Newsletter

We will keep you up to date by providing you with information in a nutshell - three times a year (only in German).

Monitoring the Gotthard axis

Gotthard and Ceneri: the impact of the new rail infrastructure on traffic and space

, , | Jan. 29, 2024


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More traffic, more freight on the railway, and the growth of residential areas on either side of the Gotthard portal: INFRAS, along with partner offices, was commissioned by the federal government to investigate the impact of the Gotthard axis's new rail infrastructure on traffic and space. However, the Gotthard tunnel is just one factor at play. 

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The Way Basle Wants to Continue its Development

, , | Jan. 5, 2017


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New tram routes in the city of Basle, direct accessibility to the A18 motorway at Aesch and an upgrading to a mobility hub of the border and customs point Lörrach-Riehen: These are important measures of the new agglomeration programme of the Basle region. The programme has been developed in joint collaboration by many actors from Germany, France and Switzerland. INFRAS has accompanied the process closely and has contributed to establishing the programme report.  

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Transport Outlook 2040

Development of passenger and freight transport in Switzerland

, , | Aug. 30, 2016


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In collaboration with the federal offices concerned, the Federal Office for Spatial Development ARE calculated how transport in Switzerland will develop up to 2040. In the reference scenario, the person-kilometres travelled will increase by a quarter by 2040. This is slightly less than projected population growth. By 2040, the share of all transport accounted for by public transport will rise by four percentage points. Assuming a 46 % increase in GDP, both the volume of freight transport and the tonne-kilometres transported will rise by 37 %. The cost of transporting freight by road will increase more than the cost of rail transport, so the modal split in terms of tonne-kilometres will shift by two percentage points towards the railways. (Photo: ARE)

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Implementation of the PLR cadastre

, | June 26, 2015

The PLR Cadastre comprises the most important public-law restrictions to private property in Switzerland. In a first phase, eight pilot cantons are implementing the Cadastre until the end of the year 2015. The office responsible at the federal level, swisstopo, has commissioned the present study. INFRAS analysed and compared the implementation organisations and the technical solutions chosen by the pilot cantons. The results are intended as a basis for decision-making for the rest of the cantons implementing the Cadastre in the second phase.The evaluation team identified several important factors for a successful implementation of the PLR Cadastre. For example, the cantons should clarify responsibilities, processes and legal procedures to be applied in case of inconsistent plans as early as possible. Regarding the technical implementation, generic solutions transferrable between cantons are recommended.

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Impact Study Geological Repositories

, , , | Nov. 18, 2014

Deep geological repositories (and their surface facilities respectively) have economic, ecological and social impacts on a siting region. These need to be identified objectively and as early as possible. It is with these objectives in mind that the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) commissioned a socioeconomic and ecological study in 2011 for all the six potential siting regions. INFRAS, together with Rütter Soceco and Ecosens, carried out the expert study. Now the final report of the study is available containing the following results:Economy: The more the construction and civil engineering as well as the metalworking sectors are represented in a region, the more added value, employment and, as a consequence, tax income are to be expected when a deep geological repository is constructed. Regions with a comparatively high proportion of sensitive sectors (tourism and agriculture), however, suffer a potentially negative impact from the presence of a deep geological repository. Environment: The highest impact concerning surface facilities arise in regard to consumption of land, crop rotation areas, excavated material as well as wildlife corridors. There is a low or no impact at all in regard to protected areas and ground water protection zones as these areas have been excluded on the basis of the site location process already. Society: The more the settlement area is dense, the aspired settlement growth is high and the surface facilities are well visible, the more a site is appraised as being negative. However, if there is industry and commerce represented in the vicinity of the site already the appraisal is less negative.All documents: www.bfe.admin.ch/soew

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Participation in Transport Projects

, , | Nov. 5, 2014


© KEYSTONE/Laurent Gillieron

Participation means being able to contribute and taking part in shaping and decision-making. Participation is a very common formula in our democratic system and it has also become considerably more important in the realisation of transport projects. As part of the research project SVI 2004/005 of the Swiss Association of Traffic Engineers SVI, INFRAS, together with ecoptima and kcw have developed a manual «Participation in Transport Projects».

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Long-Distance Mobility - Current Trends and Future Perspectives

, , | March 27, 2014

While in the recent years the mobility in the context of everyday life has almost stagnated in Central Europe, long-distance mobility continues to grow substantially. Against this background, the study at hand presents a lay of the land with regard to current trends and future perspectives of long-distance mobility in Central Europe, with a particular focus on Germany. In speaking of long-distance mobility, the study refers to all trips of more than 100 km (one-way).The segment of long trips to very distant destinations is dominated by holiday travel which accounts for a third of the long-distance passenger mileage. However, in the last ten years little has changed in this segment with regard to the number of trips, the average trip distance, and the use of transport modes.The segments of long-distance mobility which are currently growing most substantially and will continue to do so in the mid-term future are business trips and long trips in the context of everyday life, e.g. long-distance commuting. Important driving factors for this development are the demographic development and the evolution of settlement patterns, both of which also promote multi-local lifestyles.

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