Swiss Federal Council Elects Three New Members for RailCom

The Swiss Federal Council elected the members of the RailCom Commission for Railway Traffic for the term 2024 – 2027 on Wednesday. Patrizia Danioth Halter was confirmed as president. Vice President Prof. Dr. Markus Kern and Anna Ciaranfi Zanetta were also re-elected as commission members. Starting in 2024, Dr. Barbara Furrer, Cesare Brand, and Manfred Haller will join the commission.

(Bern) The three new members will enhance RailCom’s expertise in various areas: Dr. Barbara Furrer, Head of Legal Switzerland at the DHL Group, DHL Express (Switzerland) AG, Basel and Kloten, has extensive experience as a Legal Counsel in the logistics sector. As a lecturer at the Swiss Association of Freight Forwarders and Logistics Companies (SPEDLOGSWISS) and chair of the Commission for Law and Insurance, she is committed to conveying legally relevant topics such as transport and logistics law, data protection, competition law, and compliance within the industry. Barbara Furrer, who holds a doctorate in transport and logistics law, also brings extensive experience as a Legal Counsel in comprehensive legal consulting for a Swiss transport company.

Cesare Brand served as Secretary General of the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT) for 11 years until his retirement, which unites around 200 railway and shipping companies. As a former head of regulation and international affairs as well as the corporate legal service of SBB, the lawyer also has extensive experience in both national and international railway law. At the Federal Office of Transport (BAV), he was responsible as head of the legal section for the legal supervision and legislation of the office.

Manfred Haller built his career at SBB, culminating as Head of Train Operations. For 10 years, he led the area at SBB Passenger Transport with around 2,800 employees, overseeing the implementation of significant timetable changes, such as the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016. As a former head of rolling stock management, he designed master plans for new maintenance facilities and introduced new maintenance concepts. In addition to his EMBA, he also obtained the train driver diploma category B. Until his retirement, he worked as a Senior Advisor for SBB in various mandates as project manager and interim manager in both passenger and freight transport.

Diverse Resignations

At the end of 2023, Peter Bösch, logistics expert from Binningen, and Werner Grossen, business economist and head of waste disposal recycling in Bern, Thierachern, as well as Giuliano Montanaro, civil engineer EPF/SIA from Zurich, will leave RailCom. RailCom thanks the departing members for their significant commitment and profound expertise and wishes them all the best for the future.

As of January 1, 2024, RailCom will be composed as follows:

• President Patrizia Danioth Halter, lic. iur., lawyer and notary, LL.M., Altdorf/UR
• Vice President Markus Kern, Prof. Dr. iur., LL.M., Professor of Constitutional, Administrative, and European Law at the University of Bern, Bern/BE
• Cesare Brand, lawyer, Forel/FR
• Anna Ciaranfi Zanetta, lic. iur., lawyer, staff member at the Finance and Economic Department of the Canton of Ticino, Dalpe/TI
• Barbara Furrer, Dr. iur., lawyer, Head of Legal DHL Express (Switzerland) AG, Hedingen/ZH
• Manfred Haller, EMBA, independent consultant, Unterkulm/AG

About RailCom

The RailCom Commission for Railway Traffic ensures non-discriminatory access to the railway network and to the intermodal terminals and connecting tracks co-financed by the federal government as an independent authority commission. It also oversees the non-discriminatory provision of services in rail freight transport between the railway infrastructure and the connecting tracks or intermodal terminals, i.e., in local delivery.

Furthermore, RailCom monitors the non-discriminatory performance of system tasks and the right to participate in the short- and medium-term investment planning of infrastructure operators. It thus ensures fair conditions on the infrastructure and supports the functioning of the railway market.

Photo: © RailCom / Caption (l. to r.): New members of RailCom: Cesare Brand, Barbara Furrer, and Manfred Haller