Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Gotthard Base Tunnel
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{short description|Railway tunnel through the Swiss Alps}} {{More citations needed|date=August 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox tunnel |name = Gotthard Base Tunnel |official_name = {{ubl|{{langx|de|Gotthard-Basistunnel}}|{{langx|it|Galleria di base del San Gottardo}}|{{langx|rm|Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard}}}}<!--Local languages are German, Romansh and Italian--> |image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg |image_size = 250 |caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station |line = [[Gotthard railway|Gotthard Line]] |location = [[Switzerland]] ([[Canton of Uri|Uri]], [[Canton of Grisons|Grisons]] and [[Canton of Ticino|Ticino]]) |coordinates = {{ubl|{{coord|46.83586|8.64647|display=inline,title}} (north portal)|{{coord|46.37267|8.92535}} (south portal)}} |system = [[Swiss Federal Railways|Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS)]] |status = Active since 11 December 2016<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alptransit-portal.ch/en/gotthard/commissioning/ |title=Commissioning |publisher=AlpTransit Gotthard AG |location=Lucerne, Switzerland |access-date=12 May 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> (Partially interrupted 10 August 2023 to 2 September 2024)<ref>{{cite web|date=16 August 2023|location=Berne, Switzerland|publisher=SBB CFF FFS|title=Gotthard Base Tunnel Derailment: everything you need to know for your trip|url=https://news.sbb.ch/artikel/124217/gotthard-base-tunnel-derailment-everything-you-need-to-know-for-your-trip}}</ref> |crosses = [[Alps]] (western [[Glarus Alps]] and central [[Lepontine Alps]] at the eastern [[Saint-Gotthard Massif|Gotthard Massif]]) |start = [[Erstfeld]], [[canton of Uri]] (north, {{convert|460|m|ft|disp=or|abbr=on}}) |end = [[Bodio]], [[Ticino|canton of Ticino]] (south, {{convert|312|m|ft|disp=or|abbr=on}}) |stations = |startwork = 4 November 1999<ref name=ConstructionBegin>{{cite web |url=https://www.alptransit-portal.ch/en/overview/construction/events/ereignis/construction-begins//?no_cache=1&navigationOpen=1 |title=Construction begins |publisher=Swiss Federal Archives SFA, Swiss Federal Office of Transport FOT, Swiss Confederation |location=Bern, Switzerland |date=2016 |access-date=4 July 2016}}</ref> |opened = 1 June 2016<ref name=countdown>{{cite web |title=155 days until opening |url=http://www.alptransit-portal.ch/en/home.html |publisher=AlpTransit Gotthard AG |location=Lucerne, Switzerland |access-date=29 December 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |closed = |owner = [[Swiss Federal Railways|SBB Infrastructure]] |operator = SBB CFF FFS |traffic = Railway |character = Passenger and freight |length = {{convert|57.09|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}; total {{convert|151.840|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} for all tunnels, shafts and passages<ref name=Projectdata/> |linelength = {{ubl|{{convert|57.104|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} (east tunnel)|{{convert|57.017|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} (west tunnel)<ref name=Projectdata/>}} |notrack = 2 [[single track (rail)|single-track]] tubes<ref name=Projectdata/> |gauge = {{RailGauge|sg}} ([[standard gauge]]) |el = [[15 kV AC railway electrification|15 kV 16.7 Hz]] |speed = {{ubl|class=nowrap| |'''Passenger''' ('''service''')''':''' |{{convert|200|km/h|abbr=on|round=5}} |'''Passenger''' ('''if delay''')''':''' |{{convert|230|km/h|0|abbr=on}}{{refn|<ref name=axe_NS_SaintGothard>[https://company.sbb.ch/fr/medias/dossier-pour-les-journalistes/tunnel-du-saint-gothard.html Axe nord-sud du Saint-Gothard] (SBB/CFF website).</ref><ref name=SBBoperation/><ref name=giruno>[https://company.sbb.ch/en/media/background-information/giruno.html Giruno] (SBB/CFF website).