The rail link between Cornavin, Eaux-Vives and Annemasse is not a new idea: a first agreement between the Confederation, the federal railways and Geneva dates back to 1912. For almost a century the project slept in the drawers.
In 2009 the file finally moved. On 26 June the cantonal parliament voted a supplementary credit of 113.5 million francs to close the financing of the infrastructure known as CEVA. Opponents — mainly residents fearing nuisances — launched a referendum.
On 29 November 2009 Geneva voters decided: 61.2% in favour, with nearly every municipality backing it. The “project of the century” was under way. Ten years later it would become the Léman Express.
▲ Yes (accepted) • 61.2% in favour of the supplementary credit • Nearly every municipality in favour • Credit of 113.5 million to close the financing | ▼ No (rejected) • 38.8% against • Opposition concentrated among some residents • Referendum launched by local committees |
The camps
▲ Yes camp • Geneva cantonal government, notably Mark Muller (Liberal, in charge of planning) • Almost all parties (Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens, Christian Democrats) and a large parliamentary majority • Federal railways, public-transport circles and the ATE/VCS transport-and-environment association | ▼ No camp • Residents' committees, in particular in the Champel district (under which a tunnel runs) • The “better Franco-Genevan mobility” association and various local opponents • Individual opponents fearing vibrations and structure-borne noise along the route |
Arguments and verdicts
▲ Arguments FOR (Yes camp) A cross-border commuter rail will relieve roads and border crossings. “CEVA is the backbone of tomorrow's mobility in Greater Geneva” (Yes camp, 2009). ✓ Confirmed. Opened in December 2019, the Léman Express born of CEVA formed the largest cross-border rail network in Europe. Ridership exceeded expectations: about 70,000 passengers a day, against the 50,000 hoped for at launch. Sources: Léman Express, regional press. A century-old project must finally be built: let us not miss the chance. “We have waited nearly a hundred years for this link; it must be built now” (Yes camp, 2009). ✓ Confirmed. Construction began in November 2011 and the structure — 16 km of largely underground track — entered service at the end of 2019. The Geneva rail saga genuinely came out of the ground. Sources: federal railways, Canton of Geneva. | ▼ Arguments AGAINST (No camp) Residents will suffer vibrations and structure-borne noise along the whole route. “The people of Champel and elsewhere will pay the price of trains under their buildings” (No camp, 2009). ✗~ Largely did not materialise. Construction techniques (deep tunnels, anti-vibration devices) largely answered the fears: the network entered service without mass litigation or lasting resident mobilisation. The risk brandished in 2009 did not materialise on the announced scale. Sources: regional press, Léman Express. The credit is too heavy for what the project will really deliver. “We are committing tens of millions with no guarantee of ridership” (No camp, 2009). ✗ Did not materialise. Ridership exceeded forecasts and the network became the backbone of regional travel. Far from a money pit, the investment proved one of the most structuring in the canton's recent history. Sources: Léman Express, ridership figures. |
The outcome, more than fifteen years on
29.11.2009 Date of the vote | 61.2% Yes (accepted) | ≈70,000 Passengers/day (Léman Express) | 2019 Entry into service |
The vote of 29 November 2009 will be remembered as one of the great infrastructure “yeses” of recent Geneva history. By releasing a credit that was modest at the scale of the project, voters authorised the completion of a saga almost a century old.
Hindsight here favours the yes camp. The promises of cross-border mobility were delivered beyond expectations, while the opponents' fears — nuisances for residents, a financial money pit — did not materialise on the announced scale.
CEVA illustrates a Geneva mechanism that is the mirror image of the harbour crossing: when voters say yes to a concrete, financed project, the structure ends up existing. Still, from the first 1912 plan to the 2019 opening, it took more than a hundred years of institutional patience.