Alpine transit
Tourism and transit
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 100 | Ill. 2
Overview
In transalpine transit traffic, the transport volume has increased strongly in recent years - mainly as a result of EU integration. In Switzerland, for example, the freight volume of goods transported by road has increased by more than half since 2000. In rail transport, the increases are lower, but also reach around 15 percent. The main burden of the traffic volume is borne by the connections between the major economic centres, for example from Milan via Bergamo and Verona to the Gulf of Venice, from Milan via Bologna and Florence towards the south (Rome) or from Stuttgart via Munich and Vienna to Bratislava. Other important routes include the route from Florence via Genoa to Nice and Marseille, the Gotthard route from Basel towards Milan and the Brenner route from Munich via Innsbruck to Verona.
Alpine base tunnels
As the diagram in the map shows, Austria and Switzerland have to cope with most of the transalpine transit traffic. Because the expansion of transport routes in both countries could only be achieved at high cost and with compromises (environmental damage, burden on the population), measures to reduce traffic, shift transport to the rails and expand public passenger transport have high priority in both countries. It is no coincidence that the share of environmentally friendly railways in total freight transport is by far the largest in Switzerland and the smallest in France.
The most important transport axis today is the 57-kilometre-long Gotthard Base Tunnel, which was opened in 2016 as the longest railway tunnel in the world. In the future, around 250 trains per day will pass under the Alps here, with a freight transport capacity of 40 million tonnes per year, which is roughly equivalent to the current volume between Milan and Bologna. Moreover, the trains currently need only 3.5 hours for the route Zurich - Milan, in future only 2.5 hours.
An important transport project in Austria is the 27-kilometre-long Semmering Base Tunnel south of Vienna, which will drastically reduce travel time on the Vienna - Graz route, but also significantly increase capacities; its completion is planned for 2028. Another major project there will connect Carinthia to the long-distance route Vienna - Graz - Maribor through tunnels and new roads.
