In a quiet corner of Switzerland, engineers have executed a brilliant and highly innovative idea: they’ve managed to turn active train tracks into solar power plants. This project, pioneered by the startup Sun-Ways, tackles one of solar energy’s greatest hurdles: land scarcity. Instead of sacrificing valuable farmland or sensitive hillsides, Sun-Ways installed removable solar panels between the rails of an active railway line.

The ingenuity of this solution lies in overcoming complex technical challenges. The system is designed to absolutely not interfere with ongoing train operations, ensuring safety and transit continuity. Furthermore, the panels are modular and can be quickly lifted for track maintenance or repair beneath them, a process that takes mere hours. This design innovation eliminated the primary reason why railway companies previously dismissed the concept.

The pilot site near Buttes is already generating enough electricity to power several homes, proving the technology’s viability. And this is just the beginning. With Switzerland’s railway network stretching over 5,000 kilometers, the energy potential is enormous. If scaled nationwide, these solar tracks could supply a significant fraction of the country’s clean energy needs, making a major contribution toward climate goals.

This isn’t science fiction or a distant concept; this is solar innovation utilizing space we already occupy. No extra land needs to be cleared, and no added disruption is caused to natural environments or communities. It’s simply cleaner energy, generated smartly—riding the rails. Switzerland is no longer just moving people and goods by train. They are setting a new standard for integrating transit infrastructure and sustainable energy production globally, moving toward a smarter energy future, one sunny track at a time.