In 2021, the Swiss Hupac handled record traffic volumes

Hupac pointed out that if all transport segments have contributed to the positive development of 2021, last year the transalpine traffic has grown by +11.8% thanks to especially the success of the 4-meter corridor via Gottardo, while in non-transalpine traffic the segments of Europe Southeastern and Southwestern have developed a lot dynamic. In addition, the Swiss company has specified that in traffic containerized maritime ERS Railways, a group company Hupac, has recovered the losses due to the pandemic of the year previous and recorded satisfactory growth in volumes despite persistent volatility.

Explaining that the positive development of traffic is to be traced back to last year's economic recovery, but also to the growing interest in logistics for transport solutions on competitive and climate-friendly rails, and emphasizing that Hupac, thanks to a reliable service, is able to meet the expectations of the industry and transfer further volumes on the railway, the managing director of the group Swiss, Mikhail Stahlhut, clarified that however "the prerequisite is a stable quality. This - has observed - requires better management of construction sites of construction today and in the coming years and decades, especially on the Rhine-Alps corridor. Disruptions and inefficiencies such as occurred in the second half of 2021 - he specified - they must not be repeated."

In this regard, the president of Hupac, Hans-Jörg Bertschi, noted that of crucial importance for the coming years is the creation of international bypasses such as upgrading a alternative route on the left bank of the Rhine between Karlsruhe and Basel: "the additional capacity we have need for reliable traffic management on the routes of feeding of Swiss base tunnels - he said Bertschi - can be created in a short time and with a relatively small funding. Upgrading the axis north-south on the left bank of the Rhine is a prerequisite important for the full use of Alptransit and for further transfer of transalpine freight traffic'.

Hupac executives also warned that another challenge for combined transport consists of the current explosion of energy costs, with energy costs of traction that in several European countries have doubled or even doubled tripled, with the result of an increase in prices that cannot be compensated and that is putting a strain on competitiveness of combined transport. 'The energy costs of transport rail freight - said Mikhail Stahlhut - should be evaluated in macroeconomic terms. We can achieve the breakthrough green only with competitive prices. A contribution to the costs of transmission of electricity, that is, the component of price for railway power plants, overhead lines, etc., it would serve to mitigate the current situation and would send a an important signal to the market'.

On the occasion of today's presentation of the operating results achieved in 2021 the Swiss company has also outlined the key features of its strategy for 2021-2026 which provides for an increase in the offer on the key market of the transalpine transport through Switzerland and improvement of productivity in order to compensate for the reduction in subsidies. Other development priorities for Hupac are southern Italy, Spain, eastern and southeastern Europe. The programme for the next five years foresees investments of 300 millions of Swiss francs for terminals, rolling stock and computer systems. "With an annual growth of 7% - he said Hans-Jörg Bertschi - we aim for a volume of 1.5 million of road shipments in 2026'.