As part of the Piano dei trasporti del Luganese PTL (Lugano Transport Plan), the Station area is designated as an intermodal hub for rail/road and public/private connections.

The investment required to complete the entire project is shared between the Confederation, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), and the City. The work will primarily serve to improve the quality of public transport in connection with AlpTransit. Approximately 25,000 people pass through Lugano daily, a significant number expected to grow further.

The Station area is also expected to host a branch of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), which will further enhance the importance of this area, reinforcing the need for a capable and fully functional Station.

The Development Plan for the Station of the future

The project directly or indirectly affects the entire Lugano Region. Concentrating exchanges between different types of traffic in a single area means freeing the City, and especially the urban center, from unnecessary and improper traffic.

The Development Plan primarily aims to establish a framework that leaves room for various specific and relatively independent design solutions. However, for each sector and activity, the Development Plan offers a coordinated and balanced proposal defined by specific urban planning choices, structured as follows:

  • a plan for the City that reorganizes public services by delimiting exchange areas in suitable zones, proposing a solution for general traffic in this area with careful consideration of a realistic balance between different types of public and private traffic
  • a plan for the Station that completes it with a second front uphill toward peripheral areas, eliminating their marginal condition and functionally enhancing them
  • a plan for pedestrians that highlights squares, underpasses, avenues, and parks, as intended by the proposal

Upcoming projects

Road traffic

With the closure of the level crossing, a temporary measure has been planned to ensure proper traffic management in the district. Two accompanying measures are included:

  • the early construction of the connection between the Tassino area and the Genzana intersection, focusing solely on the Via Basilea section. This involves the installation of a temporary roundabout near Parco del Tassino to facilitate traffic flow.
  • the construction of an elevator to connect Via Basilea to the station's main pedestrian underpass, anticipating work on the pedestrian underpass at Piazzale di Besso.

In addition to the City of Lugano, which has financed the project with CHF 3.5 million, the initiative involves the Canton and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) from both technical and financial perspectives.

A new connection via the Genzana underpass is also planned. This will link Via San Gottardo with the former Pestalozzi Square through a tunnel beneath the railway tracks.
 

Public transport organization

The Piazzale di Besso (formerly Pestalozzi) will become the main regional interchange hub for public transport: alongside the SBB (TILO) railway and the enhanced Lugano–Ponte Tresa Railway connections, a bus terminal will be created to serve as the convergence point for urban and regional bus lines.
 

Pedestrian and cycling mobility

Alongside the work on both railway infrastructure and the public transport hub, significant pedestrian and cycling connections will be implemented to enhance movement options both within and beyond the area.
 

Parking facilities

Upon completion, the project will provide users with two bicycle parking areas (Bike&Ride at the Piazzale di Besso and in the FLP Station area), a public parking lot at the intermodal hub, a Park+Ride near the southern development area, and a public parking lot at the southern entrance to Tassino Park.

Currently, during the transitional phase (in conjunction with the ongoing construction site), a two-story covered parking facility has been created on Via Basilea for users of bicycle mobility. As for parking availability, the SBB parking lots south of the station building and the northern Park+Ride are operational.

Last updated: 22 July 2024

The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.

The original version is the page in Italian.

Insights
See also