Project

Tunnel or Double-Track Line? Public Relations in Lead-Up to Teufen Referendum

In January 2015, the citizens of Teufen rejected a proposal to finance the construction of a railway tunnel and instead signalled their support for a double-track railway line through the village centre. We helped the municipality examine the competing development proposals and present the relevant information to the public and other stakeholders.

Appenzell Railway trains currently run on a single-track line along the main road through the village of Teufen. Should the single-track line through Teufen be converted to a double-track line or should the trains circumnavigate the village in an underground tunnel? This question was put to village residents in a local referendum on 18 January 2015.

To establish a basis for making a decision, the two development proposals were examined in the context of an open process that was conceived to facilitate the participation of village residents, architects, traffic planners and finance experts as well as representatives of the Teufen Municipal Council, the Appenzell Cantonal Council and the Appenzell Railways Company.

EBP was commissioned by the municipality of Teufen to manage the public relations work relating to the participatory process and the referendum. This work included the submission of regular reports to the local newspaper (Tüüfner Poscht), the organisation of three public events to present the details of the two development proposals and the organisation of an exhibition to give local residents an opportunity to find out about the two development proposals in the lead-up to the referendum.

The advantages and disadvantages of the competing proposals were presented on attractively designed posters that included intuitive information graphics. In addition to the financial aspects of the proposals and the traffic routing details, special attention was given to the impact the double-track line and the tunnel might have on the future development of the village centre. Large maps and other visual materials were used to illustrate possible development measures.

Teufen Posters


Our public relations services included:

  • Public relations consulting
  • Media relations
  • Editing of the explanatory statement for the referendum
  • Development of an exhibition concept
  • Text, layout and printing of exhibition posters
  • Infographics

Our colleagues at our business divisions for transport and development coordinated and moderated the participation process and also developed various future scenarios for the village centre.
 

Teufen Infografics
Teufen Infografics

 

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