**Working the fields in Wylerfeld Bern, April 1943.** SBB Historic

The Swiss railways and food security

During the Second World War, there was a massive expansion in land used for agriculture in Switzerland to counter food shortages and difficulties with importing. Land that had been allocated for railway line construction was used instead for growing potatoes during the war years.

Marc Ribeli

Marc Ribeli is a historian and is responsible for the photo, film and video archives at SBB Historic.

At first glance, the scene above resembles one of many railway infrastructure construction or maintenance projects. However, on closer inspection you can see that the construction site on the 1943 photo is separate from the tracks and the surface area resembles the contours of a vegetable plot. There are no new railway tracks being laid, it's actually arable land. The photograph shows how the Anbauschlacht, as the Swiss plan to increase wartime domestic agricultural output was known, impacted the railway network.

The Anbauschlacht was launched in November 1940 under the Wahlen Plan. The plan was named after agriculture expert and post-war Federal Councillor Friedrich Traugott Wahlen and aimed to make Switzerland self-sufficient in food production during the Second World War by massively expanding the area of arable land. This was to be achieved by converting grassland to fields, clearance and soil improvement.

**Federal Councillor Friedrich Traugott Wahlen, around 1965.** Swiss National Museum / ASL

The obligation to achieve self-sufficiency extended to the general public and to industry, with companies being called on to grow food for their staff. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) should also have participated in the plan as an economic enterprise employing more than 100 people. However, it was exempted given the extraordinary strain on the company caused by the major increase in traffic plus the extra demands placed on staff. Nonetheless, the federal government did expect the staff and management to help out on a voluntary basis and the SBB Management Board encouraged employees to play an active role in tackling the growing food shortages.

**Railway staff working the land near Freienbach in the canton of Schwyz, May 1942.** SBB Historic

This boosted demand for arable land. Rail engineers and station masters were responsible for identifying potentially fertile areas near where they worked. However, the land bordering the railway lines was usually already used for agriculture or leased out to railway staff who used it to plant their own food. But ditches along the tracks were unused and were filled up and converted into narrow strips of land for cultivation. However, the soil was almost entirely of poor quality and usually needed humus and fertilizer.

Demand for agricultural land was especially high in urban areas and former storage areas for tracks and sleepers were converted into arable land for cultivating crops. Difficulties with importing during the war meant less storage space was needed.

**Storage area for tracks near Winterthur...** SBB Historic

**... was converted to arable land in the 1940s.** SBB Historic

In exceptional cases, crops were grown on the actual railway lines: some of the lines from the era of private rail were wide enough for a double track, although they were only single track. The redundant land formed a strip of about three metres wide. After some work, the land, although not amazing, was still cultivatable for the most part.

Potatoes and vegetables were the main crops on the new arable land, plus corn or grain when the climate was suitable. Basket willow was also cultivated for industrial requirements. Hazelnut trees, on the other hand, proved problematic: thieves kept stealing the nuts, so people stopped planting them.

**Unused track used for grain cultivation around 1943.** SBB Historic

The employees worked in the areas identified by the management. Many of them spent their free time tending to the crops, for which they received, among other things, travel discounts or incentives for taking chunks of holiday time or exchanging shifts. One to two extra days’ holiday were granted for tending large plots. Small bonuses were given, or letters of recognition sent for big jobs, such as cultivating remote areas. Trainees also had to devote some of their working time to agriculture. The railway sports clubs were very actively involved, for example the one in Bern cultivated an area of 20 hectares in 1943.

**Railway guard house in Schmitten Freiburg against the backdrop of the cultivation drive, August 1942.** SBB Historic

**Filling in ditches and depositing humus alongside the tracks, April 1945.** SBB Historic

All this work led to land occupied by the Swiss railway progressively being incorporated into the agricultural self-sufficiency programme. The SBB staff and management thus contributed to improving Switzerland's supply situation. Although the Wahlen Plan failed to meet its goals, it was still an important symbol of national unity. The railway employees were one of many groups who worked on the land and, in doing so, demonstrated the resilience and self-sufficiency of Switzerland during the war years. The SBB management were only too happy to mention the agricultural work of their staff in their own reporting, thus adding to the well organised national coverage.

More of: 20th / 21st century Economy Transportation War/battle Article

Further posts

Swift ascent at Lake Constance

Sabine Ochaba 02.07.2020 On 2 July 1900, the world watched spellbound as events unfolded at Lake Constance. At 8 p.m., Ferdinand Zeppelin’s first airship floated into the sky. Despite a few minor issues, the machine amazed people across the globe.

Serious crashes

Michael van Orsouw 30.06.2020 The 1920s were the decade of aviation. Air shows expressed visions of hope and expansion. But because of one fatal accident, aviation in Switzerland took a different direction, moving away from spectacle towards civil aviation. This change of direction happened exactly 100 years ago.

All electricity is not the same

Kilian Elsasser 22.05.2020 At the beginning of the 20th century, the electrification of the SBB was a hugely important step for the fledgling electricity sector. However, the issue of what type of energy should be used was a source of tension.