EGTC Rhine-Alpine Position Paper on German rail projects submitted to Transport Minister

On September 11th 2025, our Vice-Chair, Prof. Dr. Matthias Proske sent the Position Paper attached below to Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder.

The paper emphasises that the Rhine-Alpine Corridor is a crucial part of European rail transport and economic development for the Federal Republic of Germany. However, it remains a bottleneck in the European transport network, requiring expansion, new construction, and upgrades.

The Federal Republic of Germany must prioritise German projects along the corridor and accelerate their implementation. An efficient and resilient transport network in the German part of the Rhine-Alpine corridor is essential for ensuring important economic and transport flows in Europe. Investments along the axis should be secured and expanded, keeping pace with neighbouring countries’ expansion and construction projects and resolving bottlenecks along the Rotterdam-Genoa axis.

The position paper can be accessed by clicking here. 

Switzerland issues new regulations for rail freight safety

Symbolic picture by Ian Talmacs on Unsplash

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport (FOT) has issued new regulations to improve rail freight safety in the country.

The measures include minimum wheel diameters, more frequent maintenance, and optimized inspections. The FOT announced the changes in response to a report by the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board on the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in August 2023. The report found that a broken wheel disc on one of the wagons caused the derailment, and the wheel was equipped with composite LL brake blocks, which were found to increase thermal stress on the wheel. The new regulations require wheelsets to have a diameter of at least 864mm, systematic intervals between inspections, and the application of a certificate system for wagons. FOT also recommends fleet owners to use modern wheelsets and drivers to adjust driving behavior to prevent overheating. The companies responsible for wagon maintenance are required to implement these measures. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has welcomed the new regulations, stating that regulation is the only way to address systemic issues in the rail freight sector.

Source: 

International Railway Journal

Baden Württemberg reveals Action Plan for climate-neutral transport

Cover page of the Action Plan reFuels

Released on September 15th 2025, the reFuels action plan, approved by the state government of Baden- Württemberg and industry partners, aims to stimulate investment in large-scale industrial facilities for climate-neutral transport in the aviation and shipping sectors.

The plan aims to improve the ramp-up of electricity-based fuels (reFuels) in Europe, focusing on climate protection rather than relaxation of rules. The plan incorporates feedback from over 20 companies, associations, and scientific institutions and aims to optimise the European legal framework for the early development phase of reFuels.

The reFuels action plan aims to accelerate the market ramp-up and support industrialisation and production scaling. It identifies eight key levers for transitioning to industrial production, including practical transitional rules for green electricity criteria, unavoidable industrial CO2 emissions, simplified rules for joint processing of electricity-based, biogenic, and fossil raw materials, realistic import rules for power-to-liquid fuels from third countries, a clear roadmap to climate neutrality by 2050, regulatory protection for existing plants, and reduction of financial risks through purchase agreements and support instruments.

Sources(in German):

Land Baden-Württemberg

Action Plan reFuels