The Swiss Federal Administrative Court ruled in favour of Ermewa, GATX and VTG and against the unilateral regulations implemented by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) regarding wheels mounted on rail freight wagons. The court “upholds the appeals of the affected companies and revokes the measures in question, referring the case back to the FOT for further consideration”.
With a short but quite clear message, the court explained its reasoning on Friday, 21 August. “The measures ordered by the FOT deviate from the harmonised European Union (EU) rules on the cross-border use of freight wagons, which have been declared binding in Swiss railway legislation”, a press release noted.
The court added that Switzerland does have the right to implement national safety requirements regardless of EU rules, under specific circumstances. “However, the measures ordered in this specific case do not correspond to the procedure established for this purpose by treaty law and legislation”, it explained.
Appeal still possible
The FOT still has a chance to appeal the ruling. In the meantime, though, the implementation of the new rules remains on pause, as it has been since the beginning of the legal action last December. If the decision remains confirmed, the FOT will also have to “take into account” the latest report from ERA’s Joint Network Secretariat, published at the beginning of August, in its future decisions. The JNS is tasked with creating a European framework for the implementation of the new rules, which it already set out in January.
A 3-year-old story
This story starts when, in August 2023, a freight train derailed inside the Gotthard Base Tunnel, causing significant traffic restrictions and massive damage to the infrastructure. The derailment happened due to a cracked wheel, which prompted various parties to look for solutions.
The Swiss FOT decided to implement new rules to be applied by the end of 2026 seemingly without considering their impact on the rest of the EU, sparking adverse reactions and tensions. After a few months, the deadline was moved to the end of 2027, but this was still not deemed satisfactory.
It all culminated in the legal action between three of the largest wagon lessors in Europe and the FOT. On the other hand, the end of the story is still to be written, as new rules still need to be implemented to prevent and avoid similar accidents.