Rösti defends transport expansion plans after audit criticism

Transport Minister Albert Rösti has defended plans to expand Switzerland’s motorway and rail networks by 2045, despite criticism from the Federal Audit Office. In an interview with SRF, Rösti said project selection could not be based solely on cost-benefit analyses.

The expansion programme, known as “Traffic ’45”, aims to address motorway congestion and overcrowded trains. The Federal Audit Office said there were significant weaknesses in the plans, including a lack of transparency in how projects were selected.

“Of course, we take the audit office’s criticism seriously,” Rösti said. But he rejected the view that projects should be chosen only according to costs and benefits. He said the process was political and had been approved by the Federal Council, with factors such as regional balance, network stability and decentralised settlement also taken into account.

The audit office also criticised the examination of alternatives to motorway construction, including speed limits and the use of hard shoulders. Rösti said alternatives were being considered, and that hard-shoulder use was particularly important to the Federal Roads Office.

However, he said some projects, such as tunnel construction, could not use hard shoulders because of safety or space constraints. The option would be reviewed again before the Federal Council submits its formal proposal, he said.

Rösti acknowledged that the presentation of the project assessments needed to be improved. The evaluations cover cost-benefit ratios, environmental impacts, external costs and regional effects. These assessments will be adjusted after the consultation process, including in response to the audit office’s position.