- The National Council plans to spend around 16.4 billion francs on rail infrastructure between 2025 and 2028.
- He followed the Federal Council in discussing the matter.
- He rejected a proposal to increase the amount by 500 million francs.
In the overall vote, the National Council adopted the federal resolution with 192 votes to 3, with no abstentions. The matter will go to the Council of States.
The funds will not only be used to maintain the existing infrastructure, but also to finance the operation and maintenance of the railway infrastructure. Compared to the current period, the Federal Council’s message envisages an increase of around two billion francs.
A minority of the Transport Commission, made up of representatives from the Centre Party, the SP and the Greens, wanted to increase the amount by 500 million francs. However, the corresponding proposal was rejected by 105 votes to 88, with two abstentions.
A look abroad shows that Switzerland is doing well to prioritize maintenance over rail expansion, said minority spokesman Martin Candinas (Centre/GR). He also pointed out that the higher amount could also speed up the implementation of barrier-free public transport.
Today, Switzerland is in an illegal situation with regard to accessibility, said both Philipp Kutter (Centre/ZH) and Islam Alijaj (SP/ZH). Both politicians are dependent on a wheelchair.
Transport Minister Albert Rösti promised that if accessibility projects really had to be postponed, an increase in the funding framework would be requested. However, blocking the additional 500 million now would not make sense. In this case, the money would be lacking for the railway expansion.
In principle, the proposal was not very controversial. “Larger facilities require more resources, and more frequent schedules lead to greater wear and tear,” said Felix Wettstein (Greens/SO) from the Finance Committee. The committee had discussed the proposal in advance, as had the Transport Committee.
Barbara Schaffner (GLP/ZH), however, called for cost savings in infrastructure projects. More tolerance for “imperfections” is needed. Matthias Jauslin (FDP/AG) also stressed that his group expects the funds to be used economically.
Request for reduction withdrawn
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An SVP minority originally wanted to cancel the planned operating compensation for infrastructure operators. This would have meant a reduction of 2.6 billion francs. However, the minority withdrew its proposal during the debate.
It appears that railway companies can achieve very high returns at central locations, criticised Christian Imark (SVP/SO). However, as soon as this is not possible at a particular location, the taxpayer must step in.
Delphine Klopfenstein Broggini (Greens/GE) argues against this: we are already paying the price for a lack of investment in the past. This mistake should not be repeated.
Money for relocation
The National Council also had to decide on two other federal resolutions. Here, the upper house followed the Federal Council by a large majority. These, too, will now go to the Council of States.
Part of the proposal is, on the one hand, a commitment credit of 185 million francs for investment contributions to private freight transport facilities in the years 2025 to 2028. With this, the Federal Council wants to continue to promote the transport of goods by rail and the shift of freight traffic through the Alps from road to rail.
Caption: If the National Council has its way, the federal government can spend over 16 billion francs on the railways – including on modernising the train routes. KEYSTONE/Urs Flueeler
This will be financed with revenue from the mineral oil tax and other earmarked funds. An SVP minority on the Transport Commission unsuccessfully requested that the second federal resolution not be adopted.
On the other hand, the existing framework loan for investment contributions to private freight transport facilities is to be extended by one year. The reason is that larger projects that were planned when the loan was set have been delayed.
