According to the modal shift report of November 2021, the Federal Council is considering a consultation on a ban on the transport of dangerous goods at the Simplon. In doing so, it is revising its assessment submitted to parliament in 2015, according to which it considers the transport of dangerous goods at the Simplon Pass to be “sufficiently safe”. This is all the more surprising as FEDRO has been investing heavily in safety measures (retention basins, overtaking bans, emergency braking sections and the like) for years and the traffic statistics do not show any significant increase in the transport of dangerous goods.
We advocate that the dangerous goods situation be analysed in cooperation with the industry representatives and that any targeted potential for improvement be exploited, thus also guaranteeing entrepreneurial freedom. Such agreements have already made good progress in chlorine transport by rail.
A ban would endanger the supply of the population and the economy. It should also be taken into account that a great deal has been invested in the Simplon road in recent years to increase safety. According to the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), the Simplon is the best developed pass in Switzerland. You can read a comprehensive argumentation in the scienceindustries factsheet.
