Cast your imagination 50 years into the past over the mountains and lakes of Switzerland, and you won't see what today seems obvious, namely a safe passage for trucks throughout the Alps, known as the Gotthard Road Tunnel.

On March 1st, 1967, five companies (Bertschi, F.lli Bernasconi, Danzas, Jacky Maeder, and SBB) gathered in Chiasso to found Hupac, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. "Intermodal transalpine traffic through Switzerland - at that time it was a reallyuturistic vision," Theo Allemann, managing Hupac Intermoda l for more than 30 years, said.

Starting with 10 wagons, the very first time when road hauliers invested in rolling stock, the company's first trains connected Basle and Melide. Today, Hupac's
Shuttle Net counts 100 daily Europewide trains, with a nice chunk of their runs to and from the Baltic.