SBB timetable and medication These changes come into force in December - you need to know them now

From job searches for people with protected status S to the biggest timetable change in years and cheaper medication: Numerous new regulations come into force in Switzerland from today.

Keystone-SDA

01.12.2025, 07:40

03.12.2025, 13:38

SDA

Easier job search for people with protection status S, an SBB train from Brig VS to Germany and new data protection requirements for federal bodies: In December 2025, numerous changes will once again come into force in Switzerland.

blue News provides you with a comprehensive overview:

People with protection status S should find it easier to get a job in future. From today, the permit requirement for taking up work will be converted into a registration requirement. The notification can be made via an online tool or the cantonal authorities.

In addition, people in need of protection who receive social assistance can now be obliged to take part in vocational integration measures. If they do not participate, their social benefits will be reduced. The two ordinances provided for this purpose both come into force today.

According to SBB, the timetable change on December 14 will bring the biggest expansion of services in north-western Switzerland for twenty years. SBB is introducing a quarter-hourly S-Bahn service between Basel and Liestal, a train will now run every half hour between Basel and Biel, and Basel will be directly connected to Lausanne. For commuters to Bern, an additional IC train will stop in Bern Wankdorf in the afternoon.

The Interregio Basel-Frick-Zurich HB will now stop every half hour in Stein-Säckingen AG, the Interregio Basel-Liestal-Zurich HB will now also stop in Gelterkinden BL and the Interregio Bern-Zurich-Chur will also stop in Flums SG. For leisure activities, there will be a train every hour between German-speaking Switzerland and Chiasso TI and also every half hour between Graubünden and Zurich during the week.

Internationally, two additional trains will be introduced between Zurich and Milano Centrale (I), and trains will run from Brig VS to Germany for the first time without changing trains.

There are also numerous changes at VBZ. You can find them here.

Biggest timetable change in historyVBZ is turning its route network upside down - this is what's changing now

Three new destinations will be available from Zurich Airport from December. Edelweiss will be flying to new destinations on the Cape Verde Islands from December 19 - São Vincente and Praia are now on offer. Luleå in Sweden will also be added to the program.

The Federal Council has decided to reduce the price of numerous medications with effect from December 1. Among other things, medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases will become cheaper.

In addition, around 70 percent of generics, co-marketing medicines and biosimilars will become cheaper, the FOPH writes further. Original preparations will also become cheaper in some cases. The FOPH expects savings of around CHF 65 million per year.

From today, new rules apply to live-in caregivers who work in private households via a staffing agency. Live-in caregivers live in the household of the person they are caring for and provide care services there - often over a longer period of time. They provide simple support services that do not require any special training.

The caregivers are now subject to special regulations. These regulate working hours and rest periods and make it clear that a single person cannot provide 24-hour care. Among other things, there are now also clear rules on on-call duty and rest periods.

In future, all BLS ticket machines in the canton of Berne will be cashless. This will save the company around CHF 400,000 a year. Most passengers now buy their tickets via digital channels, writes BLS. Although it wants to continue to provide ticket machines at stations, stops and on buses, it needs to be able to operate them cost-effectively.

The ticket machines will be replaced from December 2025 to mid-2026. Payment methods include debit and credit cards, Twint and Postcard, as well as an anonymous prepaid card. This can be topped up with cash at BLS points of sale.

Federal bodies that process particularly sensitive personal data automatically must now keep a record of this. The purpose of logging is to make the processing of data traceable and transparent.

It contributes to data security and helps to prevent the misuse of personal data. For less sensitive personal data, a risk analysis will decide in future whether and how detailed logging is required.

As of today, pesticides approved in neighboring countries are only subject to a simplified approval procedure in Switzerland. With the revision of the ordinance adopted by the Federal Council, the Swiss authorities can rely on the assessments of neighboring countries, which speeds up the procedure and gives producers faster access to modern products.

In doing so, the national government is responding to a request from parliament.