Swissinfo - Switzerland / March 10, 2007
Railways drug tests meet with criticism
The data protection commissioner has reacted with scepticism to the news that the Swiss Federal Railways are routinely subjecting their workers to drug tests.
According to a report on Swiss television on Friday, all train drivers and conductors under the age of 40 years old must undertake regular urine tests to check for the presence of cannabis.
This is so that they can come to work with a “clear head”, Federal Railways spokesman Roland Binz told the 10vor10 news programme.
According to the report, the company says it does not accept smoking of cannabis during or outside work times and has called for 100 per cent abstinence.
If the test is found to be positive, the affected driver has to sign a contract stating they will not use drugs at any time.
Binz confirmed to the Swiss news agency on Saturday that the tests took place as part of routine health checks, which also included all those involved in safety such as technicians and mechanics, as well as train personnel.
The decision to check those under 40 was taken as it was thought that older employees were less likely to smoke cannabis.
Full story here
It is funny how most of positives in USA have been engineers in 40 to 58 year age group.
In USA testing is for all or for nobody as age discrimmination comes to mind in swiss case.
And in USA you get 2 strikes your out.
Yeah, those swiss are a tough breed.
Knowing the extremely liberal bent of European countries to pot, I thought this topic was about quality standards for same…I could envision railway officials passing around a doobie…age as a risk indicator…is silly. Brings to mind the hapless and infamous Ricky Gates…who I recall putting on a blistering self defense…and admission of guilt…on a thread…pretty dramatic stuff…was enrolled in a substance abuse program …was it here that this played out?
I guess there is no “Riding on the Marikeesh Express” in Swizerland. 
There is some logic in these tests. Swiss Federal Railways and most commuter operation companies I know in Switzerland have a clear policy regarding alcohol. 0,0 percent if you report to work and no alcohol during hours of service. Since cannabis can have similar effects on the driver’s ability like too much alcohol, but lasts longer in the human body, I would prefer not to have an engineer who at the throttle of “my” train if he smoked pot the evening before.