Railroad infrastructure Three standing initiatives submitted for Lucerne through station
A Central Switzerland delegation from the cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden will travel from Lucerne to Bern on Tuesday afternoon. There they will hand over the state initiatives on the Lucerne through station.
Image: Keystone
National Councillor Philipp Kutter (center/ZH) and Councillor of States Marianne Maret (center/VS) receive the Nidwalden standing initiative from Nidwalden District Council President Toni Niederberger (SVP).
Image: Keystone
A Central Switzerland delegation from the cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden will travel from Lucerne to Bern on Tuesday afternoon. There they will hand over the state initiatives on the Lucerne through station.
Image: Keystone
National Councillor Philipp Kutter (center/ZH) and Councillor of States Marianne Maret (center/VS) receive the Nidwalden standing initiative from Nidwalden District Council President Toni Niederberger (SVP).
Image: Keystone
The cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden have submitted their demand for the early construction of an underground through station in Lucerne to the Federal Parliament. They have submitted three standing initiatives to this end.
10.12.2024, 15:20
10.12.2024, 17:26
SDA
The presidents of the three cantonal parliaments presented the standing initiatives to National Councillor Philipp Kutter (center/ZH) and Councillor of States Marianne Maret (center/VS) in front of the Federal Palace on Tuesday afternoon. They chair the relevant committees of the two chambers of parliament.
The handover was also attended by the construction directors of the three cantons, the presidents of the parliamentary groups of the cantonal parliaments and members of the National Council and Council of States. Kutter told the 40 or so people present that the two committees were taking the concerns of Central Switzerland very seriously. Lucerne railroad station deserved an investment because it was very well frequented.
Broad support
Nidwalden's Director of Construction Therese Rotzer (center) had previously explained to Kutter and Maret that the Lucerne through station project was broadly supported across cantonal and party lines in Central Switzerland.
In fact, the initiatives had been unanimously approved by the parliaments of the cantons of Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden. They demand that the entire through station be in operation by 2040. The reason for this was the fear that, for financial reasons, the new station could only be realized as a terminus station rather than a through station.
Lucerne has an above-ground terminus station with only two standard-gauge tracks leading to it. It is therefore no longer possible to expand the rail service. A second, underground station, which will be located below the existing one and accessed from two sides, should eliminate the bottlenecks. It will have four tracks.
For the entire region
According to the preliminary project, the underground station is likely to cost 3.3 billion Swiss francs. In addition, there will be further investments in the rail network. In an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency, Lucerne's Director of Construction Fabian Peter (FDP) said that not only the city of Lucerne, but the whole of Central Switzerland would benefit from the investments.
Central Switzerland is a prospering business location, said Peter on the importance of the through station. Lucerne is also one of the largest tourist destinations in Switzerland. Peter assumes that more international trains will once again travel via Lucerne as a result of the through station.
Peter also referred to the long-standing plans to expand Lucerne's rail infrastructure. He said that it was not possible to start planning from scratch again. It takes courage to implement something for the future.
Consider all regions
It recently became known that the expansion of the rail infrastructure will be much more expensive than previously assumed. Central Switzerland is aware that it has become more difficult for the through station, said Rotzer. However, it is important that the railroad is expanded in all regions, including Central Switzerland.
Lucerne has been calling for an expansion of its rail infrastructure for decades. Preliminary work for an underground station had already been carried out at the new railroad station, which opened in 1991, but this can no longer be used for the current project. Alternatives to an underground station in the center of Lucerne were also examined but rejected.
