Swiss role to please tourists
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THE NEW 17km Gotthard tunnel, the longest and costliest in the world, burrowing under the 77,100ft Gotthard Massif in Switzerland, cuts a two-hour journey to 14 minutes. The route between the River Po in Italy and the Ruhr area of Germany is estimated to have been shortened by 220km and the journey from Frankfurt to Milan by 300km.
"To what extent this will benefit heavy haulage vehicles and other commercial transport is open to question," says Mercedes-Benz Transport. "The Swiss view is that the road under the mountains is not intended for goods haulage."
I would have thought that time was more important to industry than to tourists, but perhaps their goodwill matters more to Switzerland, which has invested 700m francs (EW million) in the tunnel and is entitled to call the tune.