Bern’s Grand Transport Blueprint Meets the Reality of Unfunded Ambition

When the Swiss Federal Council decided to bundle road, rail, and suburban transit into a single mammoth package named Verkehr '45, the intention was noble: unified planning for the nation’s mobility until 2045. Grounded in an ETH study and federal bureau assessments, the plan purports to prioritize critical projects. Yet as the official consultation period draws to a close, Bern's neat blueprint is being torn apart by regional self-interest, ideological reflex, and alarming fiscal warnings.

Behind the polite approval for synchronized planning lies a fierce scramble for federal funds. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (EFK) has already fired a sharp shot across the bow, criticizing the entire foundation of Verkehr '45. According to the auditors, the federal plan relies on outdated investment figures and routinely overestimates the economic viability of its projects. The EFK went so far as to demand a complete pause on the project last summer until basic data could be clarified—a warning the Federal Council simply chose to ignore.

Nowhere is this disregard for cost-efficiency clearer than in the proposed Grimseltunnel, a narrow-gauge railway project designed to connect the Bernese Oberland with Valais. Despite its inclusion in the priority list for the 2027 expansion phase, the tunnel faces an unusual alliance of opponents. The Swiss People's Party, the Social Democrats, and the Greens are all demanding its complete removal, citing a disastrous cost-benefit ratio. Even within the FDP and The Center, enthusiasm is lukewarm at best.

Meanwhile, the classic battle between asphalt and iron continues unabated. With the draft allocating the lion's share of funding to rail expansion—including major upgrades at Lucerne, Basel SBB, and Zurich Stadelhofen—the Swiss People's Party complains of an ideological bias against motor vehicle drivers. Conversely, environmental groups like the VCS attack planned six-lane expansions on the A1 motorway between Aarau Ost, Birrfeld, Perly, and Bernex, while the TCS warns against starving road maintenance.

The financial mechanics are equally questionable. To secure long-term funding for the rail infrastructure fund, the government intends to make permanent a temporary value-added tax increase originally set to expire in 2030. Except for the SVP, all major political parties seem surprisingly comfortable with turning a temporary tax hike into an eternal fiscal fixture. FDP and The Center at least urge strict cost controls, pointing nervously to Germany’s decaying railway network as a cautionary tale of mismanaged rail systems.

With cantons pushing their own immediate demands—Zurich wanting its key station expansion unbundled and fast-tracked, while Lucerne celebrates its allocated transit hub—the Federal Council faces a daunting rewrite. Ultimately, because permanent tax adjustments require a constitutional mandate, the voters will have the final word on whether Bern's grand transportation compromise is worth paying for.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com