Europe profits from Gotthard Tunnel

The Swiss celebrated the breakthrough in the Gotthard Base Tunnel on the weekend. Europe will profit from having this 57 kilometre-long tunnel - the longest in the world - writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "The tunnel is motivated by a deliberate policy of transferring traffic from roads to rail. ... Many stand to gain from this 'one for all policy'. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is not only a service for Europe, as they are fond of saying in Switzerland; the transfer from road to rail will also do the country itself a service because this form of transporting goods reduces the strain of individual transport on people and environment alike. ... Experts estimate that the transport of goods through the Alps will increase by 70 percent and the transport of people by 75 percent in the next 20 years. This is why the Neat [AlpTransit] tunnels make a contribution towards providing for the future. In Europe's interest they should not be left as a half measure."

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