New depot for S-Bahn Zürich
posted on 8th Apr 2026 14:47
The continued operation of the S-Bahn Zürich system with more than 500,000 passengers daily will require more trains in the future, and therefore more capacity for their maintenance and storage. On 18 March 2026, SBB announced that it would build a new depot in Schaffhausen (north of Zürich), where around 60 jobs would be created.
Schaffhausen, which is the terminus of several S-Bahn Zürich lines, is a suitable location, as trains will have a short route to the depot, thus avoiding unnecessary empty runs on the already heavily used network. Since February 2025, SBB, together with the city and canton of Schaffhausen, have been investigating potential locations north of Schaffhausen station as part of a feasibility study. These areas are located on SBB land and are used for rail traffic.
The area near the freight station - at the northern end of the current freight hall (where several companies are renting space) - was chosen as the most suitable. Other options considered would require the relocation of existing uses (train storage, loading area) and would be more expensive and operationally difficult.
The new depot hall will be approximately 220 m long, 40 m wide and 10 m high and will have three tracks, each 150 m long. A rail yard for parking trains will also be built here. The hall will be designed so that the city of Schaffhausen can build on its roof and in its surroundings at a later date: the plan is to create residential buildings for around 800 people and commercial buildings with around 900 jobs on an area of around 24,000 m2. The city's preliminary investment for the necessary construction preparations is estimated at 34 million CHF including reserves. The city of Schaffhausen expects to be able to refinance these expenses later from the income from renting the buildings.
SBB grants building rights for the entire freight station area, the city can lease these rights to third parties. SBB will start the design of the depot this year, the approval process should start in two years, and the facility is scheduled to be put into operation in 2032.
In parallel, the search for a location for a second depot continues, in the Hinwil West industrial park (southeast of Zürich) with a target completion date of 2050. SBB is investigating the feasibility of jointly using the military logistics center with the Swiss army.
