A century on the Rhine: the Port of Strasbourg celebrates its 100th anniversary
Colourful containers and a reach stacker at the Port of Strasbourg, with the official logo marking t
In 2026, the Port of Strasbourg, a member of the Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC, celebrates an exceptional milestone: 100 years of exchange, innovation, expertise and commitment to its territory.
The Port autonome de Strasbourg was established in 1926 as a public institution created jointly by the French State and the City of Strasbourg. However, Strasbourg’s port history reaches much further back. River trade contributed to the city’s prosperity from the Middle Ages onwards, while its connections to the French inland waterway network developed significantly during the nineteenth century. The arrival of the first steamship in the Austerlitz basin in 1892 and the subsequent construction of basins providing direct access to the Rhine laid the foundations for the modern port.
Following its formal establishment, the Port continued to expand its infrastructure and activities. New basins, locks, oil terminals and port areas were developed, while additional sites extending from Marckolsheim to Lauterbourg gradually strengthened its position along the Upper Rhine. Over the decades, the Port has accompanied changes in industry and trade, supported the development of local businesses and continually adapted its facilities to meet new transport and logistics needs.
Today, the Ports of Strasbourg group is the second-largest inland port in France and the leading French port on the Rhine. Strategically positioned at the crossroads of major European transport routes, it serves as a maritime gateway for the Grand Est region and as an important multimodal link between regional production centres and European markets.
Its sites connect inland waterways, rail and road, enabling companies to combine different modes of transport and consolidate freight flows. The Port manages its own extensive railway network and supports regular freight connections with major European seaports and logistics hubs. Approximately 500 companies and more than 10,000 direct jobs are located across its different sites. In 2025 alone, the Port handled around 5.8 million tonnes of inland-waterway freight, more than one million tonnes by rail and over 323,000 TEU of container traffic.
This centenary therefore celebrates more than the history of a major infrastructure. It recognises the Port’s contribution to the economic development of Strasbourg, the Grand Est region and the wider Rhine area, as well as the work of the generations of employees, companies and partners that have shaped its growth.
At the same time, the anniversary looks firmly towards the future. The Port is continuing to invest in the modernisation of its rail, inland-waterway and terminal infrastructure, the digitalisation of logistics operations and the development of its future southern multimodal hub. Decarbonisation, energy transition, industrial ecology, climate resilience and closer cooperation between the port and the city are central to its current strategy. These efforts reflect the evolving role of inland ports as places where transport, industry, innovation and territorial development come together.
To mark the anniversary, the Port will host four days of celebrations from 23 to 26 September 2026 at the Gare fluviale, Bassin du Commerce, in Strasbourg. The programme will bring together port professionals, companies, institutions, employees, partners and the general public through conferences, professional meetings, exhibitions, visits and festive activities.
On 23 and 24 September, Strasbourg will also host the 16th Assises Port du Futur, organised in partnership with Cerema. Under the theme “Ports and cross-border areas: cooperation challenges and dynamics for a stronger Europe,” the conference will examine European port strategies, transcontinental freight networks, low-carbon transport corridors, climate adaptation and the role of standards and certification in port competitiveness. The programme also includes the Port of the Future Innovation Awards, a boat tour of the ports of Strasbourg and Kehl, networking opportunities and a forum dedicated to employment, skills and training in the port and maritime sectors.
The wider centenary celebrations will provide opportunities to discover the Port, meet the people and companies behind its activities and better understand its role in everyday life and in the future of the territory.
The Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC warmly congratulates the Port of Strasbourg on its 100th anniversary. We are proud to count the Port among our members and wish its employees, partners and entire port community every success as they continue building a more innovative, connected and sustainable port for the next century.
Read more about:
The centenary programme and registration information (FR)
Basel-Stadt opens its first mobility hubs
Swiss and Basel-Stadt flags line a bridge in central Basel, Photo by Vincent Ghilione,
Kanton Basel-Stadt, a member of the Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC, has opened the first five locations of a new mobility-hub pilot. Through the project, the Canton will examine how small, clearly identifiable transfer points can make it easier to combine different forms of urban transport.
A mobility hub brings several transport options together at one location. Unlike a major railway or bus station, the Basel hubs are relatively small, marked areas situated at busy inner-city locations, near public transport stops or close to major workplaces. Travellers arriving by train, tram or bus can use a rental bicycle or e-scooter to complete the final part of their journey. Depending on the location, a hub may also include cars, parking spaces and electric charging facilities.
The intention is to make transfers between different modes simpler and more visible. Instead of searching for an available vehicle across several streets, users can find various options at a recognisable point. The hubs can therefore improve connections between public transport, walking, cycling and individual last-mile services.
The first five hubs are located at Wettsteinplatz, Kannenfeldplatz, Barfüsserplatz, Wielandplatz and Eisenbahnweg. Basel-Stadt intends to open five additional locations by the end of 2026. By testing different types of hubs in different urban settings, the Canton will be able to compare how they are used and determine which configurations and locations work best.
The project also addresses the management of limited public space. Rental bicycles and e-scooters that operate without fixed stations can sometimes be dispersed across pavements, bicycle-parking facilities and other public areas. Providing designated locations should make the vehicles easier to find while helping to keep pedestrian routes and public spaces more orderly and accessible.
