Crowded trains and corridors during peak hours: Cornavin station is reaching its limits, as noted by the CFF, the Confederation, the Canton and the City on Tuesday, during the presentation of the preliminary project for the extension of the the main Geneva railway stop. “Today, there is a lack of space, which leads to flow problems,” pointed out the director of the CFF, Vincent Ducrot.
Every day, 171,000 people, including 88,500 travelers, pass through Cornavin, and nearly 800 trains run there. The CFF’s ambition is to increase the rate to the quarter hour. The extension should therefore make it possible to add four trains per hour and per direction.
Charles-André Philipona, director of the CFF Léman 2030 program, detailed the outlines of this expansion. In particular, it provides for two underground tracks with a 400 meter long platform “for mainline trains”. They will be dug under platform 4 (France sector) and Place de Montbrillant. A large mezzanine will overlook this new platform.
The walking spaces in the station will be tripled, increasing to 14,000 m2 in surface area, with three underpasses: the main one, an extension of the historic hall and 20 meters wide, and two others, located to the east and to the west of the building. In addition to these developments, two tunnels will have to be built to connect the underground station to the existing network, to Nations and to Vernier.
A budget of nearly 2 billion francs is planned for possible commissioning in 2038. Canton and City have expressed their satisfaction: “We support this project 200%,” declared State Councilor Pierre Maudet, responsible for Mobility. What we especially want is for the CFF and the Confederation to be punctual.”
CFF confident about the calendar
A construction project will now be drawn up, until 2026. Its objective is to further refine the plans and costs. In 2027, a public inquiry will follow, before launching the work. These could begin in 2030, a date which will depend on possible appeals or oppositions. Vincent Ducrot was confident in meeting the schedule: “There is always a risk, but we have three years to manage the deadlines for possible opposition. The construction time, in general, we keep it.”
