Rail transport SBB wants to replace Russian positioning system by the end of 2025

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) would like to replace the positioning systems of the Russian company Infotrans by the end of 2025. However, this will cost CHF 900,000 more than expected, as SBB confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency.

Although the sanctions against Russia, which Switzerland supports, played a role in this, SBB had already taken measures independently of the sanctions in spring 2022 in order to become independent of the supplier.

According to SBB, the positioning systems locate condition data recorded on the route network, which is collected by various measurement and inspection systems using the diagnostic vehicles. In this way, any changes in the condition of the rails can be detected. The data is very specific and can only be used for the maintenance of the rail network, the Federal Railways added. They emphasized that the data collected did not go to a server belonging to Infotrans or any other Russian company.

According to SBB, it had received an exceptional permit from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) to obtain services for the support and maintenance of the systems.

Own system brings additional costs

Now a separate, equally functional system is to replace that of Infotrans, as previously reported by "Blick".

Around two million Swiss francs had initially been earmarked for the system, but due to the greater technical complexity of the software and the additional time required, additional costs are now to be expected, a spokesperson told Keystone-SDA. According to him, however, the costs for a separate system would be offset over the next five years.