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.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel has been in operation for almost eight years, but the new rail infrastructure on the North-South axis also includes the four-meter-long freight transport corridor (since 2020), the Ceneri Base Tunnel and the new canton railway station in Altdorf (both since 2021). INFRAS worked with Brugnoli & Gottardi and EBP to analyse the impact of the expansions for the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE).
More people and freight between the regions
Traffic from tourism has significantly increased on Gotthard's rail system. The number of travellers per day rose 48 percent between 2016 and 2022. By road, the number increased by 8 percent. Tourism was the main cause of the rise in traffic and it also increased the number of people in accommodation in Ticino.
There was also an increase in freight traffic: one cause was the rise in rail freight traffic because of the shift away from the roads. Another aspect involves regional freight traffic between Ticino and German-speaking Switzerland. For the first time, this led to a significant increase by rail alongside transit traffic.
Impact on Ticino and Uri – right into the centres of German-speaking Switzerland
The new rail infrastructure is also impacting the economy and demographics. The metropolitan area of Bellinzona in Ticino exhibited particularly strong growth, also caused in part by the Ceneri Base Tunnel.
The new Altdorf canton railway station impacted the growth of residential areas in Uri and also contributed to the increase in commuter traffic going further North into the centres of German-speaking Switzerland.
Analysis of the pandemic, not the tunnel closure
The impact of the rail expansion on the Gotthard axis has been under analysis since 2015. In an intermediary report, INFRAS, along with partner offices, discovered an increase in human and freight traffic in as early as 2021, alongside development of the economy and space in Ticino. The current analysis takes newer expansions into consideration. The coronavirus pandemic impacted the results available, but the closure of the Gotthard Base Tunnel after a train derailment in summer 2023 did not.
More information (in German)
- Synthesis report on monitoring the Gotthard axis from the Federal Office for Spatial Development
- Technical report on monitoring the Gotthard axis
- Dossier on monitoring the Gotthard axis from the Federal Office for Spatial Development
- Media release from the Federal Office for Spatial Development
- Intermediary report: Impact of the Gotthard Base Tunnel on Transport and Space (2021)
Project team
