In the first half of 2026, more goods were transported through the Swiss Alps. Rail transport also increased, but road transport grew significantly faster. As a result, rail's share of total alpine freight traffic fell to 68 percent. This represents a decline of 0.9 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Rail volumes rose by 3.1 percent. At the same time, the number of truck journeys increased by approximately seven percent to 511,000. The Federal Office of Transport expects that 2026 could be the first time in a long period that more than one million trucks cross the Alps.
For Switzerland's shift targets, this is a warning signal. The goal remains to move as much freight as possible from road to rail. However, rail suffers from construction work and unreliable feeder routes, particularly in Germany. Significant relief is not expected until around 2030.
The situation is also difficult in domestic, import, and export transport. In single wagon load traffic (EWLT), the number of loaded wagons declined by eight percent. In this system, individual wagons from various customers are combined to form trains. This system is important for companies without sufficient volume for a complete train.
The federal government already provides financial support for EWLT. In the first half of the year, SBB Cargo received 40 million francs in compensation for this service but still posted a loss of 12 million francs. For shippers, this raises the question of which connections and service points will be stably offered in the long term.