Switzerland discusses underground freight transport
On 1 February 2024, the Federal Office of Transport and the Federal Office for Spatial Development launched the consultation phase for the Sectoral Transport Plan, Underground Freight Transport section. This consultation gives the affected cantons the opportunity to comment on the planned Cargo sous terrain project.
Cargo sous terrain AG has presented an ambitious project: the construction of an underground tunnel system for the transport of goods, financed and operated by private actors. After the Federal Act on Underground Freight Transport came into force on 1 August 2022, the legal basis for such an undertaking was created. The Sectoral Transport Plan, a spatial planning instrument, has now set the planning course for the first section from Härkingen to Zurich with the Underground Freight Transport sub-project.
The SUG includes the planned route and the basic parameters of the distribution centres, the locations of which are to be specified in the structure plans of the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Aargau and Zurich involved. Consultation with the cantons has been initiated in order to harmonise regional interests and spatial planning aspects. From March, this process will continue with the participation of municipalities and the population in order to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and concerns.
Once the consultations have been completed and all comments have been taken into account, the SUG will be finalised and submitted to the Federal Council for a decision. This process demonstrates Switzerland’s commitment to innovative transport solutions that support sustainable spatial and environmental development while increasing the efficiency of freight transport in an increasingly networked economy.