Commission calls for instruments to strengthen relocation
Published: Tuesday, Mar 26th 2024, 19:30
Volver a Live Feed
The transfer of freight traffic on the north-south axis from road to rail is to be accelerated. The majority of a National Council committee wants to achieve this with five motions. It proposes various instruments.
The constitutional goal of shifting freight traffic through the Alps is a long way off. In 2023, 916,000 truck journeys were counted through the Alps. According to the modal shift target, this figure should be 650,000 per year.
The majority of the National Council's Committee for Transport and Telecommunications (KVF-N) is of the opinion that the modal shift target cannot be achieved without further efforts, as the parliamentary services announced on Tuesday. It has therefore approved four motions and one postulate. The opposing minority believes that the existing instruments for the modal shift policy are sufficient.
Extensions to the left of the Rhine
According to the first motion, the Federal Council should advocate the expansion of the tunnel on the NRLA feeder route from Metz in France to Strasbourg and Basel to a four-meter corridor profile for combined transport. The Confederation should offer France the prospect of financial assistance, as has already been done with Italy.
In view of the major construction sites in Germany, the expansion on the left bank of the Rhine is the only option for the next twenty years, according to the motion. The motion also calls for the Wörth-Strasbourg railroad line to be upgraded so that it can be used as a feeder line for the NRLA.
The second KVF-N motion calls for the provision of buffer tracks along the north-south corridor and on both sides of the Alps. Trains should be able to be temporarily parked there if they are unable to run due to disruptions.
The third motion calls for more money to ensure that more goods are loaded onto trains instead of trucks, even over medium distances. We are talking about an additional 15 million francs. The Federal Council should refrain from shifting subsidies from long to medium transport distances.
Fully adjust HVF to inflation
The fourth motion calls for the performance-related heavy vehicle charge (HVC) to be fully adjusted in line with inflation. This means that by 2025 at the latest, the charge should be as expensive in real terms as it was when it was introduced in 2001.
Because the Federal Council has adjusted the fee too little and not enough in line with inflation, it is tending to become cheaper and cheaper in real terms. As a result, its shifting effect has diminished.
With a postulate, the KVF-N wants to commission the Federal Council to examine a new Alpine transit levy. It should explain whether and how such a levy could lead to more modal shift. The report should also provide information on the legal adjustments that could be made to introduce the levy for trucks.
According to the reasons for the postulate, an Alpine transit levy is anchored in the overland transport agreement with the EU. The Commission wrote that it would enable the maximum levy rate to be almost fully utilized. It estimates the revenue from the charge to be in the double-digit million range.
©Keystone/SDA
Spanish 
English 
German 
French 
Arabic