Key facts
A central element of Swiss transport policy is to shift heavy goods transport from road to rail. It is enshrined in the Federal Constitution in the article on the protection of the Alps. In 2023, 37 million tonnes of transalpine freight were transported through Switzerland, with rail accounting for around 72%. Combined transport accounted for 20.4 million tonnes of this, which corresponds to 77% of total rail transport. The “rolling highway” accounted for 7% of total combined transport.
The rolling highway as accompanied combined transport enables a complete lorry to be loaded onto a lowfloor wagon. The driver travels in an accompanying wagon. Unaccompanied combined transport (UCT), on the other hand, only transports containers or semi-trailers without articulated lorries on freight wagons for combined transport. The rolling highway service between Freiburg im Breisgau (D) and Novara (I) is operated by RAlpin AG.
In its dispatch of 30 September 2022, the Federal Council proposed the continued operation of the rolling highway until the end of 2026. Parliament decided to maintain operations until 2028. Parliament approved a payment framework totalling CHF 106 million for the continued operation of the rolling highway from 2024 to This amount also includes a financial contribution from the Confederation towards the costs of liquidating RAlpin AG for the year after the rolling highway ceases operations.
In 2017, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) evaluated the contribution made by RoLa to the shift and how this affects the cost recovery ratio. In this audit, the SFAO assessed whether the compensation for the rolling highway was being used economically and effectively to achieve a sustainable shift of freight transport from road to rail. RAlpin AG took operational measures to provide the services economically under difficult conditions. As a transitional solution in combined transport, rolling highway supports the shift to rail. The rolling stock has reached the end of its economic life, the efficiency of subsidies is significantly lower compared to UCT and the current terminal in Novara will be closed by 2028 at the latest, this means that continued operation beyond 2028 cannot be justified for financial and operational reasons.
