West Europe - Area 4

Position paper

The Luino line is the main route for unaccompanied combined transport (UCT) through Switzerland and a key element in the Rotterdam-Genoa freight transport corridor. So it is all the more astounding that international infrastructure development is increasingly ignoring it.

The strategic development of combined transport must consider various factors: the suitability of the railway lines to carry freight, the track capacity and quality, as well as the available terminal capacity. In the ongoing coordination process between Switzerland and Italy, a number of important aspects seem to have been disregarded.

The focus on the Chiasso line that can be seen among influential governmental and railway circles today is limiting the development prospects of the existing UCT system and pushing the intended benefits of the NEATinto the far distance. This is devaluing the investments already made in combined transport and calling modal shift policy into question.

Both are needed:

• moderate expansion of the Bellinzona-Luino-Novara line for existing traffic in the first phase
• and the establishment of a freight transport corridor via Chiasso-Seregno-Bergamo for future traffic in the second phase.

For further information please refer to the Position paper in the Download section.