In 2024, the Swiss Hupac Group transported 949,000 Road shipments in combined road-rail transport, volume which corresponds to a decrease of -2.6% on the previous year and is equal to 1,818,000 TEU containers. Transportation services only transalpine through Switzerland recorded a slight Decrease of -0.2% despite capacity constraints in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, while - announced today the company - the interruption of the line via Modane and the adjustments network in the north-east of Italy have led to a sharp decline in the transalpine traffic through France and Austria. The non-transalpine traffic with Western European markets, and southeastern remained substantially stable, with a slight decrease of -1.2%. Hupac explained that, "in addition to cyclical decline in transport demand, the Problems in the railway network are the main cause of a traffic development below expectations".

Referring to the dysfunctions of the railway network, Hupac CEO Michail Stahlhut noted that "a deflection capacity of 80% is the minimum necessary to prevent freight traffic from migrating to the road. If the additional costs are considerable," he said We expect the infrastructure manager to make Concessions. After all, the current performance crisis is the result of structural negligence and funding of the past".

Recalling that on the occasion of the total closure of the railway of the Rhine Valley in August 2024 for construction work Hupac has launched a pioneering cooperation project cross-border between France, Germany and Switzerland with the establishment of the diesel shuttle through Alsace, which made it possible to Bypass the line disruption with 20 freight trains per direction and day, Stahlhut specified that "from the beginning of 2025, a part of our transport between Belgium and Italy it is conducted through France instead of Germany. This allows us to reduce the risk of irregularities and improve the reliability of our transport services". As regards the measures deemed necessary to address the disruptions to railway lines, Stahlhut explained that Hupac recommends the creation of sidings along the North-South corridor through Switzerland, e.g. in Basel, Karlsruhe, Offenburg and Chiasso, which - he underlined - "measure important to reduce the impact of disruptions and maintain the traffic flow".

Referring then to the company's initiatives for the development of the combined transport and specifying that at the heart of this strategy there is the expansion of the capacity of the terminals in Cooperation with partners, Hupac President Hans-Jörg Bertschi, recalled that "for this year we expect the opening of the new terminal in Piacenza and Barcelona, which will be followed, next year, by the Milan terminal Sorting". Bertschi also highlighted the need to increase international cooperation to improve the management of cross-border corridors which is a key factor in the crucial for the future of intermodal transport in Europe: "the joint commitment of Switzerland and Belgium to the corridor North Sea-Rhine-Mediterranean goods - he noted - represents a significant step forward. We expect further improvements in corridor management, in particular better coordination and high reliability of measurements infrastructure, with a view to supporting the modal shift policy towards the railway". For Hupac, a concrete step in this direction would be the expansion of the Antwerp-Metz-Basel corridor, which has been under discussion for some time, to a profile of four meters.