What Swiss Railways do better in winter

The Swiss railway runs reliably even in winter – thanks to more money and more staff. Deutsche Bahn, on the other hand, has been reduced to a “fair-weather railway,” according to experts.

As snowfall in early December Bavaria paralyzed railway traffic for days politicians immediately made demands on the railway. This must be better positioned in the future, explained Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU). But the comparison with the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) shows that German politics is partly responsible and cost-effective solutions could be easily implemented.

“The SBB knows what it wants,” explains Markus Hecht, professor and head of the rail vehicles department at the Technical University of Berlin. “Deutsche Bahn, on the other hand, is surrendering to winter. That cannot be allowed.” Politicians in Switzerland are equipping their railways with more money and more staff. The federal debt brake also contains loopholes to ensure the SBB’s financial resources. The difference in investments is large: While Switzerland spent 450 euros per resident in 2022, it was just 114 euros in Germany.

Punctuality of 93 percent

The railway is a political priority in Switzerland. It is seen as a basic state service, a public task and project for everyone, from which everyone benefits, says Ueli Stückelberger from the Association of Public Transport: “The parliamentary sessions are aligned to the timetable, because the majority of MPs travel by train. In Switzerland, people use public transport – across all classes. We don’t have a chauffeur culture, and you can feel that in the politicians’ willingness to work for a good network.”

The result: Anyone who gets on the train in Switzerland can be confident that they will get off again on schedule. Almost 93 percent of all SBB trains are on time. This means you are less than three minutes late. This also works in winter when it snows. A complete cessation of rail operations, as was recently the case in Bavaria, would be unthinkable in Switzerland, says Stückelberger. “In Switzerland, people are used to the fact that it can snow and are preparing to be able to maintain operations as long as possible.”

reliability abandoned under Mehdorn?

Deutsche Bahn, on the other hand, is just “a fair-weather railway,” says Markus Hecht. There are political reasons for that. In the 1960s, die-hard drivers took trains in the winter because they were more reliable. The advertising slogan at the time was “We always drive”. In the snowy winter of 1963, the railway even took over inland shipping and road deliveries.

The DB’s claim to run reliably in winter was abandoned, especially under railway boss Hartmut Mehdorn, in the early 2000s, says Hecht. “Back then, there was a clear rejection of reliability in winter, which has never really been taken back to this day.” The state-owned company continues to suffer from this to this day. Being suitable for snow doesn’t necessarily have to cost a lot of money.

Snow fences instead Noise barriers

Hecht sees the main shortcoming as the fact that the rail operator DB Netz usually does not use snow fences – which are comparatively cheap. Instead, noise barriers were often installed. “The problem is that snow collects between these walls in winter. This led to the Munich-Berlin route being closed for five days in 2021 until the snow was cleared out.”

Switzerland, on the other hand, decided many years ago – because of the many disadvantages – to no longer install noise barriers. If overhead lines are icy, increased free travel would also help break the ice.

The scientist sees further omissions in new DB railcars, which are often designed without testing in a climate chamber. As a result, blocks of ice accumulated on the locomotives in winter, which fell down and blocked switches. “You can’t build a switch heater that melts a head-sized piece of ice. You have to remove it by hand.” In winter, the railway could rely on workers from the construction industry.

“People are poorly trained or not motivated”

But while the DB not only structurally spends less on staff than the neighboring SBB, the employees are also less trained. “The few snow plows that still exist in Germany cannot be operated well. The people are either poorly trained or not motivated,” says Hecht. Other countries such as Norway and Austria also cope better with meters of snow than Germany because their snow removal equipment has been modernized and their employees have received better training.

Above all, Switzerland manages to largely adhere to its nationwide regular timetable introduced in 1982, even in the coldest winter. Trains run between the larger cities every 30 minutes. Changing is not a stressful factor; the connecting train usually arrives at the same platform a few minutes later. Unless he comes from Germany. Every second cross-border train is delayed – and is therefore often not allowed into the country at all. “Final stop Basel” is the name of the game.

Experts call for new philosophy

The Swiss railway expert Stückelberger advises the German railway managers and Transport Minister Volker Wissing to use an old virtue: “When converting the railway, you need perseverance, patience and financial resources for the expansion and maintenance of the rail network.”

Berliner Markus Hecht calls for a “new snow removal philosophy” in order to be able to use the advantages of rail in winter and to enable a reliable transport system instead of a “fair-weather railway.” So that at some point in Germany there will be an end to days of train cancellations after heavy snowfall.