On 20 June Transport Ministers of the seven alpine states met in Berchtesgaden, Germany, at the invitation of German Federal Transport Minister Dr Peter Ramsauer in the framework of the “Zurich Process”. As the Minister declared, “we are working here in knowing the particularities of the Alpine area; the balance between the environment, society and the economy is very sensitive here and has to be protected and maintained...”

Five working groups chaired by different countries from the Alps are focusing their activities on several issues:

• Austria: transport management systems
• Switzerland: event management
• Italy: data collection
• France: safety of railway tunnels
• Switzerland: environmental indicators and impact

A concrete result of these activities: since February everybody using a language from the alpine region can visit a new information portal and have access to real time information on conditions in tunnels and mountain passes: www.acrossthealps.org

(Source: German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)