Despite approving a joint European wagon safety rules decision, the Swiss Federal Office for Transport (FOT) keeps going its own regulatory way. Switzerland informed its Federal Administrative Court on 23 January that it will stick to its national rules in expectation of a new court decision.
The JNS rules, agreed upon unanimously with European stakeholders, are not sufficient according to the FOT. That is a surprising stance, since Switzerland itself had provided input for the JNS framework and voted in favour of it. The JNS recommendations state that Europe already has a robust rail safety framework and that the key challenge involves its consistent and effective application.
“The agreed risk control measures do not justify the introduction of additional national requirements outside the common [JNS] framework”, says the International Union of Wagon Keepers, UIP, in response to the FOT’s decision.
Both the new JNS safety rules and Switzerland’s own rules are a response to the Gotthard Base Tunnel derailment of 2023. A broken wheel caused the accident that led to considerable infrastructural damage and severe disruptions for rail freight for a whole year. An investigation found that new composite break blocks presented a systematic risk of wagon wheel breakage.
The court says “no”
Previously in December, a Swiss court had annulled the unilateral FOT measures relating to rail freight wagon wheel safety. That decision followed a lawsuit that was filed by wagon owners Ermewa, GATX and VTG. The FOT was given an extended deadline to appeal the decision by 24 January, but the Swiss approval of the common European rules made an appeal seem unlikely. However, the Alpine country went ahead with an appeal on 23 January regardless. The FOT will await a new court ruling, expected at the earliest by June 2026, says UIP.
“This sequence of events highlights the difficulty of maintaining consistency when collective efforts are later overridden by unilateral national measures which creates legal and operational uncertainty across the rail system”, comments UIP.
When Switzerland first introduced its rules in September 2025, some stakeholders expressed fear that the extra costs associated with the rule would hinder rail freight’s competitiveness and lead to a reverse modal shift from rail to road.
Safety is paramount, but so is regulatory unity
However, UIP now tells RailFreight.com that this is not the core objection to the Swiss course of action. “The issue is not about whether the Swiss measures are stricter or would lead to higher maintenance costs. Safety in rail freight is non-negotiable and remains the overriding priority for all actors involved.”
Rather, it is the effective introduction of a second set of requirements alongside the existing European framework that “risks fragmenting the coordinated approach that underpins the Single European Railway Area.” With Switzerland being a key transit country, especially on the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, its unilateral rules could harm key European rail freight flows by introducing additional regulatory complexity.