Until the 1980s, a simple classification could be applied to Alpine-wide transport: there were travellers and there were locals. The economic effects of their behaviour predominated: locals profited from the travellers and accepted the increasing tourism and transit traffic. This all went well until noise and air pollution became rampant, while a growing environmental awareness took hold. The ecological limits became visible. Today, people living in the Alps also travel far, with many commuting to work by car and thus filling the roads in the main valleys, where transit traffic also constantly hums. Consequently, calls are made to expand the network of motorways and expressways.

The long haul from road to rail

The tried and tested remedy is called the modal shift. The aim is to reduce private car and lorry traffic, to make greater use of public transport, bicycles or footpaths and, for long-distance holiday and goods traffic, to travel primarily by rail. Very few people do this of their own free will; both private individuals and companies need incentives or regulations. In respect of passenger transport, heavily discounted offers such as Austria’s successful Klimaticket or the upcoming 49-euro ticket in Germany have been shown to work. For heavy goods transport, the motto is: get freight onto the railways! But no freight company will do this voluntarily as long as its lorries can cross the Alps more cheaply by road. Financial incentives are needed. The European Road Charging Directive (Eurovignette Directive), revised in 2022, provides for increased charging for costs due to heavy road traffic, such as environmental damage or infrastructural and health costs. Unfortunately, the Eurovignette Directive does not go as far as the Swiss model – the performance-based heavy goods vehicle charge – which makes it more advantageous to transport goods by rail.

The Simplon Alliance: a milestone despite hiccups

It is all the more gratifying that the Swiss Presidency of the Alpine Convention took the initiative and, in 2022, was for the first time able to rally both the environment and transport ministries of the eight Alpine countries behind a common programme. On the sunny morning of 27 October 2022, they joined forces in the Alpine town of Brig to form the Simplon Alliance and set out on "the road to net zero emissions in Alpine transport by 2050 at the latest". The accompanying action plan aims to achieve the modal shift and decarbonisation of all transport in the Alpine region: in freight transport and cross-border passenger transport, in tourism and in local leisure mobility. While the Italian delegation in Brig gave its consent, it unfortunately did not sign, as the country had just seen a change of government.

Transport capacities remain limited

All the goals set are based upon one central insight: that the maximum capacities of transalpine transport connections are limited. This will remain the case even with the new flat rail lines and railway tunnels under the Brenner Pass or Mont Cenis (Fréjus), which are scheduled to open in the 2030s. The same applies to roads. In order to find the best possible solutions, these capacities have to be seen as intercommunicating pipes: the traffic flows can be shifted, but the overall capacity cannot be increased. Consequently, there is a need for joint, pan-Alpine traffic management that also will include Switzerland. It is important to protect the population in and around the Alps, but not short-term profits. After all, traffic is made by and for people.

This is an abridged version of the text. The full text can be found in the current, free issue of SzeneAlpen No. 110 "Begegnungszone Alpen": www.cipra.org/szenealpen (de, fr, it, sl)