Switzerland has laid the groundwork for upgrading and adapting its transport infrastructure with a planning horizon extending to 2045. The decision was taken on 28 January 2026 by the Federal Council, the executive body of the Swiss government and the country’s highest authority. The measure is based on an expert assessment by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), together with evaluations by the relevant Federal Offices, and mandates the Datec – the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (Federal Department of Transport) – to draw up the project known as “Transport ’45” by June 2026. The plan will then be submitted for consultation, as required under Swiss legislation.
The document was eagerly awaited by transport and logistics operators, as well as by all the cantons with an interest in strengthening rail and road infrastructure. As often happens in such cases, strong local pressure was exerted to secure the inclusion of individual projects of cantonal interest, sometimes at the expense of broader, more strategic schemes. Indeed, a reading of the document approved by the Federal Council makes it hard to overlook the fact that investment has been channelled towards a limited number of priorities, relegating – or in some cases overlooking altogether – other measures that are far from marginal, perhaps simply because they lacked sufficient political backing.
Focusing on rail transport, the Federal Council’s attention is directed almost exclusively towards passenger services, with interventions centred on domestic traffic and, in particular, on the cantons along the central axis, while investments on the major transit corridors are left on the sidelines. Without delving into the details of individual lines, the first package of measures, worth more than €10 billion, aims to strengthen the network to guarantee fast passenger connections at half-hourly intervals, or even every 15 minutes, as on the Bern–Zurich route.
To achieve these targets, substantial investments are planned, including quadrupling of tracks or new cross-city links, such as the major project for an underground station in Basel. The final decision on this project, however, has been postponed until 2031, within a further package of measures worth another €8 billion. The Federal Council’s decision therefore disregards requests from operators and stakeholders to enhance the main connection axes, particularly cross-border routes. Unsurprisingly, this has prompted a response from Pro Gottardo-Ferrovia d’Europa, a long-established committee founded in 2016 to promote completion of the San Gottardo rail transversal.
According to the group, the document lacks a long-term vision and strategy, especially when it comes to restoring rail’s competitive capacity, strengthening connections with Europe and, not least, addressing the needs of the entire area south of the Alps. All of these aspects are effectively ignored by the Council’s paper, although the possibility of revisiting some positions has not entirely disappeared, with June 2026 marking the discussion of the 2026 Message on the expansion of rail infrastructure.
Pro Gottardo argues that at least some first-phase measures should be placed on the agenda to overcome the bottleneck at Lugano, through the construction of an underground pass-through line, together with a freight bypass at Bellinzona. This would create a direct link between the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Ceneri Base Tunnel, resulting in an alignment that is almost entirely four-track.
International support is also considered essential, above all from Italy, but also from Germany and Europe as a whole. In this context, the South of the Alps Alliance has already been established, bringing together Canton Ticino, Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria. Its aim is to draw attention to the need to complete the entire transalpine rail corridor following the base tunnels included in the AlpTransit project, and therefore the main rail link with Italy. As things stand, the final verdict is expected in June.
Piermario Curti Sacchi
