. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/CHE/152 
23 May 2012  
 (12-2706) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  SWITZERLAND  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  Federal Office of Transport 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :   
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs 
Non-tariff Measures Division Holzikofenweg 36 CH-3003 Bern Fax:  +41 31 324 09 58 
Email:  tbt@seco.admin.ch  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Railway freight wagons 
with cast-iron brake blocks. 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Draft revision of the 
Federal Act on Railway Noise Abatement; (3 pages; available in German, French and Italian).  
6. Description of content:  The thresholds for the pass-by noise  of renewed or upgraded freight 
wagons according to the technical specifications of interoperability relating to the subsystem 
"rolling stock - noise" of the trans-Eur opean conventional rail system (Decision 
2011/229/EU; point 4.2.1.1, table 1) are being adopted in Swiss law. After a transitional 
period of eight years, they will become binding from 1 January 2020 for freight wagons 
deployed in or passing through Switzerland.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  The 
protection of health justifies the partial alte ration of existing entitlements. Despite wide-
ranging railway noise abatement measures in Switzerland (see point 8), one third of people 
affected continue to be exposed to harmful levels of railway noise. Transalpine freight traffic is also set to double by 2020. However, the impr ovement in air quality th at transfer ring traffic 
from road to rail aims to achieve must not lead  to a further increase in railway noise levels. 
Switzerland, which is densely populated and has narrow mountain  valleys and t ourist areas, 
would be disproportionately affected, particular ly as it is contributing significantly to the 
modal shift by building the New Ra il Link through the Alps (NRLA).  G/TBT/N/CHE/152 
Page 2  
 
  8. Relevant documents:    
Federal Act of 24 Ma rch 2000 on Railway Nois e Abatement Measures 
(RNAA; SR 742.144; g, f, i). 
Technical specifications of inte roperability relating to the subsystem 'rolling stock - noise' of 
the trans-European conventional ra il system (Decis ion 2011/229/EU). 
For more details regarding the revision also see: 
http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/ gg/pc/pendent.html#UVEK  
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    1 January 2014 
1 January 2020 
10. Final date for comments:  31 August 2012 
11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresse s, if available of the other body:  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2012/tbt/CHE/12_1851_00_F.pdf  
http://members.wto.org/crna ttachments/2012/tbt/CHE/12_1851_00_x.pdf  
http://members.wto.org/crna ttachments/2012/tbt/CHE/12_1851_00_x2.pdf