Exports for the Swiss railway industry

Challenges for the export-orientated Swiss rail industry

Geopolitical uncertainties and the risk of a global trade war pose enormous challenges for many companies. International trade remains essential for the export-orientated Swiss economy in particular. The railway industry, which is heavily reliant on exports due to its limited domestic market, must assert itself globally and secure its competitiveness through innovation and agility.

This makes the endeavours of official Switzerland to create stable framework conditions all the more important. The importance of the Free Trade Agreements, which facilitate access to international markets, should be emphasised in particular. A big thank you goes to SECO for its great commitment and excellent cooperation!

Swissrail as a hub for export promotion and better framework conditions

Swissrail is strongly committed to supporting its members at a global level. The association sees itself as a central hub and works together with partners, politicians and authorities to create optimal framework conditions for the industry. The economic importance of the Swiss rail and mobility industry is underestimated by many decision-makers. In order to make this value visible, Swissrail is planning a study this year together with LITRA that will substantiate the economic importance of the industry with concrete figures.

As you know, all Swissrail members are also automatically Gold Members of Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE). In collaboration with S-GE, Swissrail regularly organises fact-finding missions, short trips, inbound missions and webinars on strategically important markets. These offer valuable insights into opportunities and challenges, facilitate direct business contacts and promote synergies between members.

Swissrail also provides important support by organising joint Swiss stands at international rail trade fairs. These platforms are an excellent opportunity to jointly present the quality and innovative strength of the Swiss rail and mobility industry under the globally recognised Swiss brand.

As a member of Team Switzerland (consisting of SECO, SERV, S-GE and other industry associations), Swissrail is committed to increasing Swiss content in major international projects and boosting the competitiveness of Swiss companies in the rail and mobility sector globally.

Swissrail has set up a working group with interested companies to provide direct assistance and help with the reconstruction of Ukraine. Members are regularly informed about the latest developments.

Successful participation in international events

InnoTrans 2024 in Berlin, the world's leading trade fair for the rail industry, was a complete success: 47 Swiss companies exhibited at the two Swissrail stands and benefited from numerous international business contacts in a prime location. The short trips to Strasbourg and the Brenner Base Tunnel as well as the fact-finding mission to Poland also proved to be successful and profitable in 2024.

In January 2025, an inbound mission as part of the WEF with a high-ranking delegation led by the Indian transport minister offered Swissrail members unique opportunities to showcase their expertise.

Another milestone was the first Team Switzerland networking event in Zurich, at which six major EPCs were represented - a decisive step towards being involved in future rail and mobility projects worldwide.

Outlook: New opportunities for Swiss companies

Many exciting events are also on the programme for 2025.

On 30 April, we invite you to the Swissrail Export Day in Basel. In addition to global networking with all the heads of the Swiss Business Hubs, this year's focus will be on the markets of Turkey, India and the Nordics.

Plans include short trips to Stuttgart (Stuttgart 21) and Italy (Milan or Rome with Italfer and Trenitalia). We are also currently looking into the possibility of fact-finding missions to Turkey and Dubai. India, a market with enormous potential, will of course also be on our agenda with a joint trip in the autumn. We are expecting inbound missions from Chile (EFE and Metro Santiago), Morocco (ONCF) and India (Railway Board).

These trade fair appearances are also planned:

• TRAKO in Gdansk,
• Expo Ferroviaria in Milan,
• IREE in New Delhi,
• MTIJ in Tokyo.

All events and trips can be found in the members area.

Note on translation: This text was translated with AI and verified by us. Should you find any errors or unintelligible points, please do not hesitate to let us know.