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Commentary: After the Gotthard Accident, the EU Must Tighten Safety Rules for Freight Trains
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Economy & Trade

Commentary: After the Gotthard Accident, the EU Must Tighten Safety Rules for Freight Trains

From Neue Zürcher Zeitung · (1d ago) German Mixed tone

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Switzerland's recent tightening of safety regulations for freight trains, following a 2023 Gotthard tunnel accident, has drawn criticism from the EU.
  • EU parliamentarians view Switzerland's unilateral measures as a threat to the bilateral transport agreement and expect Bern to align with European standards.
  • The article argues that Switzerland's proactive stance is justified, as the EU has failed to implement stronger rules, and Bern has grounds to act unilaterally given safety risks.

The Gotthard tunnel accident of 2023 continues to cast a long shadow, prompting Switzerland to implement stricter safety regulations for freight trains. However, these unilateral measures have sparked a dispute with the European Union, whose parliamentarians decry them as a threat to the vital land transport agreement. They insist Switzerland must await European standards, a stance that resonates with Swiss skeptics of the EU.

The consequences of the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel were massive.

— NZZContextualizing the severity of the 2023 Gotthard tunnel accident.

From our perspective at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Switzerland's actions, while perhaps exceeding the mark in some specifics, are fundamentally correct. The EU and its member states have been slow to enact binding rules, despite the clear and present danger highlighted by the Gotthard incident. The SBB's ultimatum to restrict certain freight wagons without stricter measures underscores the urgency. Switzerland, as a responsible nation, cannot afford to wait indefinitely for a sluggish European bureaucracy to act, especially when the safety of its critical infrastructure is at stake.

The EU expects Bern to back down as soon as European standards are available.

— NZZDescribing the EU's stance on Switzerland's unilateral safety measures.

While the EU may view Switzerland's move as unilateral, we see it as a necessary assertion of national responsibility. The accident revealed systemic issues with wheel integrity on freight wagons, a problem that demands immediate attention. Switzerland's decision to implement stricter maintenance, inspection, and wheel diameter requirements, even if some aspects prove difficult to implement immediately due to workshop capacity, demonstrates a commitment to safety that the EU has yet to match. This proactive approach is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the Gotthard route, a vital artery for European freight transport.

The EU directive on railway safety explicitly allows national authorities to take provisional measures if there is a serious safety risk.

— NZZHighlighting the legal basis for Switzerland's actions under EU regulations.
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Originally published by Neue Zürcher Zeitung in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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