Swiss single wagonload (SWL) traffic is showing signs of serious trouble. The number of loaded wagons in SWL declined by 8% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. Where will this development end, shippers from the country wonder, while Switzerland continues to support wagonload business.
The Swiss Federal Office for Transport (FOT) published the half-yearly numbers earlier this week. They reveal a significant 8% downturn in single wagonload traffic. In H1 2025, Switzerland moved around 185,000 loaded wagons in SWL operations. In the same period of 2026, that number was 180,000. This includes the so-called “Swiss Split”, where national freight operator SBB Cargo transport import containers to local sidings and businesses.
FOT does not reveal the exact numbers excluding the Swiss Split, but does say that the decline amounts to the aforementioned 8%. In Q1, the decline was 10%. In Q2, it was 6%.
Swiss SWL recorded a 5% decline year-on-year in the first half year in terms of net tonne-kilometres (distance moved multiplied by the weight of the goods in tonnes). It totalled 584 million net tonne-kilometres.
Switzerland has supported single wagonload operations with 20 million Swiss francs (approximately 21 million euros) per quarter. This evidently has not yielded the desired results, because it is not managing to keep the business afloat. Moreover, SWL remains loss-making. It recorded a deficit of nearly 10 million francs in Q1 and 2 million francs in Q2. This still marks an improvement compared to the first half of 2025 (a deficit of almost 40 million francs).
FOT’s thoughts on the matter
The FOT acknowledges that SWL is still facing significant challenges. However, it also points out that the data is preliminary and is not fully comparable with 2025 data. This results from changes in the SWL definition (now including the Swiss Split and empty wagons, although these are not factored into the 8% figure). There are also adjusted contract and product structures and changes in the source of commercial kilometre data.
Financially, the picture also remains concerning. “While the financial deficit has improved from nearly 40 million francs in H1 2025 to around 12 million francs in H1 2026 (with subsidies of 40 million francs), this is not sufficient for financial recovery or to fund the necessary modernisation”, the FOT adds in its report.
The Swiss transport office looks to changes in SBB Cargo’s production model as a source of hope for the future. “A new production model for a modernised SWL will be introduced with the 2026/27 timetable change and must deliver clear results—both in terms of cost savings and synergies and through new customer-focused services.”
How do shippers feel about it?
However, the Swiss Shippers Association (VAP) sees this restructuring as a major problem for the future of SWL. The current 8% decline is particularly serious because drops in SWL only become apparent with a delay, according to VAP. “Many shippers cannot immediately adapt their logistics and will remain dependent on rail freight and the EWLV in the short term.”
With that logic in mind, SBB Cargo’s ongoing restructuring becomes all the more problematic, the association believes. The operator is planning to close 50 service points by December. Shippers were presented with a fait accompli: “they were only informed after the decision to reduce services had already been made”. VAP laments the lack of planning certainty, customer orientation and transparency regarding closure criteria.
Earlier, Swiss policymakers allowed a longer timeframe to develop SWL in cooperation with the market. Public funding was also allocated for this purpose, says VAP.
“Current developments, however, run diametrically counter to this goal. The volume of goods transported by rail is decreasing, while prices are rising, quality is declining, and services are being reduced”, observes VAP. “Much of the freight is being shifted to the already notoriously congested roads – precisely away from the most climate-friendly and environmentally sound mode of transport.”
Single wagonload costs go up, support goes down
The cause of that reverse modal shift likely has to do with the cost efficiency of single wagonload. In H1 2026, the cost for a loaded wagon grew by 5% compared to H1 2025: from 893 to 937 Swiss francs. VAP believes this is particularly concerning. “The cost per transport unit is a crucial factor for shippers in determining whether they can continue to transport their goods economically by rail in the future.”
All the while, Switzerland is planning to reduce its support for SWL in the coming years. The FOT report indicates that 2026 funding will amount to 80 million Swiss francs. This will shrink to 45 million by 2029.