VAP Welcomes Switzerland’s Decisions on Rail Transport

The Association of Freight Transport VAP in Switzerland has welcomed the decisions of the Swiss councils regarding the expansion of rail transport. Following the National Council, the Council of States has now also approved the cost framework for the operation and maintenance of railway facilities for the years 2025 to 2028 amounting to 16.4 billion Swiss francs. With this, the Council of States approved two additional federal resolutions amounting to 185 million Swiss francs for the extension of investment contributions to private freight transport facilities.

(Bern) This expansion step is unrelated to the aforementioned financing of rail operations. Nevertheless, the Council of States held a heated debate about the additional costs, which were widely covered by the media. The proposal to refer the draft back to the preparatory committee was ultimately withdrawn. The fact that the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) is responsible for planning the expansion steps on behalf of the Federal Office of Transport (BAV) was not mentioned in the discussion.

The National Council’s Committee for Transport and Telecommunications wanted to obligate the Federal Council with Motion 24.3823 “Revision of the Liability for Owners of Freight Wagons” to introduce a liability for risk and insurance obligation. The National Council rejected the motion with 91:89 votes and 4 abstentions, which amounts to a rational decision. A majority of the National Council members set aside the emotions related to the accident on August 10, 2023, in the Gotthard Base Tunnel and decided in favor of a successful climate and relocation policy.

Owners of Freight Wagons with High Insurance Coverage

The arguments of the VAP as the voice of the freight transport industry apparently managed to convince: Owners of freight wagons are already liable today under the liability law with reversed burden of proof against the owners. They currently have high insurance coverage and invest significant amounts in the maintenance and new procurement of wagons according to the latest state of technology. The motion would have drastically complicated and increased the costs of rail freight transport. Acceptance of the motion would have called into question Switzerland’s successful climate and relocation policy.

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