The year 2023 was challenging for the Swiss company Hupac, which saw an 11.7% reduction in shipments compared to the previous year. The number of road units transported by its trains fell to 975,000 (equivalent to 1,866,000 TEU), a decrease of 130,000 units from 2022. While transalpine traffic decreased by 7.6% to 540,000 shipments, non-transalpine traffic saw a more significant drop of 14.9%. In Northern Europe, Hupac transported 156,000 road units (295,000 TEU) from ports such as Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, and Rotterdam, reflecting a 13.2% decline.
The Swiss company attributes this negative trend primarily to a decline in transport demand across Europe due to the economic situation. This trend began in the autumn of 2022 and continued to impact the global economy in 2023. Additionally, a railway accident in the Gotthard Tunnel in August 2023 further constrained operations, with limitations expected to last until September 2024.
Hupac explains that several factors are straining the railway system, including significant increases in energy and traction costs and poor railway network quality, particularly in Germany, due to neglected maintenance and inadequate construction planning. This has resulted in bottlenecks, delays, and train cancellations on many corridors.
To address these challenges, Hupac has implemented measures such as adjusting its fleet to match demand, strategically consolidating its network, and managing capacity consistently. These efforts have helped the company absorb losses and stabilize operations over the year. Despite the traffic decline, which negatively impacted the balance sheet, resulting in a loss of 6.2 million Swiss francs (approximately 6.3 million euros), Hupac considers this outcome "acceptable" given the context and continues to invest in terminals and digitalization.
The company’s leadership has warned of the risk of a shift back to road transport. "We have been experiencing a negative spiral of poor railway network availability due to interruptions and construction work, coupled with rising energy, traction, and track costs," said Hans-Jörg Bertschi, Chairman of Hupac’s Board of Directors, on May 28, 2024. "Train punctuality on the north-south axis through Switzerland has dropped to 50%, and unplanned train cancellations exceed 10%. Under these conditions, the competitiveness of combined transport is suffering compared to road transport, which has overcapacity in the current recessionary market."
To prevent this shift, Hupac calls for support for intermodal transport, including infrastructural interventions. For example, the unstable traffic situation on the north-south axis through Switzerland could be improved with the creation of holding tracks for trains. "Buffer tracks north and south of the Alps ensure that trains can leave terminals even in case of interruptions and be temporarily parked along the corridor until they can proceed on a subsequent track," explains the company.
Regarding the Rhine railway, Hupac advocates for alternatives through France: "Upgrading the Belgium-Metz-Strasbourg-Basel route to a four-meter profile is a priority. It is in the interest of Swiss modal transfer policy that combined transport between Belgium and Italy can be routed through the shortest route via France to the Gotthard base tunnel."
Hupac has also prepared for the closure of the Rhine line at Rastatt, scheduled for August, by rerouting freight traffic through the Wörth-Lauterbourg-Basel route along the left bank of the Rhine for the first time. However, this involves additional costs due to route management in France and the use of hybrid locomotives and bilingual drivers.
Specifically, "Switzerland should co-finance the expansion of the Vosges tunnels, similar to what was done in Italy." The Wörth-Strasbourg line should also be considered as an alternative route, which needs to be enhanced as a feeder line for Alptransit for continuous freight train traffic with hybrid or diesel traction. Conversely, Hupac deems the planned redistribution of subsidies from long-haul to short-haul transport in alpine transit through Switzerland as counterproductive.
"The deeper the penetration of traffic into the German network, the greater the quality deficits and production costs, and hence the risk of a backshift," says Hans-Jörg Bertschi. "Subsidies should not be reduced on long-distance routes; otherwise, there will be a backshift to road transport." The company estimates that an additional fifteen million francs are needed to support combined transport between southern Germany and Alsace, and Italy.
For 2024, Hupac anticipates stable traffic on the routes it serves. Investment-wise, the company is focusing on enhancing offerings from the Köln Nord terminal, acquired by the Hupac Group in early 2023, and strengthening service on the Benelux-Italy corridor. In the autumn, Hupac plans to increase the frequency of the Zeebrugge-Piacenza train and link the Rotterdam-Brescia route to the Rotterdam C.RO terminal, with ferry services to the UK. The company also plans to connect the port of Lübeck to the Hupac network through the Ludwigshafen hub.
In Italy, Hupac sees significant opportunities with the expansion of the Piacenza terminal, set to be completed in early 2025. The facility has been enlarged and equipped with gantry cranes and 750-meter-long transshipment tracks. The following year, the Milan Smistamento terminal, developed with Mercitalia Logistics, is expected to open. In Spain, Hupac will open the La Llagosta terminal near Barcelona in 2025.
