Rail freight transport faces major challenges in Switzerland

Chiasso station in southern Switzerland. Keystone / Pablo Gianinazzi

Railway construction work next year will cause the temporary closure of various lines in Switzerland, resulting in major challenges for rail freight operators.

Sections of the Simplon line from canton Valais in southern Switzerland to Milan, Italy, are to be completely closed on the Italian side for up to three months next year, Swiss public radio SRF reported on Monday.

The situation will also be complicated in August for freight traffic on the Gotthard line: the marshalling yard in Chiasso will be rebuilt and at Bellinzona there will only be one track available at the same time. In addition, construction work is planned north of the Alps in summer.

A list from the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) reveals a total of 15 construction projects on the north-south axis, many involving “full closures”. “The operating situation in freight transport is and remains difficult,” says Andreas Windlinger from the FOT. 

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Construction is also underway in Germany along the entire Rhine-Alpine rail corridor. Switzerland has completed the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) north-south rail link, but construction work is still ongoing abroad, said Windlinger. This will continue intensively, especially in Germany, until 2040, but the next three years will be particularly challenging.

What is new for Switzerland is that some routes will be completely closed for repairs and expansion. This is currently being done for the first time in the St Gallen Rhine Valley area.

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It’s hard to avoid closures, FOT says. The timetable is so tight, even at night, that it is scarcely possible to build efficiently without closures. Rail officials therefore see only limited scope for alternative solutions.

In addition to the need for maintenance, the problem is further exacerbated by the shortage of skilled workers. Night construction sites are not very attractive as a workplace when the railway is in operation, says Urs Huber from the railway workers’ union SEV.

More full closures with daytime work are therefore more interesting for construction companies and employees. “Because of the security and to be able to recruit new people,” says Huber.

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