The Swiss Federal Office of Transport has issued new safety measures for freight wagons, aimed at preventing further accidents such as the Gotthard Base Tunnel derailment in 2023. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The implementation of the measures must begin immediately and be completed by the end of the year. The main change is the requirement for a minimum wheel diameter of 864 millimetres, whereas at European level the limit is 860mm. + Why is the Gotthard Base Tunnel so important? Another point is the maintenance of the wagons, in particular a reduction of the intervals between technical inspections to 50,000km or 200,000km depending on the type of brake and wheel diameter. Inspections include a visual test on the wheels, a percussion test to detect defective parts, and a check for damage or overheating. In future, the last technical inspection must be documented for each freight wagon so that railway companies can check whether it has been regularly ...
