lyria carried 5.7 million passengers on its three lines: Paris-Geneva (in 3h11), Paris-Lausanne (in 3h41) and Paris-Basel-Zürich (in 4h04). However, until the end of 2026, TGVs to Lausanne via Geneva will depart from or terminate in Geneva due to work being carried out on the Swiss rail network between the two cities. The number of direct TGVs to Lausanne was reduced in February and March, also as a result of work to modernise the line around Dijon. The Lausanne-Geneva-Marseille summer service, which was discontinued in October last year, will be extended this season from 16 April to 2 November. A fourth daily France-Switzerland route will be offered from Thursday to Monday before being operated every day in July and August.
