Basel Regional S-Bahn
Encyclopedia
The Basel Regional S-Bahn (German
: Regio S-Bahn Basel) has provided an S-Bahn
-style rail service connecting the Basel
metropolitan area since 1997 in Switzerland
, Germany
and France
. It consists of five suburban train lines, including two that operate across borders. The S-Bahn is operated by the Swiss Federal Railways its German subsidiary SBB GmbH and the French TER Alsace
. It is also run in partnership with Deutsche Bahn
(German Railways, DB) and the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (French National Railways, SNCF) and its sponsors (the Swiss cantons of Basel, Basel-Country, Aargau
, Solothurn
, Jura
; the German state
of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the French region
of Alsace
).
-Säckingen) and S3 (between Olten
and Laufen) with a large patronage run every half hour. Lines with medium ridership (S5 and S6) operate partly at hourly intervals. Lines with low ridership (S3 between Laufen and Porrentruy
and S9) operate at hourly intervals. Due to operating in three countries this pattern of operations is not only determined by demand but also by the various national and local governments involved.
Two S-Bahn services operate on both the stretch between Basel SBB and Pratteln
and the stretch between Lörrach-Stetten
and Steinen
, with trains operating at quarter-hour intervals. During peak hours additional services operate.
–Basel SBB–Rheinfelden
–Stein
-Säckingen–Frick
/ Laufenburg
(Mulhouse–Basel Railway and Bözberg line): Porrentruy
–Delémont
–Laufen–Basel SBB–Liestal
–Sissach
–Olten
(Delémont–Delle Railway, Jura Railway and Hauenstein line): Weil am Rhein
–Lörrach
–Steinen
(Weil am Rhein–Lörrach Railway and Wiese Valley Railway
): Basel SBB–Basel Bad Bf–Riehen
–Lörrach
–Steinen
–Schopfheim
–Zell im Wiesental
(Wiese Valley Railway
): Sissach
–Läufelfingen
–Olten
(old Hauenstein line)
The lines S3 and S9 operate exclusively in Switzerland, line S1 between Switzerland and France, line S6 between Switzerland and Germany and line S5 in Germany only.
The 250 km long railway network currently includes 72 stations and stops, of which 47 are in Switzerland, 18 in Germany and 7 are in France. The shortest line is the S5 (13 km) and the longest line is S3 (105 km).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Regio S-Bahn Basel) has provided an S-Bahn
S-Bahn
S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
-style rail service connecting the Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
metropolitan area since 1997 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It consists of five suburban train lines, including two that operate across borders. The S-Bahn is operated by the Swiss Federal Railways its German subsidiary SBB GmbH and the French TER Alsace
TER Alsace
TER Alsace is the regional rail network serving the région of Alsace, eastern France.- Rail:-Road:* Cernay - Sewen* Colmar - Turckheim - Munster - Metzeral* Colmar - Volgelsheim* Haguenau - Niederbronn - Bitche...
. It is also run in partnership with Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
(German Railways, DB) and the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (French National Railways, SNCF) and its sponsors (the Swiss cantons of Basel, Basel-Country, Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
, Solothurn
Canton of Solothurn
Solothurn is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.-History:The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the capital...
, Jura
Canton of Jura
The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...
; the German state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the French region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
).
Operations
Due to various factors, the cycle sequence of the five suburban train lines is not uniform. Lines S1 (between Basel SBB and SteinStein, Aargau
Stein is a municipality in the district of Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.The town lies across the Rhine River from Bad Säckingen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg...
-Säckingen) and S3 (between Olten
Olten railway station
Olten station is a major hub railway station in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, at the junction of lines to Zürich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne and Biel...
and Laufen) with a large patronage run every half hour. Lines with medium ridership (S5 and S6) operate partly at hourly intervals. Lines with low ridership (S3 between Laufen and Porrentruy
Porrentruy
Porrentruy is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura.-Geography:The municipality lies on both sides of the Allaine River, in Ajoie at the foot of the Jura Mountains on the north...
and S9) operate at hourly intervals. Due to operating in three countries this pattern of operations is not only determined by demand but also by the various national and local governments involved.
Two S-Bahn services operate on both the stretch between Basel SBB and Pratteln
Pratteln
Pratteln is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland, located in the district of Liestal.-Geography:Pratteln has an area, , of . Of this area, or 27.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 28.1% is forested...
and the stretch between Lörrach-Stetten
Lörrach
Lörrach is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss border. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. The biggest industry is the chocolate factory Milka...
and Steinen
Steinen, Baden-Württemberg
Steinen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 15 km northeast of Basel, and 6 km northeast of Lörrach....
