The Swiss Federal Council announced today its intention to to extend support for rail freight traffic through the Alps, by putting out for consultation the relevant amendment of the law on the transfer of freight traffic and the financing decree, Procedure that will end on August 11. The proposal provides for to extend the operating contributions for traffic until 2035 unaccompanied combined vehicle (TCNA), currently scheduled until 2030, and to renounce the progressive reduction of aid until 2029 as set out in the Law on the Transfer of traffic, while their amount will instead be reduced in gradually starting from 2030.

Thanks to the continuation of contributions, between 2027 and 2030 The Confederation would provide between 55 and 59 million euros for TCNA transport Swiss francs per year. Starting from 2030, the annual amount would be on average 50 million francs. From 2027 to 2035 to sector would receive a total of CHF 486 million contributions financed by income from from the tax on mineral oils.

The Swiss government has specified that the extension of the contributions was decided in consideration of the joke in recent years of the transfer of the transalpine freight traffic from road to rail, with the share of railway market, which in 2025 stood at 68.6% recording for the fourth consecutive time the loss of shares of market in favor of the road.

Highlighting that the persistence of the decline in freight traffic transalpine railway is mainly determined by the Poor quality and reliability along European axes north-south, due in particular to construction works and interruptions of railway routes in Germany, in addition to the difficult economic context, the Council made it clear that it was not possible to a reversal of the trend is expected before the end of the decade.