{"id":220588,"date":"2025-05-20T18:01:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T08:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=62603"},"modified":"2025-05-20T18:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T08:01:46","slug":"sbb-leaves-eight-terminals-and-fires-another-65-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=220588","title":{"rendered":"SBB leaves eight terminals and fires another 65 employees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swiss national rail operator SBB is making changes to its freight business. It wants to reduce its expenses by 60 million francs (64 million euros) by 2033, and that requires painful measures.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>One of those measures includes the abandonment of various combined transport terminals in Switzerland: Oensingen, Basel, Gossau, Widnau, Renens, St. Triphon, Cadenazzo, and Lugano. SBB sees itself forced to cease operations there because of Swiss federal law. Combined transport has to be profitable, but the company currently makes a loss in these terminals.<\/p>\n

On top of that, SBB announced an additional 65 layoffs. Those are in addition to an earlier announced workforce reduction of 80 positions. \u201cThe majority of the job cuts will affect locomotive crews, shunting personnel, and technical inspection personnel on freight trains\u201d, says SBB. The rail operator cites a focus on combined transport along the high-demand north-south axis and the discontinuation of unprofitable transit trains by DB Cargo as underlying reasons for the layoffs.<\/p>\n

North-south pilot<\/h2>\n

The north-south axis might offer a sprinkle of hope for the future of Swiss rail freight, however. SBB wants to overhaul its freight business, and has come up with a plan for that purpose: \u201cSuisse Cargo Logistics\u201d. It entails infrastructure upgrades and city hubs to boost rail freight. And as part of that initiative, SBB Cargo is launching a first new pilot connection along that axis in 2026. \u201cWith the shuttle on the high-demand north-south axis, the connection between Dietikon and Stabio across the Alps will be improved and the new service will be tested\u201d, the company explains.<\/p>\n

Such a pilot shuttle is possible because infrastructure allows for it. The same cannot be said on the east-west axis, preventing test operations there. An expansion of the Suisse Cargo Logistics model on that axis, as well as an advancement of the trimodal terminal Gateway Basel Nord, depend on the success of the Dietikon – Stabio pilot, says SBB.<\/p>\n