Details
Trasse Schweiz AG [Swiss Train Paths Ltd], called trasse.ch for short, is the independent body which allocates train paths to railways in Switzerland.
A train path is comparable to a slot for air transport.
It is a right to use,
- a particular section of the rail infrastructure,
- at a defined time,
- for a specific train (length, weight, loading gauge, speed).
In total, twenty different railway undertakings regularly run over the rail network of SBB, BLS and the Südostbahn (SOB) [Swiss South Eastern Railway]. More than ten other companies run special trains.
The land transport agreement with the EU (one of the bilateral treaties) requires that the body which allocates train paths must be independent in its legal form, organisation and in its decision making. Before trasse.ch was founded, the situation in Switzerland was not compatible with EU law. Railways reform 2 will give trasse.ch statutory status.
trasse.ch
- supports railway undertakings making applications for train paths,
- allocates train paths without discrimination,
- oversees the compilation of the annual working timetables,
- approves draft timetables and
- analyses congested sections of line.
The eleven staff members of trasse.ch carry out these tasks independently and treat all railway undertakings equally.
trasse.ch is a not-for-profit limited company. Its shareholders are the SBB, the BLS, the SOB and the Verband öffentlicher Verkehr (VöV) [Swiss Public Transport Association], each of which hold 25% of the shares.
