New Home – Hapag-Lloyd Reaches New Heights in Switzerland
Jun 8, 2020 at 7:00 AMProactive Visibility in Supply Chain is Becoming More Important
Jun 12, 2020 at 9:15 AMCargo sous terrain can welcome three new main investors from Switzerland. The work on the project has continued in recent months. The federal law on underground freight transport (UGüTG) will be presented to Parliament by autumn 2020 at the latest.
(Basel) Even during the Corona crisis, Cargo sous terrain (CST) was able to continue work on the project and attract new investors. The focus is on spatial planning coordination and the establishment of the privately financed overall logistics offering, which will be available to everyone without discrimination.
At the same time, CST has begun preliminary work for the first operational applications of city logistics and the IT platform in the coming years. These will start well before the opening of the overall system, which is scheduled for 2031.
New investors from Switzerland
In recent months, CST has gained three new investors from Switzerland as main shareholders: B+S Ingenieure und Planer, WIR Bank Genossenschaft, and K+D Valueinvest AG. The mentioned companies will also each provide a member of the board of directors, elected by the CST general assembly. The CST AG held its annual general meeting in writing based on the federal council’s Covid-19 regulation. Walter Schaufelberger has been elected to the board of directors as a representative of B+S AG. He comments on the engagement as follows: “With CST, Switzerland is making a quantum leap in freight logistics. As an innovative engineering company, B+S AG is happy to invest money and know-how in this digital and sustainable logistics transport system.” For WIR Bank, Bruno Stiegeler, Chairman of the Executive Board, sits on the CST board of directors. “We want to actively participate in a meaningful and future-oriented solution,” he says regarding the engagement of the Swiss cooperative bank, which aims to bring its “SME spirit in the interest of all companies into the project.”
For K+D Valueinvest AG, Stefan Kuhn joins the CST board as a representative. He summarizes his motivation succinctly: “For me, Cargo sous terrain is the Gotthard project of the 21st century.” Peter Sutterlüti is pleased about the new shareholders and board members: “With the new main shareholders, CST receives valuable impulses at the strategic level and additional know-how in project development, which will further advance us on the path to realization.”
Ecological advantages for a livable future
The freight transport system CST, powered exclusively by renewable energy, is significantly more ecological than conventional transport. Compared to today’s truck transports, there are savings of up to 80 percent in CO2 emissions per transported ton of goods. The first section from Härkingen-Niederbipp to Zurich saves 40,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year.
The connected city logistics of Cargo sous terrain relieves cities by up to 30 percent of delivery traffic and 50 percent of noise emissions. A comprehensive management of freight transport along the entire value chain and the targeted and timely arrangement of goods in the tunnel make this possible. Sales points and end consumers are no longer supplied separately by different providers but are coordinated and supplied with goods from the city hubs using environmentally friendly vehicles. The importance of secure supply routes has become particularly evident in the current pandemic situation.
Photo: © Cargo sous terrain
