The Swiss Federal Administrative Court, Taf, in St Gallen has upheld appeals lodged by Ermewa, Gatx and Vtg, among Europe’s largest rail freight wagon leasing companies, against the safety measures for wagon wheels imposed unilaterally by the Federal Office of Transport, Uft, after the serious incident in the Gotthard Base Tunnel. In a ruling announced on Friday, 21 August 2026, the court revoked the contested measures and referred the case back to the Uft, calling for a new assessment of the procedure followed for their introduction.
The derailment on 10 August 2023 was caused by the fracture of a wheel with a crack that had not been detected during inspections. Based on the recommendations of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (Sust), the Uft ordered on 11 September 2025 an increase in the minimum diameter of freight wagon wheels to 864 millimetres, compared with the European standard of 860 millimetres, together with more frequent inspections of the wagons concerned. The provisions were subsequently amended on 9 and 23 October of the same year, with the implementation deadline moved from the end of 2025 to the end of 2026.
In its reasoning, the Taf noted that the Uft measures depart from the harmonised rules of the European Union on the cross-border use of freight wagons, which are also made binding by Swiss railway legislation. The judges recognised Switzerland’s right to introduce national safety requirements independently of EU rules, but only through the procedure laid down under treaty law, a procedure which, according to the panel, the Uft did not follow in this case.
The practical impact of the ruling may, however, be reduced by a parallel development at European level. The Joint Network Secretariat (Jns), the body coordinated by the European Union Agency for Railways (Era) and bringing together infrastructure managers, railway undertakings and wagon lessors, published a new report in early August 2026 that adopts as a future binding European standard the same parameters that the Uft had imposed unilaterally, including the minimum diameter of 864 millimetres. The new provisions will enter into force in stages, with inspections extended to six additional wheel types from October 2026 and a ban on misleading colour markings on hub covers from July 2027. Asked by Swissinfo.ch, Uft director Christa Hostettler said that the ruling has no immediate practical consequences, since the European rules are now valid and must also be applied in Switzerland; she added that Switzerland had prevailed on the substance of the matter, while losing on procedural grounds.
The Swiss Federal Railways had welcomed the Uft measures from the outset, describing them as useful in reducing the risk of further incidents and reiterating its willingness to carry all freight wagons regardless of the type of brake blocks installed. The leasing companies that brought the appeals, by contrast, challenged Switzerland’s unilateral approach, warning of the risk of disproportionate compliance costs and a negative impact on the fluidity of cross-border freight traffic. The legal action by the three leasing companies dates back to autumn 2025: Vtg filed an initial appeal on 10 October, followed at the end of the month by actions from Ermewa and Gatx. On 24 November 2025, the Taf had already ordered a provisional suspension of the new measures, which remained suspended until the ruling of 21 August. The Uft may appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, but in the meantime the application of the contested provisions remains blocked.
Antonio Illariuzzi
