Gstaad Events & Local News — September 2026

September 3, 2026

Why Two Passing Loops Matter to Gstaad’s Rail Connections

Neither Planchamp nor Wäflereweid is in Gstaad village. Yet the two proposed railway crossing points could influence how reliably trains through Gstaad operate and meet onward connections at either end of the Montreux–Zweisimmen line.

On June 19, 2026, the Federal Council opened consultation on Verkehr ’45, its proposal for prioritising Swiss transport investment through 2045.

The consultation draft proposes removing 68 smaller and medium-sized railway projects, collectively valued at approximately CHF 2.5 billion, that Parliament had previously approved through earlier expansion programmes.

The list includes two projects belonging to the Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway, or MOB: a crossing station at the existing Planchamp stop above Montreux and another crossing point on the eastern approach between Oeschseite and Saanenmöser.

Their inclusion on the list does not mean that either project has been definitively cancelled. Consultation remains open until October 9, and Parliament holds the final authority to remove the projects from the federal programme.

Why trains need places to pass

Most of the 62.4-kilometre MOB line between Montreux and Zweisimmen is single-track.

Trains travelling in opposite directions cannot pass wherever they happen to meet. They must reach a station or a section with a second track where the crossing can take place safely under the timetable and signalling system.

A passing loop is therefore comparable, in simplified terms, to a designated passing place on a one-lane mountain road. The railway version is planned to the minute and controlled by signals.

If one train reaches its scheduled crossing late, the train travelling in the opposite direction may have to wait before entering the same single-track section. A delay can consequently pass from one service to another and threaten onward connections.

An additional crossing point gives timetable planners another possible meeting place. Depending on the operating plan, it can also give controllers more flexibility when a train is late.

It does not double-track the entire railway, eliminate delays or automatically shorten the scheduled journey. It may, however, make the timetable more resilient and provide capacity for a denser service later.

Planchamp and the eastern crossing point

Planchamp is an existing MOB stop on the climb above Montreux in the canton of Vaud. The project would expand it into a crossing station where trains travelling in opposite directions could meet.

The name of the eastern project varies across the federal documents. Current Federal Office of Transport project data calls it Wäflereweid. The Verkehr ’45 assessment material uses Aebeni-Weid or Äbeni-Weid.

The documents place the proposed crossing on the section between the existing crossing stations at Oeschseite and Saanenmöser. It would not necessarily become a new passenger station; its stated purpose is to allow trains to cross and improve railway operations.

Neither project is located in Gstaad. Their relevance comes from the structure of the railway.

Services through Gstaad form part of the same corridor, and their timings are influenced by connections at Montreux and Zweisimmen. Montreux connects the MOB with trains towards Lausanne and Geneva. Zweisimmen provides connections towards Spiez and the national network, although GoldenPass Express passengers on through services do not normally change trains there.

A delay far from Gstaad can therefore affect a connection used by someone travelling to or from the village.

A favourable assessment—with an important condition

An ETH Zurich assessment examined the crossing points as part of a wider Montreux–Zweisimmen infrastructure module.

Its detailed project sheet concluded that connections at both ends of the MOB line constrain the timetable and create a need for suitable crossing points. It also found that the eastern crossing point could benefit operational stability under the present timetable.

The sheet classified the module as a high priority for the period from 2025 to 2045—provided it could be financed.

That condition is important. In ETH’s broader comparison, the project received the highest priority under a scenario providing CHF 24 billion for railway infrastructure. Under a tighter CHF 14 billion scenario, it fell to priority three, meaning that the underlying need remained credible but the project might require simplification or a less expensive solution.

The published cost figures also depend on the document and its date. Federal Office of Transport data reflecting the position at the end of 2025 forecast approximately CHF 27.1 million for Planchamp and CHF 15.3 million for Wäflereweid.

The ETH assessment assigned CHF 61 million to the wider Montreux–Zweisimmen upgrades module. That broader figure should not be presented as the simple combined cost of the two crossing points.

