SBB Cargo will reorganise its single-wagonload freight service from 13 December 2026, the date of the next rail timetable change. The reform will take place under the strategic umbrella of "Suisse Cargo Logistics" and is a structural response to a decade of mounting losses. In 2024 alone, overall losses in SBB Cargo’s freight business reached CHF76 million, about €80 million, with single-wagonload traffic among the main causes of the deficit. Volumes have fallen by about a third over the past ten years, in a context where block trains and, to some extent, combined transport can cover their costs, while single-wagonload traffic remains structurally loss-making because of ageing rolling stock, dispersed volumes across an overly extensive network and insufficient wagon utilisation.
The guiding principle of the new model is to reduce service points with inadequate volumes, in favour of concentrating flows on hubs and routes where there is enough freight to fill trains. The railway company estimates that, despite the reduction in network coverage, 98% of the volumes currently transported will be able to remain on rail, thanks to the reorganisation of routes and the consolidation of flows. At the same time, the operator is focusing on planned slots and greater emphasis on the north-south Gotthard and Lötschberg corridors, bringing the operating logic of single-wagonload freight closer to the regular-interval system already used in passenger transport.
This is not the first time SBB has tried to modernise this segment. The WLV 2017 system introduced collection and delivery up to three times a day, with published timetables and slot booking, setting a direction that has now been confirmed by the current reform. The new model is part of a series of steps planned by Ffs for 2025-2030, which also includes the development of urban logistics and a 60% increase in rail freight capacity compared with current levels, with the aim of making better use of existing infrastructure.
A central element of the reform is the use of long-term contracts with major shippers. During 2025, several single-wagonload customers signed new agreements with SBB Cargo, with terms of up to ten years. These contracts provide volume stability for the network during the transition period and give major freight forwarders a defined service horizon extending beyond 2030. In return, SBB gains greater predictability in freight flows, a necessary condition for sizing the new model on a contractual basis rather than only on spot demand, while increasing wagon utilisation.
In 2025, the Federal Government decided to grant SBB Cargo a single-provider concession for domestic single-wagonload traffic until 2029, accompanied by public support of around CHF260 million, about €274 million, for the four-year period 2026-2029. The contribution is defined by the Federal Office of Transport as "transitional" and is conditional on achieving a series of performance indicators: a progressive reduction in losses, cooperation with regional operators, digitalisation of wagon tracking, punctuality, availability of first- and last-mile connections and CO2 savings compared with road transport.
The service contract also provides for mechanisms requiring the partial repayment of funds if targets are not met, putting direct pressure on SBB Cargo to accelerate automation, dynamic pricing and fleet optimisation by the end of the decade. The 2029-2030 deadline is crucial: beyond that date, public support will not be guaranteed, and single-wagonload traffic will have to move close to break-even using its own resources, failing which further cuts or a drastic recalibration of the service may follow.
Alongside the operational reform, SBB is renewing its wagon fleet with an order from Tatravagonka for up to 570 flat wagons and 270 bulk wagons, aiming to reduce the portfolio to just three standard types. This standardisation of the rolling stock fleet simplifies maintenance and fleet management, lowers fixed costs and increases the flexibility with which wagons can be used across different network routes. The approach mirrors, in a Swiss context, trends already seen in Germany, where DB Cargo is investing in Vectron Dual Mode locomotives optimised for single-wagonload traffic, with the aim of reducing traction costs and increasing network resilience through flexible resource cycles. The comparison is relevant because it shows that the problem of single-wagonload traffic is a European one: no operator today describes the segment as profitable, and all are focusing on a combination of targeted cuts and modernisation.
On tariffs, shippers’ associations have expressed reservations about the increases under way, arguing that they risk making single-wagonload traffic less competitive than road transport. The tension between the need to cover costs and the objective of shifting freight from road to rail is one of the most delicate aspects of the reform: if restructuring delivers efficiency gains but also significantly higher tariffs for marginal traffic, some routes could migrate to trucks or to combined transport operated by private companies.
Antonio Illariuzzi
