Travellers using Zurich Airport this coming weekend should brace for detours and longer journey times as Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) closes the key section between Zürich Oerlikon and Bassersdorf from 22:15 on Friday, 25 September until 05:15 on Monday, 28 September. The shutdown allows crews to complete double-tracking works and a major upgrade of Opfikon station, part of a CHF 275 million capacity programme serving the airport corridor. During the 55-hour blockade, S-Bahn lines S7 and SN7 will be diverted via Zurich Airport but skip the intermediate stops of Opfikon, Kloten Balsberg and Kloten. Replacement buses will run every 15 minutes, adding up to 20 minutes to journeys. Inter-regional IR36 services between Zurich Airport and Basel will depart the airport two minutes earlier (xx:54 instead of xx:56). For business travellers with tight flight connections, the most reliable option will be to take the S2 or direct airport buses from Zürich HB. Mobility managers are advising travellers to build at least 30 minutes of buffer into their itineraries and to monitor the SBB mobile app for real-time updates. The project is critical for future growth: passenger volumes on the airport axis have risen 18 percent year-on-year since international traffic rebounded, and the double-track will lift capacity by 30 percent, enabling four-minute headways by late 2027. While most airlines have buffered schedules to account for the works, companies running crew shuttles and air-cargo forwarders should revise routings to avoid peak bus congestion at Opfikon and Kloten.
Source: Blaulichtticker / Polizei.news