, with trains operating at quarter-hour intervals. During peak hours additional services operate.
Lines
The following lines currently operate:: MulhouseMulhouse
Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...
–Basel SBB–Rheinfelden
Rheinfelden
Rheinfelden is a municipality in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, seat of the district of Rheinfelden. It is located 15 kilometres east of Basel. The name means the fields of the Rhine, as the town is located on the Hochrhein. It is home to Feldschlösschen, the most popular beer in...
–Stein
Stein, Aargau
Stein is a municipality in the district of Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.The town lies across the Rhine River from Bad Säckingen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg...
-Säckingen–Frick
Frick, Switzerland
Frick is a municipality in the district of Laufenburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. A dinosaur graveyard containing more than 100 Plateosaurus was found there in August 2007.-History:...
/ Laufenburg
Laufenburg, Switzerland
Laufenburg is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is the seat of the district of the same name. On 1 January 2010 the municipality Sulz merged into Laufenburg....
(Mulhouse–Basel Railway and Bözberg line): Porrentruy
Porrentruy
Porrentruy is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura.-Geography:The municipality lies on both sides of the Allaine River, in Ajoie at the foot of the Jura Mountains on the north...
–Delémont
Delémont
Delémont is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 11,000 inhabitants as of 2007.-Geography:Delémont lies southwest of Basel, about halfway between Basel and Bienne...
–Laufen–Basel SBB–Liestal
Liestal
Liestal is the capital of the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland, south of Basel.It is an industrial town with a cobbled-street Old Town.-History:...
–Sissach
Sissach
Sissach is a municipality and the capital of the district of Sissach in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-Geography:Sissach has an area, , of . Of this area, or 28.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 46.6% is forested...
–Olten
Olten railway station
Olten station is a major hub railway station in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, at the junction of lines to Zürich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne and Biel...
(Delémont–Delle Railway, Jura Railway and Hauenstein line): Weil am Rhein
Weil am Rhein
Weil am Rhein is a German town and commune which is a suburb of the city of Basel in Switzerland. It is situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany.-Geography:Weil am Rhein is...
–Lörrach
Lörrach
Lörrach is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss border. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. The biggest industry is the chocolate factory Milka...
–Steinen
Steinen, Baden-Württemberg
Steinen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 15 km northeast of Basel, and 6 km northeast of Lörrach....
(Weil am Rhein–Lörrach Railway and Wiese Valley Railway
Wiese Valley Railway
The Wiese Valley Railway is a 27.2 km long, electrified main line in Baden-Württemberg in the triangle where Germany, Switzerland and France meet near the Swiss city of Basel...
): Basel SBB–Basel Bad Bf–Riehen
Riehen
Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
–Lörrach
Lörrach
Lörrach is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss border. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. The biggest industry is the chocolate factory Milka...
–Steinen
Steinen, Baden-Württemberg
Steinen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 15 km northeast of Basel, and 6 km northeast of Lörrach....
–Schopfheim
Schopfheim
Schopfheim is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach.The town is the birthplace of Gisela Oeri....
–Zell im Wiesental
Zell im Wiesental
Zell im Wiesental is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 26 km northeast of Basel, and 32 km south of Freiburg....
(Wiese Valley Railway
Wiese Valley Railway
The Wiese Valley Railway is a 27.2 km long, electrified main line in Baden-Württemberg in the triangle where Germany, Switzerland and France meet near the Swiss city of Basel...
): Sissach
Sissach
Sissach is a municipality and the capital of the district of Sissach in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-Geography:Sissach has an area, , of . Of this area, or 28.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 46.6% is forested...
–Läufelfingen
Läufelfingen
Läufelfingen is a municipality in the district of Sissach in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-History:Läufelfingen is first mentioned in 1226 as Leinvolvingen. In 1481 it was mentioned as Leiffeldingen.-Geography:...
–Olten
Olten railway station
Olten station is a major hub railway station in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, at the junction of lines to Zürich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne and Biel...
(old Hauenstein line)
The lines S3 and S9 operate exclusively in Switzerland, line S1 between Switzerland and France, line S6 between Switzerland and Germany and line S5 in Germany only.
The 250 km long railway network currently includes 72 stations and stops, of which 47 are in Switzerland, 18 in Germany and 7 are in France. The shortest line is the S5 (13 km) and the longest line is S3 (105 km).