The Zürich S-Bahn system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons, with a few lines extending into or crossing the territory of southern Germany. The network is one of many commuter rail operations in German speaking countries to be described as an S-Bahn. The lines connect with services of Aargau S-Bahn to the West, Basel S-Bahn and Schaffhausen S-Bahn to the North, St. Gallen S-Bahn to the East, and Lucerne S-Bahn/Zug Stadtbahn to the South, as well as with InterCity, InterRegio and RegioExpress services at major junction stations.

The canton of Zürich is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of 1,553,423, it is the most populous canton in the country. Zürich is the de facto capital of the canton, but is not specifically mentioned in the constitution. The official language is German. The local Swiss German dialect, called Züritüütsch, is commonly spoken.