The Sound of Evidence

On 10 August 2023, a broken wheel disrupted one of Europe's most important freight corridors. The accident happened in Switzerland, but wheel failures do not carry passports. Neither should the solutions.

The publication of the final Joint Network Secretariat (JNS) report (5.0) on 7 August 2026 marks the conclusion of substantial and demanding rounds of intensive work, facilitated by ERA and involving top experts from the rail stakeholders’ wide spectrum across Europe. The discussions were often difficult and sometimes controversial. Yet they produced something far more valuable than another national response: a common European solution. 

Last week’s ruling from the Swiss Federal Administrative Court reinforces an important principle: European railway risks are best addressed through European coordination mechanisms and common solutions, not through unilateral national measures.

Europe's rail freight sector is facing a difficult business environment, despite being one of our strongest enablers of decarbonisation, industrial competitiveness and military mobility. At a time when Europe needs more freight on rail, not less, we must ensure that safety improvements are robust, feasible and sustainable. The sector cannot afford fragmented national responses, unnecessary costs or safety measures that do not tackle the actual risks.

At the same time, nobody wants another Viareggio. Nobody wants another Gotthard. Nobody wants the next derailment and safety is not negotiable. The answer is not to choose between safety and competitiveness. The answer is to modernise so that we achieve both, in line with the established roles and responsibilities of all actors involved in the safety chain.

For decades, wheel integrity has often relied on highly skilled inspections and the notorious ability to distinguish between a "ding" and a "dong" during a manual hammer test. The expertise behind that work deserves respect. But Europe cannot build the future of rail freight on acoustic finesse alone. Too often, traditional maintenance approaches have had to be compensated by increasingly heavy inspections and controls. The better answer is to understand degradation earlier, predict risks better and intervene before safety is challenged.

The true answer to Gotthard is not more fragmentation. It is more knowledge, more innovation and more European cooperation.

ERA thanks all experts and organisations who contributed to this common effort. 

The challenge now is implementation: turning a common European solution into a systemic and sustainable operational reality for European rail freight safety and competitiveness.

This article is part of On Track with the Director, offering a personal window into the thoughts, insights and experiences of Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director of ERA.