Sun-Ways solar railway at the World Economic Forum

Compared with rooftops or fields, the space between rails is almost unused. The World Economic Forum features the solar railway of Swiss company Sun-Ways. The video shows the 100-metre section near Buttes, modules laid like a carpet and removable for maintenance, the estimate of 2% of Swiss electricity, and the pilot the company is preparing in South Korea.

A Swissinfo report of 23 June 2026 gives the stage: the section has produced over 16,000 kWh since 20 May 2025, with more than 11,000 trains passing at up to 90 km/h, and each six-metre module comes out in about ten minutes. The Federal Office of Transport set the pilot phase at three years. The 2% is Sun-Ways' estimate for some 5,320 km of network.

The regulatory timeline is the critical path. Until final approval, no operator will commit to scale, and the founder is seeking a shorter pilot.

In South Korea, the project near Osong station was approved in September 2025 with a two-year pilot. The Buttes results and the Swiss decision should shape the next step in both countries.