Gotthard disaster spawns new pressure in Swiss mountains

The closure of the Gotthard tunnel has caused major traffic disruption on the other major routes to Italy Keystone Archive

Last month's deadly Gotthard tunnel fire has triggered a host of problems for the truckers who rely on alpine routes.

With both the Mont Blanc and Gotthard tunnels closed, passenger and freight vehicles are forced to take less suitable routes across the Alps, such as the San Bernardino tunnel, which links canton Graubünden with canton Ticino.

Within days of the Gotthard closure there were two serious accidents at the San Bernardino. Now Graubünden police are allowing traffic through the San Bernardino tunnel in only one direction at a time.

In a further bid to increase security on the Alpine pass, authorities on Monday announced that trucks are required to keep a distance of 150 metres.

To learn more about the problems experienced along the north-south route, swissinfo accompanied a truck driver, to view the situation first-hand.

While one-way traffic through the San Bernardino tunnel may be safer, the new regulations have caused frustrating traffic jams, as hundred of trucks queue up at the mouth of the tunnel.

Fear in the tunnel

Truck driver Timothy Jenkins, who works for the Swiss haulage company Planzer, regularly drives freight from northern Switzerland to the south. Jenkins says he was not surprised by the accident in the Gotthard.

“I was always frightened driving into the Gotthard,” he said, “very frightened. You can ask any truck driver; none of us like those single lane tunnels.”

Unfortunately for Jenkins, he now has to take his truck, loaded with chocolate, salt, and wine, through a tunnel that is even less suitable.

Like the Gotthard, the San Bernardino has only two lanes; one flowing in each direction, but it lacks the escape routes of the Gotthard.

The San Bernardino normally only sees around 500 trucks a day, but since the closure of the Gotthard more than 4,000 have been using it.

Increased prices

The San Bernardino route is also longer than the Gotthard, so there are increased costs in extra fuel and extra driver hours.

Planzer, like other Swiss companies, has followed the advice of the Swiss Hauliers Association, Astag, in passing the increase on to the customers.

“Often in the past the haulage companies have absorbed a price increase,” said Astag spokesman Beat Keiser. “But not in the case of the Gotthard closure. This time the users of road transport will pay, it works out at about SFr200 per journey.”

“In the long run,” Keiser added, “anything that has to be transported across the alps, in particular fresh fruit and vegetables, is likely to become more expensive.”

Cost to health

But the cost of the Gotthard closure is being counted in more than just money. In canton Graubünden, the local authorities have measured a sharp increase in air pollution.

Remo Fehr, Graubünden’s air quality inspector, said the worsening air quality is a direct result of the extra truck traffic.

“We are measuring an increased level of particles in the air,” said Fehr, “in particular, soot particles. This clearly comes from the heavy goods vehicles.”

“Particles in the air are known to be damaging to human health,” he continued. “But at the moment there is nothing we can do; we just have to put up with it until the Gotthard is re-opened.”

But the opening of the Gotthard, months from now, will not solve the problem of trans-alpine road traffic, it will simply spread it around a bit more.

Rail solution

Pollution levels around the Gotthard have been high for years, and the local population are among the keenest supporters of putting more freight onto the railways.

In fact as long ago as 1992 the Swiss voted in favour of putting all freight passing through the country onto the trains.

So far, that plan has remained a dream: 80 per cent of domestic Swiss freight still goes by road, and over 20 per cent of international freight also passes through the country on the back of a truck.

Guy Willis, chief spokesman for the International Road Union, the United Nations body which brings together road haulage companies world wide, says the delay lies at the European level.

Rail transit drawbacks

“At least the Swiss have started to dig,” Willis said, referring to the two trans-alpine rail links currently under construction. “But other European countries such as Germany and Italy just don’t have the infrastructure in place.”

“Traditionally the railway companies have focused on passenger traffic,” Willis continued, “and what this means is that the average freight train in Europe travels at only 18 kilometres an hour.”

So for drivers like Tim Jenkins, using the road, even if he has to wait in traffic jams at the mouth of a tunnel, remains the best solution.

“Rail transport is just not flexible or efficient enough,” said Jenkins, “the trains often don’t travel when we need them to, and many Swiss rail tunnels are not high enough for our trucks.

“Believe me,” he continued, “if there were rail freight point in Germany, Italy and Holland, with fast regular trains, we truck drivers would certainly use them.”

Switzerland’s planned trans-alpine rail links, the Lötschberg and the new Gotthard, should be ready by around 2010. Until then, truck drivers and mountain communities alike will have to put up with the road traffic, with all its harzards.

Belgian legal aid

Canton Ticino has requested legal aid from Belgium to assist their investigation into the cause of the Gotthard fire. A truck driver working for a Belgian company is believed to have caused the crash that started the fire.

Traces of alcohol have been found in his body, according to forensic scientist, Pierangelo Lucchini. “The quantity was too significant for it to just be alcohol naturally produced by a decomposing body,” he said.

Eleven people died in the disaster.

by Imogen Foulkes