By the end of 2025, both projects had reached the plan-approval and construction-project phase. MOB told the Anzeiger von Saanen that detailed preliminary work began in 2022 and that the plan-approval documents were submitted to the Federal Office of Transport in December 2025.

Submission does not constitute approval to build, however, and it does not guarantee construction funding.

Why the projects were placed in doubt

The Federal Council’s proposed removal of the crossing points reflects a wider funding problem rather than a finding that the infrastructure would have no value.

Federal planners are attempting to fit railway expansion within a limited financial framework while concentrating resources on large projects expected to have a structural effect on the national network.

The Federal Office of Transport has also linked the two MOB projects to plans for additional train services. According to responses reported by the Anzeiger von Saanen, the office says the canton of Vaud cannot currently guarantee that it will introduce and help finance the relevant additional service in the short or medium term.

From the federal office’s perspective, that weakens the justification for continuing the infrastructure projects now. It considers Planchamp unnecessary and disproportionate for the present hourly base service.

Vaud disputes that assessment. The canton argues that Planchamp could already improve punctuality, timetable stability and connections at Montreux.

It has also identified a sequencing problem: Vaud says it cannot commit to a robust, systematic half-hour service while the crossing infrastructure needed to operate that timetable is missing.

Building railway infrastructure and ordering additional passenger services are separate decisions with different financing arrangements. Federal planners want greater certainty that a future service will be ordered, while Vaud wants the infrastructure that would make such a service dependable.

The canton of Bern supports retaining the two crossing projects, according to the same local reporting. At the same time, Bern says present demand is still too low to justify additional trains in the Simmental and Saanenland. A half-hour service remains a long-term objective rather than an announced timetable change.

Some parts of the MOB corridor already receive more than one train per hour through a mixture of regional and longer-distance services. The debate is therefore not a simple choice between an hourly railway today and a guaranteed half-hour service tomorrow.

What this means for passengers today

Nothing in the Verkehr ’45 consultation changes the current MOB timetable.

No construction closure has been announced as a consequence of the consultation, and the possible removal of the projects would not terminate existing trains through Gstaad.

Earlier federal planning material indicated possible commissioning in late 2029. That date should no longer be treated as a firm commitment while the projects’ status is under reconsideration.

If the crossing points are eventually built, MOB says they would help stabilise the timetable, absorb delays and protect connections at Montreux and Zweisimmen. They could also create operating room for more trains if the cantons later order and finance them.

Those are prospective benefits rather than guaranteed outcomes. The crossing points would not, by themselves, place another train on the timetable or establish a continuous half-hour service through Gstaad.

If the projects are removed, the Federal Office of Transport says they could be reconsidered in a later expansion stage. MOB and the canton of Bern argue that improvements to present operating stability and future service development would consequently be delayed.

A decision still in progress

The federal consultation continues until October 9, 2026. The government will then evaluate the responses and prepare a financially defined package for submission to Parliament.

Until that process is complete, “proposed for removal” is more accurate than “cancelled.”

The two crossing points illustrate how railway reliability can depend on infrastructure that most passengers never notice. New trains and redesigned carriages are highly visible. A short section of second track in the correct location is not.

Yet on a largely single-track railway, the places where opposing trains can meet help determine how much flexibility the timetable possesses and how readily the system can recover when one service is late.

The immediate question is not whether Gstaad will suddenly receive trains every 30 minutes. It is whether the railway should retain two additional crossing points that could support more dependable connections now and a more flexible timetable in the future.

Official sources: the Federal Verkehr ’45 dossier, the Federal Council’s consultation announcement, the federal fact sheet listing the projects proposed for removal, the ETH Zurich assessment, the detailed ETH project sheet, the Federal Office of Transport’s 2025 project data and the canton of Bern’s public-transport programme.

Current positions attributed to MOB, the Federal Office of Transport and the cantons of Vaud and Bern were reported by the Anzeiger von Saanen on August 28, 2026.