The proposed UK Switzerland rail link has taken a major step forward, which is impressive considering the step was made by a memorandum rather than an actual train. A suitcase community that has spent years being dragged through airports can now look forward to a future in which its greatest obstacle is no longer changing terminals, but waiting for several governments to agree where the platform should be.
The UK and Swiss governments signed a memorandum of understanding in May to lay the groundwork for possible direct commercial rail services. The agreement covers border controls, Channel Tunnel safety requirements and the other technical barriers standing between Britain and a train that currently exists mainly as an ambition with excellent stationery.
At the Office of International Platform Hopes, rail liaison Pippa Buffet welcomed the development. “This is a historic day for passengers,” she said. “They can now imagine a journey that might eventually let them change countries without changing trains, although we must first establish whether the paperwork needs its own passport.”
A joint working group is due to examine the operational, regulatory, policy and commercial requirements. Its members have reportedly been given maps, laptops and a firm instruction not to confuse a long term plan with a timetable. The group will presumably meet somewhere reachable by train, unless that would be too ambitious.
The proposed service could support tourism, trade, jobs and greener travel. It may also give the humble train sandwich an unexpected diplomatic role. The sandwich has volunteered to represent Britain abroad, provided Swiss customs do not ask why it is mostly mayonnaise and whether that counts as a liquid.
Chief Tunnel Mood Officer Lionel Carriage said the memorandum had brought the service closer to reality. “Passengers may one day travel directly from London to Switzerland,” he said. “For now, they can travel indirectly through meetings, feasibility studies and optimistic photographs taken beside platforms.”
The current alternative is to book a journey via Paris, meaning the suitcase must still endure a change of train while pretending this was its idea. The new arrangement promises to remove that indignity eventually, once borders, safety rules, operators and the commercial case have all agreed to sit together without asking for another meeting.
By the time the direct train finally arrives, the suitcase will be fluent in Swiss punctuality, the sandwich will have diplomatic immunity and the memorandum will be promoted to sleeper service. At that point, the only thing travelling directly between Britain and Switzerland may be the paperwork, because it will have spent years training for the journey.
Real story: Department for Transport.
