Being environmentally conscious also means sending a loud and clear signal when it comes to noise prevention. That’s why forward-thinking companies like GATX have been equipping their freight cars with new quiet brake blocks for years now.

The German government has passed the Schienenlärmschutzgesetz [Rail Noise Protection Act] which means all freight car providers are required to convert their fleets and equip them with quiet brake blocks. Starting from the 2020/21 timetable change, noisy freight transport will be strictly forbidden on the German rail network. Our Swiss neighbours, however, want to push ahead in this matter: They want to, and will, enforce a similar ban from 01.01.2020 – a whole year earlier than in Germany.

Good timing is everything. Even with regards to information.
Even if this decision has been common knowledge for a long time: Time goes quicker than you think – and when you are under a lot of day-to-day stress, it’s easy to forget about a crucial deadline such as this. It’s for this reason that GATX has given all customers another timely and proactive reminder about the Swiss regulation. As a second important step, GATX has already informed customers if the GATX cars that they are using will not be fitted with “LL blocks” by the start of 2020 – and will arrange for them to be equipped with the new “whisper brakes” as quickly as possible. It speaks for itself that this adaptation only affects a few cars – the rest of GATX’s extensive fleet is already quietly out and about on the rails. Thinking ahead also means always being one step ahead.