THE Swiss Administrative Court has suspended the new regulations governing the condition of wheels used on wagons operated in Switzerland that was introduced by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) in September and revised in October.
The court’s decision means the regulations will not be applicable in Switzerland for the duration of the proceedings or until a contrary decision is made. FOT has until December 16 to respond to the ruling.
The FOT regulations establish more stringent safety requirements for wagon wheels used in Switzerland and the frequency of inspection. They were introduced in response to the derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in August 2023, which disrupted trans-Alpine rail traffic for more than a year.
FOT announced the changes following a report issued by the Swiss Transport Safety Investigation Board (Sust) in June, which found a systemic risk of further wheel failures following the Gotthard accident.
Despite relaxing the rules in October by removing the annual inspection requirement and replacing it with inspection intervals based on distance travelled, and extending the deadline for the start of technical inspections to the end of 2026, FOT’s actions have been roundly criticised by the rail freight sector, resulting in the legal challenge by three of Europe’s largest wagon leasing companies - Ermewa, GATX and VTG. The three companies presented the lawsuit against FOT at the Swiss Administrative Court in St Gallen on October 24.
The main criticism of FOT concerns the lack of consistency with neighbouring European institutions in introducing the new rules, effectively making Switzerland an island in the European rail network, which, opponents argue, could harm the competitiveness of cross-border rail freight.
The Joint Network Secretariat (JNS) was established by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) to ensure that safety issues are addressed in a timely and consistent manner across Europe. The JNS is made up of European national safety authorities, including from Switzerland, as well as sector representatives responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the rail network.
FOT said in September that with ERA and the JNS so not far responding to the Sust recommendations, it “decided to take action itself as a first step in the interest of safety.” The JNS is due to publish its updated recommendations on wagon safety by the end of this year.
“The court ruling underscores the need for a collaborative, fact-based approach to improving rail safety,” says Gilles Peterhans, secretary general of the International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP), of which Ermewa, GATX and VTG are members.
“As the pan-European platform bringing together all key rail stakeholders, the JNS enables the approval of proportionate and harmonised measures that make rail freight ever safer across Europe - benefiting Switzerland as well.”
