SWITZERLAND: Rail’s share of the north-south transit freight market reached its highest level for 25 years in the first half of this year, according to the Federal Office for Transport.
In its regular report on transit freight published in mid-September, BAV notes that rail carried 74∙4% of total net tonnage. It attributes this to completion of the NEAT project last year when the Ceneri Base Tunnel opened, allowing 4 m high swap bodies and containers to be carried on trains right through Switzerland.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel, centrepiece of the NEAT project, with its easy grades on the approach routes, means that longer and heavier trains can be operated. This contributed to a 3% rise in rail’s market share for the first half of the year compared with 2020. Other factors included the provision of financial incentives in various countries for shippers to use rail during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The total volume of north-south transalpine transit freight for the first half of 2021 was 15∙2% up on the same period in 2020. The total of 14∙6 million tonnes was also 4∙5% higher than for the first six months of 2019, suggesting that freight shipments have recovered from the downturn caused by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wagonload traffic was down by just over 1% compared with the first half of 2019 but unaccompanied intermodal services carried nearly 9% more, mainly on the Gotthard route.
However, 457 000 lorry journeys were recorded on the transit routes through Switzerland during the first half of 2021. This indicates that the government’s original target of limiting road transit traffic to a total of 650 000 trips a year by 2018 is still a long way from being met.
