Cross-border transport is becoming an increasingly great concern for Liechtenstein. In the short term, the Principality will rely on promoting existing public transport, while a regional commuter train system will alleviate the problem in the long term.
Every day, more than 14,000 commuters from Switzerland, Austria and the German Lake Constance area travel to their jobs in Liechtenstein. While the heavy commuter traffic between Switzerland and Liechtenstein during the morning and evening rush hours splits across the five Rhine bridges, a solid line of cars from the Austrian province of Vorarlberg jams its way through the bottleneck at the Tisis-Schaanwald border crossing. To alleviate the traffic problems, Liechtenstein's Government favors promotion of public transport and, as an option for the future, establishment of a regional commuter train system in the Rhine Valley, especially in the border areas of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg.
A "Liechtenstein Transport Model" commissioned by the Government forecasts that cross-border traffic will continue to increase until 2010 due to the jobs available in the Principality. Between 1999 and 2005, traffic from Vorarlberg rose by 38%, which in the view of the Government demands further measures. In particular, a regional commuter train system will help remedy the problem, realization of which Minister of Transport Martin Meyer anticipates by 2011/2012. Meyer describes this commuter train system, which will be realized jointly with the neighboring countries of Switzerland and Austria, as the centerpiece of the transport concept. The Liechtenstein Minister of Transport is convinced that, once a solid network of public transport is coordinated across borders, people will have the incentive to switch to public transport. From the Liechtenstein perspective, the commuter train system is on the right path, since a cooperation agreement for the future development of rail transport between Liechtenstein, Austria, and Switzerland was negotiated and initialed last year. Moreover, several components of a feasibility study on the establishment of a regional commuter train system have already been completed.
With its vision "Mobile Liechtenstein 2015", the Government aims to create a high-performance transport system that responds to the needs of society and to economic and environment demands. The new transport system will optimize the use of public transport, private transport, and bicycle and pedestrian traffic, based on the specific advantages and disadvantages of each means of transport. "The Government rejects cross-border traffic construction projects that will only lead to an increase in transit traffic," Minister of Transport Martin Meyer says, defining the Government's position on planned road and tunnel construction projects in the area of Vorarlberg near the Liechtenstein border. However, the Government supports solutions for the coordination of commuter and commercial transport.
At the beginning of May, Liechtenstein Minister of Transport Martin Meyer met in Vienna with his Austria counterpart, Werner Faymann, to discuss cross-border transport. In a joint declaration, the two ministers of transport emphasized that they are actively working on the further development of the public rail network and better connections with cross-border buses. According to Minister of Transport Faymann, Austria positively views the commuter rail project in the region of St. Gallen, Vorarlberg, and Liechtenstein. "Regional rail is one of the most important pillars in our transport concept for Liechtenstein," Martin Meyer stated, with a view to the future: "Due to the very dynamic economic development of Liechtenstein, the topic of transport will affect us even more in the future. Only a very good concept with excellent cross-border connections will trigger the desired switch to public transport."
In the short term, cooperation on cross-border transport must pass a first practical test during the World Gymnaestrada in Vorarlberg in July 2007. As the official guest country, Liechtenstein is integrated into the public transport system of this large sporting event with more than 20,000 athletes.
Another trial run for future cross-border transport coordination will be Euro 08. The organizers of the European football championship in Austria and Switzerland expect that thousands of football fans will commute back and forth between the football stadiums in the two host countries – many of whom will use Liechtenstein as a corridor. In addition to an increase in private transport with cars and buses, the transport experts expect intensive use of cross-border train connections. The declared intention of the event organizers is to move as large a share of football fans as possible with public transport.
If you would like further information on Liechenstein including current Liechtenstein topics please visit us at www.liechtenstein.li.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
