![For the construction and operation of the first railway on Swiss soil, the railway company had to adhere to detailed specifications. Illustration: Marco Heer](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/erste-eisenbahn-titel-300x225.jpg)
Switzerland’s first railway
On 15 June 1844, a railway train ran on Swiss territory for the first time. The train didn’t go from Baden to Zurich; instead, it ran a distance of about two kilometres from the French border to the city of Basel.
![Detail from the map of the railway line from Strasbourg to Basel around 1840. The Swiss section is still missing.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ausschnitt-aus-dem-plan-der-zugstrecke-von-strassburg-nach-basel-um-1840-300x245.jpg)
![Excerpt from the requirement specifications “concerning the extension of the Strasbourg-Basel railway from Saint-Louis to the city”.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ausschnitt-aus-dem-pflichtenheft-251x300.jpg)
![The first train arrives on Swiss territory on 15 June 1844.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/einfahrt-des-ersten-zugs-auf-schweizer-boden-am-15-juni-1844-300x218.jpg)
![The railway gate in the Basel city wall, around 1861.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/das-eisenbahntor-in-der-basler-stadtmauer-300x224.jpg)
![Grand opening of Switzerland’s first railway station. Basel, 11 December 1845. Illustration from the magazine L'Illustré, Paris.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/feierliche-eroffnung-des-ersten-bahnhofs-der-schweiz-300x201.jpg)
![Detail of the “Scenic Map of the City of Basel”, created and published by Friedrich Mähly, 1847.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ausschnitt-aus-dem-malerischen-plan-der-stadt-basel-300x222.jpg)
The first time…
There’s always a first time. In this series, we will be looking at historic Swiss firsts. The topics covered are very diverse: from the first zebra crossing to the first ever popular initiative. The articles have been produced in cooperation with the Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv (Swiss Federal Archives).