The transalpine combined transport through Switzerland is strongly influenced by the Swiss transport policy, whose constitutionally embodied aim is the shift of the transalpine goods transport from the road to the railways. The modernisation of the railway infrastructure (especially the NEAT tunnels), the opening up of the railway market and various supporting measures are among the most important instruments of shift policy. They should improve the competitiveness of the rail system compared with the road.
The Swiss shift policy shows positive results. Since the reference year 2000, shipments in transalpine combined transport have increased by 69%, whilst shipments in road transport have fallen by 10%. The reduction of road shipments to 650,000 per year aimed for in the transport policy can, however, only be reached following commissioning of the Gotthard base tunnel.
In 2009 about 1.180.000 vehicles crossed the Swiss Alps on the roads, while 803.000 shipments were carried by intermodal transport. With a transalpine transport volume of 396.000 road consignments, Hupac plays an important role in the modal shift. In the years ahead, the company wishes to extend its strong position by exploiting the new infrastructures and thereby actively supporting the Swiss shifting policy under the premise of sustainability.
