2018 Activities Report - an active and successful year for RACO

Berne, 04.06.2019 - The Railways Arbitration Commission (RACO) looks back on an active and successful year. It continued its ongoing supervision to ensure non-discriminatory access to the railway network and immersed itself in the area of intermodal freight terminals. At the international level it produced a comparative study on incident management by the national infrastructure managers (IMs) in Holland, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. In 2018 notifications and complaints were submitted to RACO. The procedures have not been concluded by the end of 2018.

Investigations and complaints procedures
As an independent government commission RACO ensures non-discriminatory access to the rail network and to the intermodal freight terminals and sidings that are co-funded by the Swiss Confederation. In this context it adjudicates on complaints and initiates ex officio investigations. Notifications and complaints were submitted in 2018. The respective procedures have not been concluded by the end of 2018.

Immersion of supervisory activity
At national level RACO continued its ongoing supervision to ensure non-discriminatory network access. It monitored train path allocation in the 2019 annual timetable, examined network access conditions and monitored provision of services in the marshalling yards. It also visited several intermodal freight terminals in north-west Switzerland, examined operational processes in the terminals and looked into possible suspicious factors. The examinations were still ongoing by the end of 2018.

Improvement of incident management on trans-frontier routes
At the international level RACO, together with the Dutch, German and Belgian regulators, produced a comparative study on incident management by the national IMs. It also organised a symposium on unplanned closures on the rail freight corridors. The objective of these efforts is to attract attention to the theme of “Incidents and capacity restrictions on trans-frontier corridors" and to manage this better through closer co-operation between the involved national authorities and parties.

Specialist secretariat strengthened
RACO has a specialist secretariat which supports the Commission with its tasks as a specialist tribunal, carries out supervisory activity and represents RACO internationally in working groups. In 2018, the specialist secretariat enhanced its personnel and expertise. This ensures that RACO is well prepared for future challenges.


Address for enquiries

Patrizia Danioth Halter, RACO Chair
Tel. +41 58 467 41 05, info@ske.admin.ch



Publisher

Rail Transport Commission RailCom
https://www.railcom.admin.ch/en/welcome/

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-75305.html