Federal Office of Transport publishes H1 freight data showing lower rail share on Alpine corridor
Published · Updated
What happened
The Federal Office of Transport released its first-half 2026 transalpine freight report on 10 September 2026. The report said rail carried 68% of transalpine freight, down from the prior period, while heavy-goods vehicle crossings through the Alps rose about 7% to 511,000; the office cited German rail construction bottlenecks as a factor on the north-south corridor.
Why it matters
The data provide a current official measure of reduced rail performance on a major European freight route and higher road use through the Alps. That matters for near-term logistics planning, corridor reliability, and any public financing or operational measures tied to freight diversion and cross-border rail capacity.
On 10 September 2026, Switzerland's Federal Office of Transport published first-half 2026 freight figures showing rail's share of transalpine freight fell to 68%, while truck crossings rose about 7% to 511,000. The office linked the deterioration in part to construction bottlenecks in Germany affecting the north-south rail axis. The release is a fresh official signal that external infrastructure constraints are feeding directly into Swiss export logistics and into the credibility of the modal-shift policy framework.
Watch for
Federal Office of Transport publication of any supplementary corridor mitigation measures or operator guidance by 2026-09-14 Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications statement on talks with Germany about north-south rail works by 2026-09-14 SBB Cargo International or Hupac announcement of rerouting, capacity cuts, or timetable changes on the north-south axis by 2026-09-14 German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport update on construction windows affecting the Rhine-Alpine corridor by 2026-09-14