A hydroelectric station in canton Valais.

8 May 2011

Federal Railways Say No
to Nuclear Power

Bern Switzerland - The Swiss Federal Railways has approved an energy procurement strategy that calls for an end to the use of electricity from nuclear power stations.
 
CEO Andreas Meyer told the Sonntag newspaper that the Railways had as its goal the "continual reduction of its dependence on nuclear energy", which currently accounts for 25 percent of the company's electricity.
 
Meyer added that the Railways hoped to achieve the goal mainly by increasing the output of its hydroelectric plants and by becoming more energy efficient. He did not give a deadline for reaching these aims.
 
On Saturday, Meyer reiterated that ticket price increases were inevitable from next year if the Railways were to continue maintaining and expanding its infrastructure and passenger services.
 
However, not affected by a ticket price increase will be football fans when travelling to or from matches by rail.
 
A Railways spokesman told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that in some cases, the fans were offered tickets that cost less than 25 percent of the normal fare on special trains set aside for them.
 
The spokesman said this was necessary to keep the often rowdy football fans from travelling on the regularly scheduled trains, and disrupting other passengers.
 
The Railway says football rowdies and hooligans cause on average CH 3 million in damage to train carriages each year.