Alpine Freight Transport: Road and Rail Equally Affected by Corona

Freight transport through the Swiss Alps has significantly decreased due to the Corona pandemic and the associated restrictions in the first half of 2020. Both the number of truck trips and rail transports were reduced by around 12 percent. The share of rail in the total alpine-crossing freight transport remains unchanged at around 71 percent.

(Bern) The Federal Office of Transport (BAV) today published the report on the development of freight transport through the Swiss Alps in the first half of 2020. It shows that the Corona pandemic has also influenced alpine-crossing freight transport. Due to weaker industrial production and goods flows, transport through the Alps has decreased significantly, especially from mid-March and particularly in traffic with Italy. After a hesitant recovery in May and June, transport by road and rail in the second half of June returned to the level of the previous year or was even slightly above it.

In total, 408,000 trucks traveled through the Swiss Alps in the first half of the year, about 57,000 fewer than in the first half of 2019.

Stable Market Share of Rail

The transport volume on rail decreased by the same amount – by about 12 percent compared to the first half of 2019. Unlike in previous crises (e.g., the economic and financial crisis of 2008/2009), rail was able to maintain its market share of the total alpine-crossing freight transport. It stands at 70.8% for the first half of the year (previous year: 70.7%). How the situation will develop in the second half of the year depends heavily on the further economic development and the course of the Corona pandemic.

With the opening of the Ceneri Base Tunnel on September 3/4, 2020, and the completion of the New Railway Alpine Transversal (NEAT) as well as the commissioning of the 4-meter corridor on the Gotthard axis, Swiss relocation policy will be further strengthened. The Federal Council and Parliament also foresee various other measures to strengthen the relocation. These include, among other things, the relief of long freight trains regarding track pricing and an increase in the performance-dependent heavy traffic fee for older, less environmentally friendly trucks starting in 2021.

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