The year 2023 proved challenging for rail freight transport across Switzerland, witnessing a 5.9% decline, as reported by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). The rail transport share fell from 73.9% to 72%. Transit road transport also saw a reduction but was less affected, dropping by 1.4% to a total of 916,000 industrial vehicles (12,000 fewer). According to the FOT, this decrease is mainly due to the European economic situation, which led to a 4.7% reduction in goods transit through Switzerland, with a total of 37 million tons of goods crossing the Swiss Alps.
The significant drop in rail transport is also attributed to "poor reliability, particularly due to numerous construction sites on the north-south axis," states the FOT, while road transport "has been less affected by the difficult European economic situation thanks to its larger share of domestic traffic." The Federal Office mentions that the partial closure of the Gotthard Base Tunnel due to a landslide on August 10, 2023, "had virtually no impact on the volume of goods transported" because "freight trains were diverted to the Lötschberg–Simplon axis and the Gotthard mountain route."
