The Swiss dream of building an monumental infrastructure project akin the Gotthard railway tunnel more than a century ago has come one step closer. And Credit Suisse, which once was founded to finance the Swiss railway system, is also on board.
Moving goods underground, making way for people above ground – the simple idea for a Swiss cargo train system below surface spanning the length of the industrialized area of Switzerland has caught the imagination of the country.
Cargo Sous Terrain (CST), the group behind the idea, has come a step closer to its realization. CST received investment pledges worth 100 million Swiss francs, it said in a statement today.
Major Swiss Industrial Partners
A number of partners have agreed to increase their existing stakes, including Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB), insurers Helvetia and Mobiliar, Coop and Migros, the country's two large retail chains, Swiss Post and Swisscom, the telecommunications giant.
Further partners have pledged to participate in the project by contributing know-how, CST said. One of them is Credit Suisse (CS), Switzerland’s second-largest bank. CS was founded in 1856 by Alfred Escher to finance the construction of the Swiss railway network. Having CS as a partner on board is hugely symbolic for the new project that would be as spectacular as the construction of the railway tunnel through mount Gotthard, which was completed in 1882.
Chinese and European Interest
Other companies to join the team are Gotthard 3, a mechatronic firm, Meridiam, a European infrastructure developer and Dagong Global Investment, a Chinese infrastructure investment firm.
With the financing pledges, CST fulfilled the demands by the Swiss government for a manifestation of interest by the private sector in the construction of such a logistics infrastructure underground. The firm expects to receive permission to start building, having achieved this vital financing milestone.
First Stretch by 2030
If all goes to plan, Switzerland will have a three-lane tunnel deep underground by 2030. Unmanned, electric vehicles will move goods between Haerkingen and the Zurich region – the first stretch of a countrywide network. The tunnel will cost an estimated 3.5 billion Swiss francs to build.
CST aims to construct a network spanning the whole of Switzerland, with some 80 access points. The company plans to complete the network by 2045.
