BLS AG is a Swiss railway company created by the 2006 merger of BLS Lötschbergbahn and Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG. Its ownership is divided, with 55.8% of it owned by the canton of Berne, and 21.7% by the Swiss Confederation. It has two main business fields: passenger traffic and infrastructure.
BLS has a subsidiary—BLS Cargo—which is responsible for all freight operations. BLS Cargo works in cooperation with the freight subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, Railion. However, the staff, apart from management and sales, is employed by BLS AG. Part of the BLS locomotive fleet is owned by BLS Cargo.
Another subsidiary, BLS Fernverkehr AG, is responsible for long-distance passenger transport. BLS Fernverkehr AG is wholly owned by BLS AG.
BLS AG is one of the three major standard gauge railway operators im Switzerland, the other two being Swiss Federal Railways and Südostbahn.
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Infrastructure
In 2007 the new, 34.6-kilometre-long (21.5 mi) Lötschberg Base Tunnel opened, which is part of the 449 km of infrastructure owned and operated by BLS AG. The Lötschberg base tunnel was built by a wholly owned subsidiary, BLS AlpTransit AG. By mid-2007 this company handed over the base tunnel to BLS AG. In 2009 this company was renamed BLS Netz AG and the entire BLS infrastructure passed over to this company which is mainly owned by the Swiss Confederation, which has paid for most of the recent investments.
BLS AG owns the following railway lines:
Bern–Neuchâtel railway line
Moutier–Lengnau line
Gürbetal railway line
Lake Thun railway line
Lötschberg railway line
Spiez–Erlenbach–Zweisimmen railway line
Solothurn–Moutier railway line
Huttwil–Wolhusen railway line
Langenthal–Huttwil railway
Rolling stock
Also see Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon railway#Locomotives and multiple units
3 x BLS Re 420
33 x BLS Re 425
18 x BLS Re 465
28 x BLS RABe 515
36 x BLS RABe 525
13 x BLS RABe 526
30 x BLS RABe 528 (+ 28 under delivery)
25 x BLS RABe 535
21 x BLS RBDe 565
13 x BLS RBDe 566
BLS Cargo has the following rolling stock.
4 x BLS Re 425
2 x BLS Re 456
10 x BLS Re 465
15 x BLS Re 475
20 x BLS Re 485
10 x BLS Re 486
1 x BLS Am 845
In 2010, 28 Stadler KISS EMUs were ordered; the first was delivered in March 2012. As of 2012, BLS was planning to spend around 1·2bn SFr on new rolling stock by 2025, building a more standardised fleet with fewer different types of train. In 2017, 58 Stadler FLIRT EMUs were ordered, expected to enter service between 2021 and 2026.
Passenger train services
Since the merger, BLS has been the exclusive operator of the standard gauge part of the S-Bahn Bern. This includes open access services over Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and STB Sensetalbahn tracks. Since December 2007 BLS offers a new RegioExpress (RE) service over the old Lötschberg route while the SBB-operated InterCity (IC), and EuroCity (EC) trains use the new Lötschberg tunnel. As of the December 2024 timetable change, BLS operates the following services:
S-Bahn Bern
S1 Fribourg/Freiburg – Düdingen – Flamatt – Bern Europaplatz – Bern – Bern Wankdorf – Gümligen – Münsingen – Thun
S2 Laupen BE – Flamatt – Bern Europaplatz – Bern – Bern Wankdorf – Gümligen –Konolfingen – Langnau i.E.
S21 Thun – Steffisburg – Konolfingen
S3 Biel/Bienne – Lyss – Zollikofen – Bern Wankdorf – Bern – Bern Europaplatz – Belp
S31 (Biel/Bienne – Lyss) – Münchenbuchsee – Zollikofen – Bern Wankdorf – Bern – Bern Europaplatz – Belp
S35 Kerzers – Lyss
S36 Lyss – Büren an der Aare
S4 Thun – Belp – Bern – Bern Wankdorf – Zollikofen – Burgdorf – Langnau i.E.
S41 Thun – Konolfingen – Hasle-Rüegsau – Burgdorf – Solothurn
S42 Thun – Konolfingen – Hasle-Rüegsau
S44 Thun – Belp – Bern – Bern Wankdorf – Burgdorf – Solothurn / Sumiswald-Grünen
S45 Ramsei – Sumiswald-Grünen
BLS Busland
BLS Busland operates a fleet of 36 buses over a network that complements the passenger train services. The bus fleet consists of
Mercedes-Benz Citaro
Volvo B7L
BLS Navigation
BLS owns and operates steamers on Lake Brienz and Lake Thun under the BLS Navigation brand. These steamers utilise the Interlaken and Thun ship canals.
Blümlisalp, paddle steamer built in 1906