A distinctive component of the pilot is the hub at Eisenbahnweg, the first Basel mobility hub located on private property. Here, the Canton and several mobility providers are working with Roche. Bicycles and e-scooters are available above ground, while users can also book vehicles from Roche’s company fleet, parking spaces and electric charging stations in the company’s underground car park. These services can be accessed through a QR code at the hub.
The cooperation allows Basel-Stadt to test how mobility facilities belonging to a private company can complement those available in public space. It may also provide insight into how existing vehicles, parking areas and charging infrastructure can be made accessible to a wider group of users.
All hubs are marked with common signage to ensure that they are visible and easily recognisable. The signage has been coordinated with the cities of Zurich, Bern and Geneva, as well as with the Swiss Federal Railways. This creates a degree of consistency for travellers encountering similar mobility hubs in different Swiss cities and transport networks.
The pilot forms part of Basel-Stadt’s wider mobility strategy, which seeks to reconcile accessibility with ambitious climate, environmental and quality-of-life objectives. The Canton aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2037 and to complete the transition towards low-emission, climate- and resource-friendly forms of mobility by 2050. Its strategy also states that private motorised traffic should not increase, even if the population and economy continue to grow.
To achieve this, Basel-Stadt’s mobility strategy focuses on strengthening active mobility, improving public transport, reducing the amount of urban space required by transport and making better use of digitalisation and innovation. The mobility hubs represent one practical way of connecting these different objectives: they support access to public transport, offer alternatives for the final part of a journey and test how existing mobility services and infrastructure can be used more efficiently.
The project is supported by the Basel-Stadt Mobility Fund, which has allocated CHF 200,000 towards the establishment and initial operation of up to ten hubs. The Fund is financed through fees collected from commuter, visitor and resident parking permits and generates approximately CHF 3.8 million annually.
The Basel-Stadt Mobility Fund is considered unique in Switzerland because it can support environmentally friendly transport projects both within and outside the Canton. This allows mobility challenges to be addressed across the wider Basel agglomeration, where everyday travel patterns extend beyond cantonal and national borders.
During the two-year pilot, Basel-Stadt will continuously evaluate how the hubs are used. Data provided by the participating mobility operators will help the Canton assess the performance of the different locations and gradually improve the model. The evaluation will consider how effectively the hubs connect transport modes, whether they make services easier to access and how they affect the organisation and use of public space.
Following the pilot, Basel-Stadt will decide whether the mobility hubs should be retained and whether the network should be expanded to additional locations.
Read more about:
Basel-Stadt opens its first five mobility hubs (DE)
Basel-Stadt’s mobility strategy (DE)
Funding for the mobility-hub pilot through the Basel-Stadt Mobility Fund (DE)
SWITCH: artificial intelligence supporting the shift from road to rail
Official poster for the SWITCH event in Turin, featuring road and rail imagery against an Alpine lan
On 23 September 2026, institutions, researchers, logistics operators and businesses will meet in Turin to explore how artificial intelligence and closer cross-border cooperation can support the shift of freight transport from road to rail. The event will introduce the SWITCH project and present OptiModal AI, an innovative platform designed to support operational and strategic transport decisions.
SWITCH – Shifting Ways of Intermodal Transport on Cross-border Haulage is co-funded by the Interreg Italy–Switzerland 2021–2027 Programme. It addresses the high volume of road freight on cross-border routes and at border crossings between Italy and Switzerland, which contributes to congestion and places significant environmental pressure on the sensitive Alpine area.
The project is led by LIUC – Università Cattaneo, together with SUPSI – University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Assologistica, Regione Lombardia, Regione Piemonte and Verein Netzwerk Logistik Schweiz. Among the consortium partners, Regione Piemonte and Regione Lombardia are also members of the Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC.
Combining expertise in logistics, transport planning, governance, data analysis and artificial intelligence, SWITCH aims to identify freight flows that could realistically be transferred from road to rail. The project will analyse trade and freight movements between Italy and Switzerland, map the available railway infrastructure, intermodal terminals and services, and examine the regulatory and customs-related barriers that can hinder cross-border transport.
These findings will feed into OptiModal AI, an open-data-based decision-support platform that will connect freight transport demand with available intermodal services. The tool will allow institutions and logistics operators to compare different transport scenarios using indicators such as transit times, operating costs and environmental and social impacts. Field pilots will then be used to test the proposed solutions under real conditions and identify the practical factors needed to make modal shift possible. The results will also inform operational recommendations and policy guidelines for more efficient, integrated and sustainable cross-border freight transport.
The event will take place at the Centro Congressi of the Regione Piemonte skyscraper, Piazza Piemonte 1, Turin. Following the institutional opening and presentation of the project, participants will be invited to join thematic workshops dedicated to its main areas of work. After lunch, the programme will continue with a technical visit to the Interporto di Torino S.I.TO in Orbassano, followed by a networking session with companies and logistics operators from Piemonte.
Participation is free of charge.
To know more about:
The programme and Registration (ITA)
