BLS AG

BLS AG is a Swiss railway company formed in 2006 through the merger of BLS Lotschbergbahn and Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG, and ranks among Switzerland's three principal standard-gauge railway operators alongside Swiss Federal Railways and Sudostbahn. The canton of Berne is its largest shareholder with 55.8 percent, and the Swiss Confederation holds 21.7 percent. BLS operates roughly 449 kilometers of railway infrastructure and runs passenger and freight services through subsidiaries including BLS Fernverkehr for long-distance passenger trains, BLS Cargo for freight in partnership with Deutsche Bahn's freight division, BLS Netz for infrastructure, BLS Busland for a complementary bus network, and BLS Navigation for steamship services on Lakes Brienz and Thun. In 2007 the company opened the 34.6-kilometer Lotschberg Base Tunnel, a major Alpine rail crossing.