Switzerland and Germany scare rail logistics

"At the European level," Carta concludes, "we need shared planning of European rail yards, the revision of the Combined Transport Directive and a more rational regulation of the Weights and Dimensions Directive, to avoid modal imbalances between road and rail. 2026 will be a key year: on the one hand we will begin to see the effects of the Italian NRP, and on the other we will have to deal with the repercussions of choices made outside our borders. In this scenario, system associations such as Fermerci have the task of keeping the dialogue between institutions, companies and operators open, to ensure an orderly, sustainable and shared transition.

One of the most pressing issues concerns the decision of the Swiss Federal Office of Transport to prohibit the use of certain technologies installed on numerous already modernised or newly built railway wagons. This is a measure that, if it had been applied from next January, as it seemed at first, would have rendered a large part of the fleet crossing Switzerland along the North-South route unusable, creating very serious difficulties for Italian companies. Now the extension to 31 December 2026 has arrived, but the matter is still in the making.

It all started with the serious accident in August 2023 in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, when a goods train derailed. The accident caused damage to the infrastructure calculated at no less than EUR 150 million and the long closure of the tunnel to allow for its restoration. In its final report of June 2025 on the causes of the accident, the Safety Investigation Service (Sisi) identified the breakage of a wagon wheel of the goods train involved as the origin of the serious accident. The Sisi report pointed out that there was collateral damage caused by the use of brake pads marked 'LL' (from 'lownoise-low-friction').

The Federal Office of Transport continued its investigations by also involving industry representatives, and the result of this investigation revealed that with the use of composite soles instead of the traditional cast iron ones, there is a systematic risk of wheel breakage. For this reason, a decision was issued in September 2025 containing numerous regulations.

This measure was like an earthquake for railway companies outside of Switzerland, which were quickly forced to come to terms with measures that also had a heavy impact on service organisation and costs. Here is a summary of the Uft's indications: minimum wheel diameters, more frequent maintenance, systematic inspections. Wheels must have a diameter of at least 864 millimetres, as opposed to the 860 currently applied at European level.

Another important factor is maintenance: depending on the type of sole, this must be scheduled systematically after 50,000 or 200,000 kilometres and not, as is currently the case, on average longer. In future, the last technical inspection must be documented for each freight wagon, so that railway companies, before using it for a train passing through Switzerland, can check whether it has been regularly maintained. In addition, the wheels must have a coloured stripe to indicate whether they have overheated.

Welcoming these indications are apparently only the Swiss Federal Railways SBB, which is already committed to applying all the provisions issued by the Uft as they drastically reduce the risk of future accidents. But outside of Switzerland (including Italy) there are more than a few worries. 'The risk is that we will have to stop most of the railway wagons when crossing Switzerland,' says Fermerci bluntly.

Non meno grave la situazione in Germania, dove il governo federale ha avviato un piano di manutenzione straordinaria della rete finanziato anche con fondi del Next Generation EU. Una programmazione che, fin qui, denunciano gli operatori presenti al Forum MercinTreno, non ha tenuto conto delle esigenze del mercato. Tra il 2026 e il 2032 verranno chiuse circa 40 linee ferroviarie, con interruzioni di almeno cinque mesi ciascuna. L’anno clou sarà il 2o28. Denuncia Giuseppe Rizzi, direttore generale di Fermerci: «A differenza di quanto avviene in Italia, dove Rfi riesce a garantire la continuità del servizio, alternando i lavori, in Germania le chiusure saranno totali. Si tratta di linee fondamentali del corridoio europeo Nord-Sud, che attraversa le aree più produttive del continente. In alcuni casi, le deviazioni proposte comporterebbero aumenti di percorrenza fino al 400%, con un impatto devastante su costi e competitività». Nel 2028, è stato spiegato durante il Forum, mostrando una serie di grafici e