Get more out of it: Fitness program for sustainable infrastructure development

The Transport '45 study commissioned by DETEC from ETH Zurich clearly shows that the operation, maintenance and expansion of Switzerland's transport infrastructure face considerable financial challenges. There are insufficient funds for road, rail and agglomeration projects, and the predicted cost increases are significantly higher than previously expected.

economiesuisse welcomes the measures introduced by DETEC. Holistic, cross-modal planning in particular is of great importance for the future - transport does not take place in silos. It is now crucial for the economy that the way forward is shaped with a clear strategy and a sense of proportion. The debt brake must be adhered to. Additional tax burdens or levies for companies that are already under pressure from US tariffs, a weak economy or other external influences are not an option. At the same time, the further development of rail and road remains key for Switzerland: without intact infrastructure, the location will lose its attractiveness.

Cost explosion is not a law of nature - infrastructure development must change

When it comes to infrastructure expansion, it is not only what you do that is crucial, but also how you do it. The current debate is an opportunity to implement investments in a more targeted, efficient and therefore more sustainable way in the future. The industry sees five concrete approaches to this.

Better planning: Planning processes have a significant impact on project costs. Regulatory hurdles in the planning process must be specifically removed in order to speed up approvals and facilitate implementation. Cooperation between authorities and the construction industry must become simpler and more agile. In order to avoid costly corrections, an early dialog process is needed in which the necessary technical expertise is incorporated into the planning at an early stage of the project. A high-quality service concept is equally crucial as a basis: expansion investments must not be an end in themselves, but must be clearly based on a proven need and an economically sound service concept. This is the only way to avoid bad investments and implement projects efficiently.

Build better: As with planning, dialog with the market must be sought before the tendering process in order to ensure quality and feasibility and prevent substantial additional costs in the construction phase. The contracting authorities must formulate concise expectations and mirror these with the market at an early stage. This can prevent delays, expensive readjustments, construction stops and the "fragmentation" of project implementation. The leverage of new technologies must also be used much more to make infrastructure construction as efficient as possible.

Maintain better: Infrastructure maintenance must be organized more efficiently. This includes optimized maintenance management on both rail and road. A particular focus must be placed on maintenance during ongoing operations in order to ensure the stability of traffic. For example, simultaneous maintenance work on alternative routes should be avoided. The stability of freight traffic must also not be jeopardized by roadworks, for example by moving them exclusively into the night.

Better use: Doing one thing, but not leaving the other undone - in addition to the necessary expansion, better use of the existing infrastructure is also required. As rail experts have shown in a study, capacity could be increased by up to 25% with clearly defined operational measures - such as sorting trains by speed or optimizing entrances and exits at stations. Such known and feasible steps should be given priority before the implementation of major projects begins. In addition, the introduction of new electronic interlockings in each corridor should be worked towards as soon as possible. In addition, better use must be made of the available data on road and rail in order to identify congestion in the traffic flow at an early stage or to enable new, efficient business models with combined mobility. Administrations and companies can exert a local influence on work traffic through operational mobility management. A high level of user financing would also create the right incentives for efficient infrastructure use.

Focus on efficiency and innovation

For Swiss companies, it is clear that "business as usual" is not sustainable in the infrastructure sector. There needs to be a clear focus on efficiency, innovation and further strategic prioritization. Necessary investments can be offset by efficiency gains in the system itself. Debt or new taxes and levies are not a sustainable solution.