Switzerland is fed up with the transport of goods that clogs its streets. His plan: travel underground

news hardware Switzerland is fed up with the transport of goods that clogs its streets. His plan: travel underground

Switzerland fears that its roads will be congested by 2040

Time and the environment are money in Switzerland more than anywhere else. Small country with 8.1 million inhabitants and an area of ​​41,285 km²Wedged between France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein (let’s not forget them!), we know it above all for its watches, its chocolate, its ski resorts, its neutrality and its banks.

Well established at the top of the 5 countries where the residents are the happiest in the world (Switzerland will be 4th in 2022
Ranking dominated by Finland
), the Swiss Confederation (the famous CH on cars) is facing a major problem, namely a significant increase in its freight transport flows.

According to their studies, if nothing is done soon, it will be 37% higher than 2010with all that entails, congestion on roads, railways, more accidents, more pollution, more noise, etc etc etc.

Among the solutions considered, curbing the flow of goods is clearly impractical and would endanger the country’s economy. Increasing the size and number of streets would have disastrous consequences for the environment and living environment so dear to the peaceful residents. And what if the solution isn’t on the ground or in the air, but underground?

Switzerland launches Operation Cargo Sous Terrain

Finally, after examining all the length, width and breadth solutions, the project called Cargo Sous Terrain (CST) was retained. This consists of digging and creating an ambitious and vast underground network of several hundred kilometerswith a multitude of ramifications, between Lake Constance at the north-east end of the country and Geneva to the south-west on the French border.

The project, which starts in August of this year, is scheduled to end by… 2045. The first section, around 70 km long, leads from the small town of Härkingen-Niederbipp to Zurich and, subject to any setbacks, is scheduled to go into operation in 2031.

For this first 70 km long section alone, including the logistics and hardware part, but also the entire software part and the machines, it should cost at least 3 billion Swiss francs (3.05 billion euros). An already considerable sum, but very far from the estimated total cost of the operation, watch your eyes… 30,000 million (yes yes, thirty billion!) Swiss francs (30,500 million euros). A sum fully funded by the market itself and the private sector.

Without going into too much technical detail, the Cargo Sous Terrain project will connect depot centers for bulky goods, as well as urban centers from which couriers using light electric vehicles can make deliveries to private homes.

Everything will be automated with ecological and electric vehicles, i.e. driverless, on rails and in three-lane tunnels at a speed of 30 km/h. Energy will come from 100% renewable sources and it will be possible to move furniture and materials, as well as fresh produce.

Although the project is of titanic proportions, its creators believe so This makes it possible to reduce truck traffic on the motorways by more than 40% and at the same time significantly reduce pollution and noise. Who knows, maybe other countries will follow suit?