Future freight: Swiss underground mega-project slowly picks up speed

A decades-long project in Switzerland to get transport trucks off the road and replace them with a vast underground network of self-driving pods is attracting media attention abroad. Exploratory work is moving ahead and the operator Cargo sous terrain insists the first series of tunnels will be ready by 2031. The story of building an underground freight system in Switzerland is one of patience and imaginative thinking. First proposed in 2013 by a public limited company of the same name, Cargo sous terrain (Underground Cargo, CST) had to wait eight years before the Swiss parliament approved new legislation for construction, which came into effect in August 2022. This year, though, began promisingly for CST. In January it launched exploratory drilling and geological measurements to help it precisely plan the first stretch of tunnels between Zurich and Härkingen in canton Solothurn, situated 70 kilometres to the west. The company has also been holding talks with residents and...