3. Juni 2019
The Ticino of my dreams
Travelling on the Gotthard Railway, the stunning view of the three different angles of the Wassen church is one of the most anticipated moments on a passenger’s train journey.
The Gotthard Railway was opened in 1882, marking the start of traffic being transferred off the roads and onto the railways. With a length of 15 kilometers, the tunnel was the longest in the world at that time.
The Gotthard railway line has successfully retained its allure for passengers looking to admire the area’s natural beauty and relish the stunning panoramas unfolding during the journey between the regions to the north and south of the Alps.
The New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA)
Alptransit, the new railway link through the Alps, has catapulted Switzerland into a new era of rail transport and communication.
Alptransit is the cornerstone of Switzerland’s transport policy, which aims to take the transport of goods and passengers off the roads and onto the railways. Swiss citizens voted on several occasions for this transport policy based on sustainability and technological innovation.
The Lötschberg, Gotthard and Ceneri base tunnels are the main elements of Alptransit. Switzerland has invested 23.5 billion Swiss francs into building the three tunnels, and another 2.2 billion into reinforcing tunnel access routes and adapting profiles to allow semi-trailers with a height of 4 metres at the corners to be transported.
The 34.6-km-longLötschberg base tunnel entered into service in 2007. Not only has it assisted in the development of goods transportation, but it has also considerably shortened the travel time between the cantons of Valais and Bern.
Travelling by train from Bern to Milan now takes just three hours thanks to the Lötschberg base tunnel – an invaluable link that I had the chance to take advantage of during my stint in Italy as communications manager for the Swiss pavilion at the Milan World Exhibition in 2015.
Gotthard base tunnel
2016 was Gotthard’s year: The longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world was inaugurated and entered into service. Stretching 57.1 kilometers between Erstfeld and Bodio, the Gotthard tunnel stole first place away from the Seikan tunnel in Japan.
The Gotthard base tunnel is a technological masterpiece as it runs flat, with its highest point at 550 metres above sea level. It takes twenty minutes to travel through the tunnel.
Thanks to the Gotthard base tunnel, transportation capacity has increased from 180 to 260 trains per day. This modern-day masterpiece has reduced journey times, bringing the north and south of Switzerland closer together.
The journey between Bern and Bellinzona takes two hours and forty-five minutes.
Travelling from Zurich to Lugano takes just over two hours, and it is three and a half hours by train from Zurich to Milan.
Ceneri base tunnel
The 15.4-km-long Ceneri base tunnel is due to be inaugurated on 20 September 2020, while it is scheduled to enter into service in December 2020.
The base tunnel, which links the Sopraceneri and Sottoceneri regions, will propel Ticino into a new era of mobility. The journey from Bellinzona to Lugano will take fifteen minutes, and from Lugano, passengers can reach Locarno in just half an hour.
The opening of the Ceneri base tunnel will strengthen the connection between the regions north and south of the Alps.
Journey times between Zurich and Lugano will be reduced to around two hours, while it will take just three hours to go from Zurich to Milan.
The dialogue of Castelgrande
Cutting-edge railway technology has made it possible to bring people living north and south of the Alps closer together, giving rise to new opportunities for the different language regions to meet and exchange ideas.
The canton of Ticino can present itself as a platform for hosting conferences and events with a winning combination of Swiss organisation and latin creativity.
Technology, organisation and creativity are just the starting points. To successfully bring people together, you need to know the mentality, culture and ways of life in the different language regions which, combined, make up the very essence of Switzerland.
This intrinsic motivation has led me to make the leap and start a business as an entrepreneur, with the goal of bringing people and ideas from north and south of the Alps together. This new business has active partners in important sectors.
Dr. Pascal Coullery, professor and researcher at the Department of Social Work at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), is a specialist in social insurance and law.
Felix Rickenbacher graduated from the University of Zurich with a degree in Business Informatics and possesses a wealth of professional experience in the financial sector, as well as in recruitment in the banking and IT sectors.
Arcidiacono Consulting Partners is a multi-language communications agency born out of the desire to strengthen the bonds between the capital city of Bern and the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, as well as to help Switzerland and Italy understand each other better.
I dream of a Ticino which constitutes, in a natural and exemplary way, a cultural, economic and scientific hub in the heart of both Switzerland and Europe.
There is still a long way to go, as shown by the meeting of June 2, 2019 between the American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis in Castelgrande. Bellinzona has become for a moment a capital of international diplomacy.
The price to pay was high, however, with considerable inconvenience for the local population.
Timely, effective and coordinated communication between the various authorities involved would have made it possible to avoid unpleasant surprises without compromising the security of the visit.
© Andrea Arcidiacono
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