April 2, 2024 (EIRNS)—In what is very rare these days, when hardly any projects are in the media, Swiss and German television report on promising perspectives for the “Cargo Sous Terrain” (CST) project, an underground transportation grid, 500 km long, connecting all major cities of Switzerland for commodity transport.
After numerous years of discussion without decision, the CST project is picking up speed: The Federal Office of Transport and the Federal Office for Spatial Development have published the sectoral plan for the first section of the route between Zürich and Härkingen. It shows where the route is to run and where the distribution centers—the so-called “hubs”—are planned. This is the first step in the approval process.
The project aims to revolutionize freight transport in Switzerland. As the name suggests, Cargo Sous Terrain aims to transport goods underground. A tunnel system up to 40 meters below the surface is to be built at a cost of CHF30 billion Swiss francs, in which remote-controlled electric carts will transport goods across Switzerland.
Cargo Sous Terrain wants to use the underground logistics system to reduce the number of trucks on Swiss roads by 40%. Construction is scheduled to start in just two years, and the first transport vehicles should be in use from 2030 on.
