The Swiss Federal Council Supports Cargo sous terrain

On January 29, the Swiss Federal Council established the legal basis for underground freight transport (UGüTG). For CTS AG, the future operator of Cargo sous terrain, this is another milestone.

(Basel, January 29, 2020) In the consultation on the Swiss Federal Act on underground freight transport, Cargo sous terrain (CST) received support from a large majority of stakeholders from politics and business. Based on these cross-party and cross-industry positive feedbacks, the Federal Council decided on January 29, 2020, to create the legal basis for Cargo sous terrain. The Federal Council also supports CST’s goal of advancing the project as a privately financed innovation predominantly in Swiss hands.With today’s decision by the Federal Council to establish the legal foundation for underground freight transport, the generational project CST has reached another milestone. The law is a prerequisite for the potential realization of a forward-looking overall logistics system. It creates clear conditions for the construction and operation of the facilities and the necessary legal certainty for investors. This paves the way for a unified planning approval process.

Broad Support for Cargo sous terrain

The vast majority of respondents see the need for the forward-looking freight transport system. According to estimates by the Federal Government, the amount of goods transported by road and rail will be 37 percent higher by 2040 than in 2010. This poses an enormous challenge for the Swiss logistics system. CST is developing an intelligent and efficient solution for this. Over 90 percent of the goods that CST will transport in the future would otherwise be moved by road. Rail and CST are complementary because there are few small-scale, pallet-based transports on the rail, which is the focus of CST.

CST Ecologically Significantly Better than Conventional Freight Transport

The freight transport system operated exclusively with renewable energy is ecologically significantly better than conventional transport. Compared to today’s truck transports, there are savings of up to 80 percent in CO2 emissions per transported ton of goods. The first section from Härkingen-Niederbipp to Zurich saves 40,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year, which corresponds to the annual emissions of the 7,500 residents of Moutier. Even in a future with electric trucks, CST performs better ecologically than all other transport scenarios, also due to significantly lower noise emissions and greatly reduced land consumption.

Connected City Logistics for Smart Swiss Cities

The connected city logistics of Cargo sous terrain aims to relieve cities by up to 30 percent of delivery traffic and by 50 percent of noise emissions. An overarching control of freight transport along the entire value chain and the targeted and timely arrangement of goods in the tunnel make this possible. Sales points and end consumers will no longer be supplied separately by different providers, but will be coordinated from the city hubs with environmentally friendly vehicles. Supply and disposal will take place in a joint tour.

A Swiss Pioneer Project

CST expects that the new parliament will soon begin discussions on the law for underground freight transport. With the enactment of the law, the contractually guaranteed 100 million CHF for the building permit phase of the first section from Härkingen-Niederbipp to Zurich will flow. From this point on, CST will also be predominantly in Swiss hands with 57 percent of the shares. Considering the deadlines for legislation and the participatory spatial planning process with the cantons, the opening of the privately financed overall logistics system is planned for 2031.

Photo: Cargo sous terrain

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