“We’ve managed to maintain our stable net income of €10m,” Marc Wengler, CFL’s managing director, said at a press conference on Tuesday. “For the fifth year in a row, the group’s consolidated net income is therefore profitable.”

Net turnover was €892.5m in 2018, compared to €882.8m in 2017, according to CFL’s 2018 annual report, released on 18 June. Turnover has risen 52% since the 2009 financial year, the railway stated.

While CFL’s cargo business posted net income of €2.1m, this was driven by the profitability of its conventional freight business. Its “multimodel” (rail-lorry) business lost €4.6m in 2018 (although that is down from a loss of €13.9m in 2017).

CFL trains are seen at Howald train station, 6 March 2019. Staff picture.

Passenger traffic rose by 1.7% between 2017 and 2018 to 23.3m. CFL said passenger trains were 89% on time last year.

Reported by Ioanna Schimizzi and Aaron Grunwald