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Jun 27 2022

The Swiss do it again: legal approval for underground rail freight project

The Swiss Federal Council has approved the law on underground goods transport, which will come into force on 1 August. The law provides the legal ground for implementing a futuristic yet realistic project: the Cargo Sous Terrain (CST).

What is the CST? CST is a privately funded initiative aiming to create an underground freight-dedicated rail corridor connecting some of Switzerland’s most important production and logistics hubs. The company itself describes its vision as “building a complete logistics system for the flexible transport of small-component goods with tunnels connecting production and logistics sites with urban centres”.

 

Underground freight network

The first section of the CST network will run in Northern Switzerland between Härkingen-Niederbipp and Zurich. It will be around 70 kilometres long. The specific section will connect ten different hubs, while plans foresee their progressive connection with other key logistics and distribution centres within Switzerland.

CST says that the first section will open in 2031, while until 2045, “a network of 500 kilometres will operate between Lake Constance and Lake Geneva, with branches to Basel, Lucerne and Thun”. “The costs of building the first section, including software, hubs as well as underground and overground vehicles (for distribution in the cities) are estimated at 3 billion Swiss Francs”. Read more

 

Source: RAILFREIGHT.COM