Cargo Sous Terrain (CST)

2022: Start of construction of underground transport system for self-driving trucks in Switzerland

On July 8, 2022, it became known that the Swiss parliament adopted the necessary legal acts to allow underground cargo transportation. This gave the green light to the Cargo Sous Terrain (CST) project. The construction of this transport system has begun.

The essence of the project is to create a network of underground tunnels for the movement of goods between cities and logistics centers throughout Switzerland. The Cargo Sous Terrain project works on a principle similar to the principle of operation of an automatic conveyor system. Automated unmanned vehicles capable of loading and unloading cargo from installed ramps and elevators move around the clock through tunnels.

Switzerland began to build an underground transport system for unmanned trucks

Drones moving on wheels with electric drive and induction rails move along three-track tunnels at a constant speed of about 30 km/h. Goods are transported on pallets or in modified containers. Thanks to vehicles compatible with refrigeration equipment, which makes it possible to transport perishable goods. A high-speed suspension track is attached to the roof of the tunnel to carry small goods.

The cost of the project, which will be fully covered by the private sector, increased from the initial estimate of 2016 at $3.5 billion and now the cost of the entire 500-kilometer CST network is estimated at $30-35 billion. The first stage, worth $3 billion with a length of 70 km with 10 transport hubs, will connect Zurich with a logistics center in Herkingen-Niederbippe in the west.

The entire project will run on renewable energy sources. It is expected that the result of the implementation of the CST will be a 40% reduction in the number of heavy trucks on the roads, as unmanned vehicles carrying cargo underground will take over part of the cargo transportation.^[1]

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