Ascension weekend attracts thousands to the south on Wednesday

Published: Wednesday, May 8th 2024, 15:00

As expected, the extended Ascension weekend attracted thousands of people to the south on Wednesday. Traffic was already jammed in front of the Gotthard in the morning. Despite the tense situation, the Federal Council has no intention of introducing tunnel tolls.

At 9 a.m., the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) estimated on the short message service X that the traffic jam in front of the Gotthard north portal was one kilometer long. Less than two hours later, it was already ten kilometers. By early afternoon, the queue had grown to 13 kilometers. For car passengers, this meant that they had to wait around two hours and 10 minutes before they could drive through the tunnel into Ticino.

The police closed the highway entrances to Wassen and Göschenen. This was to prevent traffic from avoiding the villages in the Reuss valley in Uri. In its forecast, the TCS assumed that the traffic situation would calm down towards Friday evening. Return traffic is therefore expected on Sunday.

Trains are also pretty full

Trains to the south are also likely to be full over the weekend. According to SBB, some trains were already fully booked on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. In some cases, there were also no more free seats for the return journey on Sunday. Because standing room is also limited, train managers may have to ask passengers to leave the train if there are too many passengers on board.

SBB expected most travelers to the south on Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 7 pm and on Thursday between 7 am and 12 noon. Most travelers are likely to want to start their return journey between 2 pm and 7 pm.

Federal Council adopts measures...

North-south traffic and the associated obstructions were also a topic at the Federal Council meeting on Wednesday. The government decided to take measures to prevent traffic diversions along the freeways in the Alpine region. For example, it wants to have temporary closures of junctions on the A2 southbound analyzed and tested in greater depth.

The Federal Council also believes that cantonal roads should also be adapted to protect villages along busy freeways. This could be done, for example, with traffic metering systems at village entrances. The Federal Council also recommends "further intensifying" automated exit metering at junctions with the A2 through the canton of Uri and the A13 via the San Bernardino tunnel.

...but no fees

However, the state government does not want to hear about tunnel fees or a so-called slot management system for tunnels. This means that road users would only be able to drive through at a certain time and would have to register in advance. The Federal Council is opposed to this because it believes that large waiting areas would be required in front of the Alpine tunnels in order to implement it.

According to the Federal Council, the introduction of a toll for crossing the Alps would have a positive impact on the traffic situation. However, the toll would mean that the canton of Ticino would only be connected to the rest of the country by toll roads that are open all year round.

©Keystone/SDA

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