{"id":421876,"date":"2026-05-06T23:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=71010"},"modified":"2026-05-06T23:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:22:17","slug":"switzerland-could-withdraw-its-wagon-wheel-rules-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=421876","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Switzerland could withdraw its wagon wheel rules decision\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 6 May, the largest-ever edition of the annual ERFA Rail Freight event took place in Brussels under the banner #RelaunchRailFreight. Even if not on the agenda, the wagon wheels security situation in Switzerland was expectedly brought up. The audience heard some hopeful statements regarding a resolution of the clash between authorities and the rail freight industry.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>One of the event speakers was Christa Hostettler, director of the Swiss Federal Office for Transport (FOT). Hostettler took the opportunity to emphasise the need for harmonisation and international coordination in order to move corridors beyond being chains to functioning systems.<\/p>\n

An interesting position to take, considering the FOT\u2019s leading role \u2014 arguably \u2014 in undermining European regulatory harmonisation in the field of wagon wheel safety since the autumn of 2025. An audience question about the topic was to be expected.<\/p>\n

And that audience question on the matter was indeed addressed to Hostettler. In her response, the FOT director defended the Swiss break with commonly agreed upon European rules. The Swiss push to unilaterally implement stricter safety standards despite an earlier international agreement evoked strong protest from the rail freight sector, especially from wagon keepers.<\/p>\n

\"The
The broken wheel that caused the derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in August 2023. Image: \u00a9 SUST<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If there’s a deal, there will be a withdrawal<\/h2>\n

Hostettler pointed to the severe consequences of the Gotthard Tunnel derailment in 2023, saying that such rail capacity reductions are an unacceptable risk to Switzerland. The Swiss then decided to implement their own rules, which are now subject to judicial review after various rail freight companies took the FOT to court.<\/p>\n

A large part of the rail freight industry fears that the Swiss rules are approved, which would substantially undermine European harmonisation. Fortunately, it may not come to that. Hostettler revealed that the Joint Network Secretariat, the body responsible for formulating a European standard for the rules, has been working on a very tight deadline to resolve the situation.<\/p>\n

The body visited Switzerland two weeks ago amid a \u201cvery productive atmosphere\u201d. JNS is trying to find a solution to make rail freight safer across Europe, Hostettler said. If there is a deal that satisfies the FOT, then Switzerland can withdraw its unilateral wagon wheel safety rules decision, the FOT director added.<\/p>\n

JNS hopes to come to a harmonised EU approach by June. This will allow for a return to interoperability. A persistent issue relates to enforcement, however: JNS has observed a lack of compliance, which heightens the risk of wheel breakages and derailments.<\/p>\n