Key questions on spatial and railroad development along the North-South Link Rotterdam – Genoa

The opening of the two Alpine Base Tunnels in Switzerland – 2007 for the Lötschberg and the planned opening of the Gotthard in 2017 – will bring a quantum leap in railway development. Together with the superstructure of the access routes, they will form a high-capacity axis for the north-south European railway traffic, which also figures in EU planning as Corridor 24. The Swiss NEAT forms the core element. This axis connects several of the strongest economic spaces of the continent with each other. 70 million people live in its catchment area and 700 million tonnes of goods are moved on it yearly, which is 50% of the north-south goods transport on rails. The axis runs through The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy and borders on France and Belgium. However, serious gaps and bottlenecks continue to exist on this axis: in the north (Emmerich-Oberhausen), in the middle (Frankfurt-Mannheim, Karlsruhe-Basel, Jura Pass) and in the south (connection from Lugano to the Milan area, 3rd Giovi Tunnel), which will limit the achievement potential of the North-South Link and therefore also the economic development along the route. In view of the long realization horizon, fundamental questions arise on the future economic, spatial and railway development along the entire corridor, as these concern the planned project activities.