Cargo-troubled terrain: There are tunnels under all of Switzerland and no one talks about it

This first 70-kilometer route alone costs 3.6 billion francs. The operating company expects costs of over $30 billion for the entire freight metro network. This is more than is planned for highway or rail expansion over the next few decades.

De Meuron and Piccard as fans

Unlike roads and railways, the underground freight transport network is not a project of the federal government and the cantons, but of the private Cargo sous land AG. The money is provided by private investors from home and abroad. This eliminates budget debates in parliament and referendums on construction loans. This is the only reason why this ambitious program should be considered.

The federal government only sets the framework conditions; For example, the operator of the freight metro must transport all customers’ goods under the same conditions. The underground area where the tunnels are built is under the sovereignty of the relevant canton.

There has not been a private infrastructure project of this size in Switzerland since the railway pioneers in the 19th century. The support committee includes politicians and businessmen from left to right, as well as architect Pierre de Meuron and adventurer Bertrand Piccard. “People came together here to develop smart ideas and also take risks,” former Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga praised in parliament two years ago.

Critical voices are rare. One of them is Urs Huber, SP’s cantonal councilor in Solothurn. “There is no real debate because it costs nothing to the public purse,” he says. “The project will have an impact on traffic and urban development across the country.” The 62-year-old transport politician worked as head of service at the former Däniken AG mail distribution center and today heads the SBB infrastructure department at the railway workers’ union SEV.

New solutions are needed to meet the growing demand for goods deliveries, he says. But all interests must be taken into account and evaluated relative to each other: economic, traffic, settlement planning, social and ecological. “We do not leave the planning of our road and railway network to a single private company. “Why would this make sense when a third transportation infrastructure is being created underground?”

Completely new logistics system

The creators of cargo sous land do not in any way deny that their project goes far beyond a new way of transporting goods. Board member Daniel Wiener says the freight metro will create a completely new logistics system that will get under the congestion around the clusters. CEO Peter Sutterlüti was quoted as saying: “Cargo sous land will revolutionize freight transport in Switzerland and improve the quality of life of future generations in the countryside and cities.”

The biggest advantage they praise is the package delivery made possible by the Cargo sous land. Goods are sorted underground, in three-lane tunnels and at loading and unloading stations called hubs, so that precise distribution on the surface requires as few trips as possible. Cargo sous land calculates the most efficient delivery routes and also chooses the right vehicle for the last mile, sometimes a small truck, sometimes a cargo bike. This means: Everything that passes through the freight metro is delivered to the buyer’s door.

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“Nowadays, many store chains deliver their own goods, and small loaded 20-ton trucks often travel half the city to deliver to a particular branch,” says Wiener. Research has shown that cargo-challenged terrain can reduce truck traffic by up to 20 percent in Switzerland and by up to 30 percent in cities. CO₂-Emissions from freight transportation will drop significantly.

It is unknown what the centers will look like

The cargo sous land also sees itself as an urban developer bringing logistics back to the hubs with its hubs. In a noise- and dirt-free space four times smaller than traditional goods handling facilities. “Underground city centers could become multifunctional market halls of the 21st century, with small businesses, schools, shops and apartments,” says Wiener.

But everything is still a vision, a plan at best. The least obvious is what the hubs should look like; the heart, brain and face of the project. Next year, the locations of transfer hubs and the route of the freight metro must be included in cantonal master plans. Those affected, both municipalities and private individuals, can appeal.

What if the Cargo sous land project fails?

Daniel Wiener says there is no need to fear the consequences of the pioneering project. Various engineering and architecture offices are currently working on visualizing the centers in consultation with communities. “Planning authorities are looking very closely to ensure our project meets the overall objectives in terms of traffic, spatial planning and the environment.”

But questions still remain. Are Cargo sous ground’s potential customers ready to transfer this close relationship with their customers, the delivery of their goods to another company and handle logistics together with the competition? Do we really need a completely new infrastructure to make freight transport in Switzerland more efficient and sustainable? What happens if the cargo sous land fails?

“Everyone who knows the industry concludes that the promises of cargo sous land are too good to become reality,” says SP cantonal councilor Urs Huber. The SBB unionist’s decision is shared by other critics such as transport company Nils Planzer and SVP National Assembly Member Benjamin Giezendanner.

Huber says that each company organizes the transportation of goods in its own way. For this reason, loading of goods on railways almost never happens, even though it is politically desired and supported by the state. “For cargo land to actually be used, it needs to be decided from above, in the style of China’s planned economy.”

In its current form, the freight metro project would either target only the commercial interests of the operating company, which would “eliminate most of the benefits that Switzerland hopes to gain from the new infrastructure.” “Or eventually the state will have to step in to ensure that all investments and construction are not wasted,” Huber said. “After all, that was the case for the railroad pioneers of the 19th century.”

“The pain is not big enough”

It is noteworthy that the support from politicians is broad, but many experts in logistics, transportation and sustainability research are quite ambivalent. “Do I want the freight metro to come? “I don’t know,” says Maike Scherrer, who researches sustainable supply chains at ZHAW in Winterthur.

“The determining factor is whether Cargo sous land has good hub locations in city centres.” It is clear that competitors abroad have their goods delivered together. In Monaco, for example, in the winding urban centers of Italy or in the completely cycling-oriented Dutch cities. When the roads are narrow and there is no space for trucks, companies are happy to deliver. “The level of suffering in Switzerland is not yet great enough,” says Professor Scherrer.

Prediction: 30 percent more freight traffic

But online business is increasing every year and the population is also increasing. Freight transportation will increase more than 30 percent by 2050, according to federal projections. Cities also want to become more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. “The authorities now need to determine the route of future supply of goods. You have the necessary levers for this,” says Maike Scherrer.

For example, keeping central areas free for logistics, where goods could be transported from a future freight metro as well as rail. Or create rules that encourage bundling of goods transportation, such as banning the use of large trucks in city centers. It will also be possible to tender the distribution of goods on a privileged basis; This means that a certain company takes over the distribution of the entire city or a district for a certain period of time.

Scherrer says freight logistics is at the heart of life in the centers of the future. It was long neglected in urban planning; The topic has always been about housing, culture, shops, new bus and tram lines or cars. “If this situation changes now and the debate about logistics spills over into politics and society, the cargo-troubled terrain has already had a major impact.”