Railweb Reports

Shadows and light in Swiss rail freight

Posted by George Raymond on May 15, 2025

Perhaps no other country on Earth is so linked with railways as Switzerland. Visitors see clean, frequent and punctual trains that seem to run everywhere. The Gotthard route and tunnels through the Alps symbolise railway prowess. But the railway undertakings (RUs) that pull freight trains in or through Switzerland face competition – with each other, with trucking companies and now with ocean shipping companies that may be subsidising their own trains to squeeze out traditional, land-based RUs. Rail freight also competes in the political arena with passenger trains for space on the tracks. RUs struggle with the cost, capacity, availability and fragility of rail infrastructure both in Switzerland and neighbouring countries. And although the European Commission has been working for decades to make it easier for an RU’s locomotive and train to run in multiple countries, some troublesome country-specific rules and constraints remain. Here’s my report.

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