Big changes are ahead for the port of Basel, Switzerland’s only access to the Rhine river and therefore a key point for developing the TEN-T Rhine-Alpine Corridor. The Parliament of Canton Basel-Stadt has submitted to the cantonal government a proposal to relocate the railway section along the Klybeckquai to the Hafenbecken 3, the harbour’s third basin scheduled for commissioning in 2024.

According to a source from the Canton of Basel-Stadt, works should start in 2026 and end in 2031. The new system will be able to handle a similar capacity to the current one but will require less space and infrastructure. Part of the railway alongside the river is in fact going to be relocated to the core area of the port to make room for a new urban project.

Costs, predictions, and first steps of the railway relocation

The total cost of the relocation project is projected between 192,5 and 357,5 million euros. “These costs include the entire railway project, the replacement and relocation measures to free up the required plots of land, and the purchase of land”, said the Canton of Basel-Stadt.

The railway in the Klybeckquai will therefore be demolished. “Mixed districts for living, working, culture, leisure, and gastronomy are to be created”, claimed the Canton of Basel-Stadt. The project is expected to create jobs and housing for over 8,000 people. The relocation of the railway, further from the Rhine, will ensure that the bank of the river will be free for public use.

One of the first measures to implement the new urban development plan is to relocate Gasverbund Mittelland’s (GVM) metering station. The variant for further project planning and the relocation of GVM’s station will be presented to the Upper House of the Swiss Parliament in the second quarter of 2023.

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