Swiss transport head: trams and underground not prioritised enough
Swiss infrastructure relies too heavily on suburban railway lines, while the construction of new tram lines or underground railways is not given enough priority, the outgoing transport ministry director has said.
In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Thursday, Transport Ministry head Peter Füglistaler said the financing of tram lines or underground railways by the government must be politically scrutinised. The government could also consider the possibility of financing larger tram tunnels or underground railways entirely via the national railway infrastructure budget. “That would facilitate a more open mindset,” he said.
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Füglistaler added that the suburban railway network requires a certain distance, speed and capacity to achieve its full potential. However, “by building additional stops, we are going in the opposite direction”.
Incremental approach to major projects
In the interview, Füglistaler also curbed cantons’ expectations for upcoming expansion projects in public transport.
“We will have money for the first stages of major projects, but never to the full scale of the ideas and desires,” he said. He added that it was undisputed that public transport needed to be expanded in Basel and Lucerne.
“However, I am sceptical as to whether the ‘perfect solution’ is always necessary, as is being considered now,” he added. For this reason, an incremental approach is being sought.
Füglistaler will retire at the end of July, when he will hand over responsibility for the development of public transport and freight transport in Switzerland to Christa Hostettler.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kp
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