Quick measures for Rhine Valley railway required
The completion of the Rhine Valley railway between Karlsruhe (Germany) and Basel (Switzerland), which will be open to 740 m and 2,000 t heavy trains, is not expected before 2040-2045. The Association of the Swiss railway industry VAP and the carriers Hupac, SBB Cargo and BLS Cargo have therefore called for the implementation of alternative solutions.
Current capacity bottlenecks, construction sites, technical disruptions and insufficient diversion routes are putting such a strain on the network that regular freight transport operations have become almost impossible.
The companies propose to accelerate the upgrade of the Wörth-Lauterbourg-Strasbourg line, facilitate access to diversion routes via France, push ahead with the renovation of the corridor in Germany and organise a round table meeting involving all infrastructure managers of the Rhine-Alpine corridor. (ben)