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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport (FOT/BAV) granted planning approval on 28 September 2026 for the new Tram Bern–Ostermundigen (TBO). The approximately 4.4-kilometre route will run from Viktoriaplatz in Bern to Oberfeld in Ostermundigen, replacing a heavily used bus service with a higher-capacity, step-free tram. The decision is a construction-permit milestone, but it is not legally final until a 30-day appeal period has ended.
What was approved
The federal authority approved the cross-municipal tram installation linking Bern and Ostermundigen. The line will start at Viktoriaplatz, continue east through the urban corridor and terminate at Oberfeld in Ostermundigen. At roughly 4.4 kilometres, it is a focused urban extension rather than a new regional railway, but it affects transport, streetscape and development in both municipalities.
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| Item | Approved project detail |
|---|---|
| Project name | Tram Bern–Ostermundigen (TBO) |
| Route | Viktoriaplatz, Bern, to Oberfeld, Ostermundigen |
| Length | Approximately 4.4 kilometres |
| Decision date | 28 September 2026 |
| Authority | Federal Office of Transport (FOT/BAV) |
| Current legal status | Approved, with a 30-day appeal period after service of the decision |
Why Bern is moving from bus to tram
Capacity for a busy corridor
The bus route that the tram is intended to replace carries more than 8.5 million passengers a year. The project partners present the tram as a way to provide more seats and standing space, smoother rides and more dependable operation where demand has outgrown a bus-based service.
A regional interchange at Ostermundigen
Ostermundigen station is planned as a coordinated rail, bus and tram interchange. A 2025 forecast by the Canton of Bern, the City of Bern and the Municipality of Ostermundigen projected 56% passenger growth at the station by 2040 and 66% growth in interchange passengers. Those percentages describe the station and its interchange function, not ridership on the new tram alone.
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The same 2025 statement projected that the ten major interchange nodes around Bern could handle more than 161,000 daily passengers by 2040, a 34% increase. That wider figure should not be read as a forecast for the Bern–Ostermundigen line itself.
What the street redesign includes
Step-free stops
Planned stops are about 45 metres long and fully step-free. Level boarding is intended to make the service usable by passengers with reduced mobility, while also simplifying boarding for people with prams, luggage or bicycles.
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Walking and cycling changes
The corridor plan includes nearly continuous cycle lanes in both directions, pedestrian crossings at roundabouts and stops, and accessible platforms. These are part of the approved public-realm package rather than separate improvements added after the tram decision.
Trees and urban landscaping
The plans provide about 70 more trees around the route than exist today, together with enlarged root spaces. The tree and soil measures are designed to combine transport construction with a more resilient streetscape.
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How the federal approval works
In Switzerland, FOT planning approval for tram installations is equivalent to a construction permit. The review covers technical regulations, the rights of affected people, and federal requirements for spatial planning, environmental protection, nature conservation and heritage. Once approval is granted, FOT issues the permits required under federal law; additional cantonal permits are not required for those federal matters.
Is the approval final?
No. The decision is approved but still appealable. A 30-day appeal period begins when the decision is served, so the legal timetable runs from service rather than simply from the public announcement date. Until that period has expired—and any appeal has been resolved—the project should not be described as legally final.
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The approval notice also does not set a binding construction start date or a passenger-opening date. Project partners will need to publish those milestones after the appeal stage and subsequent delivery planning. Reports that assign a firm opening year without a later official announcement would go beyond the current decision.
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What happens next for construction
- Appeal period: The 30-day window must run after the decision is served.
- Legal resolution: Any admissible objections must be settled before the approval can be treated as final.
- Detailed delivery planning: Bern, Ostermundigen, the canton and the project company can then coordinate works, traffic management and construction sequencing.
- Construction and systems installation: Track, stops, utilities, streets, cycle facilities, crossings and landscaping will have to be delivered as one corridor project.
- Testing and opening: A passenger-service date should be treated as provisional until the partners announce a binding schedule.
What the decision means for residents and businesses
Construction will affect a route that carries millions of bus trips each year, so temporary traffic arrangements and access planning will be important once works are scheduled. The final corridor design also determines how loading, walking, cycling, car traffic and public transport share space at individual junctions. The approval establishes the permitted infrastructure; it does not yet provide a published works calendar for each street.
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For Ostermundigen, the interchange is intended to support growth around the station and connect local development with rail and bus services. For Bern, the project adds capacity on an already busy urban axis and forms part of a broader strategy to shift more trips to sustainable transport. Bern councillor Matthias Aebischer described it as “ein Projekt, das dem ganzen nachhaltigen Verkehr im urbanen Raum zugutekommt.” Ostermundigen mayor Thomas Iten said, “Das Jahrzehnt der Bauarbeiten hat begonnen. Für die Entwicklung der Gemeinde ist das Tram ein Katalysator.”
Quick Recap
Key points to watch
- Whether an appeal is filed during the 30-day period.
- When the planning approval becomes legally effective.
- The first officially confirmed construction schedule.
- How rail, tram and bus works are sequenced at Ostermundigen station.
- Any later announcement setting a passenger-opening date.
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