Union warns railways not to follow British example

Christopher Irwin (left) warned against separating track and train services Keystone

The union representing most of Switzerland's rail employees has come out strongly against separating the operations and infrastructure of the Swiss Federal Railways, saying the strategy had led to chaos in Britain.

The president of the Swiss Railway and Transport Employees’ Association, Ernst Leuenberger, told a news conference in Bern on Monday that only an integrated rail system could guarantee an optimal service to the travelling public.

The union also urged the management of the Federal Railways to avoid any involvement in Britain, arguing that this would inevitably mean investment in British rail infrastructure. It said this money could be better spent at home.

The Swiss Federal Railways announced in September that it intended to bid for franchises to operate trains serving a large portion of London’s commuter rail networks using Paddington and Waterloo stations.

Owned by the Swiss government, the Federal Railways has teamed up with Laing Investments to bid for Thames Trains and Wessex Rail.

Leuenberger, who is a senator from canton Solothurn, also argued for a real three per cent wage rise for employees of the Swiss Federal Railways. The Association is to hold a two-day conference in Bern on May 31/June 1 to determine its future course of action.

To back its arguments for an integrated railway, the Association invited Christopher Irwin, chairman of the Rail Passengers’ Committee for the West of England, as a guest speaker.

“I think we’ve learned in England that to separate the control of the track from the control of the trains ends up in chaos. It is something we would not want to repeat,” he told swissinfo.

In particular, Irwin singled out the accident last October in the British town of Hatfield, in which four people were killed. As a result, more than 3,000 speed limits were introduced, timetables were turned upside down overnight and passengers feared for their lives.

However, he said he had not come with advice on how the Swiss should react to the privatised British rail market.

“There’s certainly great enthusiasm among ordinary people for the fact that the Swiss Federal Railways are interested in investing in the British market. The Swiss railways are known for their efficiency and punctuality, all the things we dream about in the UK and probably don’t have,” he told swissinfo.

swissinfo