Renewed demands for discounts after Gotthard delay
Published: Thursday, Nov 2nd 2023, 16:50
Updated At: Friday, Nov 3rd 2023, 00:54
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SBB's problems in the Gotthard base tunnel have reignited discussions about discounts or special solutions for rail passengers to and from Ticino. Raffaele De Rosa, president of the Ticino government, demanded on Thursday that SBB compensate season ticket holders and create incentives for day-trippers.
In the summer of 2024, SBB would have to "use all the leeway" to improve connections to southern Switzerland, De Rosa said in response to a question from the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The lobby group for public transport customers "Pro Bahn" also repeated demands on Thursday for an extension of the duration of the General Abonnement (GA) and the route season tickets. This applies to people who work and live in Ticino and south of the Gotthard.
Alliance Swiss Pass, the umbrella organization of 250 transport companies and 18 tariff associations in Switzerland, referred to measures that SBB had already announced in August: The General Abonnement (GA) Night for under-25s living in Ticino has been valid since September 10 on Sundays from 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. for travel to German- and French-speaking Switzerland.
There is also a discount for luggage and bicycle transport to Ticino and back until the end of November. However, no other measures are planned, said Reto Hügli, media spokesman for the Alliance Swiss Pass, when asked.
Those who do not want to use the GA because of the longer travel time to Ticino can also deposit it for 30 days or have it refunded at existing conditions.
Pro Bahn for planned SBB concept
According to its president, De Rosa, the Ticino government is disappointed overall about the delayed reopening of the Gotthard base tunnel. The accident has revealed the vulnerability of the north-south connections, he summed up. As the only canton located on the south side, the connection to the rest of Switzerland is of fundamental importance for Ticino, he said.
SBB has invested too little in innovation in recent decades, criticized Bruno Storni, a member of the Ticino National Council and transport politician. In the eyes of the SP politician, the wheel damage to the freight car could have been detected and the extent of the accident in the Gotthard Base Tunnel avoided.
Pro Bahn demanded that SBB should now make the remaining train paths in the Gotthard Base Tunnel available, if possible, to the very busy trains to and from Italy. In this respect, Pro Bahn welcomes the statement of the SBB top management on the planned use of the train paths.
The SBB wrote on Thursday that from the timetable change, they want to increase the capacity for freight traffic during the week, those for passenger traffic at the weekend. According to a new concept, which has yet to be approved, significantly more and faster passenger trains would travel through the base tunnel over the weekend than today.
BAV will check concept
The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) announced that it would examine this train path distribution concept once it had been received. It will check whether the requirements of the federal government for the distribution of train paths between freight and passenger trains are met.
The FOT is in contact with SBB and is aware of the serious damage in the tunnel. It is also crucial for the FOT that traffic on this important axis can be resumed as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible, within the normal framework. The procedure for repair and safe operation is basically the operational responsibility of SBB.
©Keystone/SDA
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