European Railway Infrastructure: A Big Improvement

Railroads are super-underrated as infrastructure. Europe is finishing a huge improvement.

Yes, it’s an old technology, but it’s a really efficient one for long-distance overland transportation. The internalized costs for rail freight are 69-87% cheaper than trucking. And while externalities are bigger for railroads, total costs to society are still 70-86% cheaper for railroads.

BTW: Many people have experience on European passenger trains. They are much better than we are on that count, but we are a lot better on freight.

A huge infrastructure advantage for the U.S. is our freight rail network and its ability to get around the western mountains. Trains can climb, but only the most shallow grades,* and the Western U.S. is loaded with shallow grade terrain. Parts of Europe … not so much.

In particular, there are the Alps. It’s hard to to explain to Americans just how much bigger the Alps are than our mountains. The only real comparisons are the southern Sierras around Death Valley, and the Cascades. Most of you are used to Utah mountains that go up to 11-13K feet, but the thing is, most of them start from the basin level of about 5K. The Alps often go twice that, from valleys below 2K to peaks over 14K.†

Anyway, the Alps are a big problem for Europe. Especially since the main axis of economic activity on the continent runs north-south across them.

Given the grades, the Swiss dig tunnels. Big ones, that are very deep.

Some of you have driven through the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado: it’s at 11K feet and is about 2 miles long. It cuts through the top of a mountain.

In Switzerland, they dig what are called base tunnels. They go at close to sea level under the entire mountain range. Sometimes 8K feet under the peaks, and 40 miles long. They are like the Chunnel except through solid rock.

And they have just finished a trio of them, decades in the making. These are expected to allow direct, low grade, super high speed freight service between ports on the North Sea and on the Mediterranean. They are expected to open to regular traffic in December.

* Personal trivia: During the pandemic summer my son and I built a small patio that needed a 5% grade (which is common for roads in mountains). It’s a little thing, but it was a lot harder to build than you’d think, and it feels pretty steep when you stand on it. Anyway, that grade would be very rare for a railroad, and my little patio’s grade actually exceeds that of the Durango and Silverton Railway in Colorado.

† Personal trivia: I’ve been on trains in Switzerland where the Alps are so big and steep that you can’t get your eyes close enough to the glass to get an angle to see the peaks.