</ref>}} |'''Maximum''' ('''technical''')''':''' |{{convert|250|km/h|abbr=on|round=5}} |'''Freight:''' |{{convert|100|km/h|0|abbr=on}} }} |hielevation = {{convert|549|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=Projectdata/> |lowelevation = {{convert|312|m|abbr=on}} (south portal)<ref name=Projectdata/> |height = {{convert|5.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} from top of rail to overhead conductor<ref name=Projectdata/> |grade = {{ubl|max 4.055‰ (north)|max 6.76‰ (south)<ref name=Projectdata/>}} |map = [[File:Map Gotthard-Basistunnel.png|250px|center|Route map]] }} The '''Gotthard Base Tunnel''' ('''GBT'''; {{langx|de|Gotthard-Basistunnel}}, {{langx|it|Galleria di base del San Gottardo}}, {{langx|rm|Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard}}) is a railway [[tunnel]] through the [[Alps]] in [[Switzerland]]. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.srf.ch/news/ueber-und-durch-den-gotthard-eine-zeitreise-durch-die-jahrhunderte |title=Über und durch den Gotthard – eine Zeitreise durch die Jahrhunderte |publisher=[[Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen|SRF Swiss Radio and Television]] |date=1 June 2016 |location=Zürich, Switzerland |language=de |access-date=4 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36423250 |title=World's longest and deepest rail tunnel to open in Switzerland |work=BBC News |date=June 2016 |access-date=1 June 2016}}</ref> With a route length of {{convert|57.09|km|mi|abbr=on}},<ref name=Projectdata>{{cite web |title=Project data – raw construction Gotthard Base Tunnel |url=https://www.alptransit-portal.ch/fileadmin/dateien/media/zahlen_und_fakten/gbt_e.pdf |date=1 June 2016 |publisher=AlpTransit Gotthard AG |location=Lucerne, Switzerland |access-date=15 December 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> it is the [[List of longest tunnels|world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geomatik.ch/fileadmin/redaktion/download/2010/Fach/FA_12_2010_1.pdf |title=Gotthard- und CeneriBasistunnel: die neue Gotthard-Bahn nimmt Gestalt an |publisher=Geomatik Schweiz |access-date=8 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205956/http://www.geomatik.ch/fileadmin/redaktion/download/2010/Fach/FA_12_2010_1.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=TA2>{{cite news |url=http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wissen/technik/wer-hat-die-groesste-roehre/story/14922381 |title=Wer hat die grösste Röhre? |trans-title=Who has the longest tube? |type=graphical animation |newspaper=[[Tages-Anzeiger]] |location=Zürich, Switzerland |date=14 April 2016 |language=de |access-date=11 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="BBC News 2016">{{cite web |title=Gotthard tunnel: World's longest and deepest rail tunnel opens in Switzerland |website=[[BBC News]] |date=1 June 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36423250 |access-date=1 June 2016}}</ref><ref group=note>The [[List of longest tunnels|world longest tunnel]] for transport of people is the [[Line 3 (Guangzhou Metro)|Guangzhou Metro Line 3]] in China (60 km). Reference: {{in lang|fr}} Nic Ulmi, [https://www.revue-horizons.ch/2018/09/06/pourquoi-la-suisse-aime-tant-ses-bunkers-et-ses-tunnels/ "Des trous suisses remplis d'imaginaire"] [interview with André Ourednik], ''[[Swiss National Science Foundation#Research magazine Horizons|Horizons]]'', magazine of the [[Swiss National Science Foundation]] and the [[Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences]], number 118, September 2018, pages 22-23.</ref> and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps.<ref>Yücel Erdem, Tülin Solak, ''Underground Space Use. Analysis of the Past and Lessons for the Future'', CRC Press, 2005 (p. 485)</ref> Located at the heart of the [[Gotthard Pass|Gotthard]] axis, it is the third tunnel to connect the cantons of [[Canton of Uri|Uri]] and [[Canton of Ticino|Ticino]], after the [[Gotthard Tunnel]] and the [[Gotthard Road Tunnel]]. The GBT consists of a large complex with, at its core, two [[Single track (rail)|single-track]] tunnels connecting [[Erstfeld]] (Uri) with [[Bodio]] (Ticino) and passing below [[Sedrun]] ([[Canton of Grisons|Grisons]]). It is part of the [[NRLA|New Railway Link through the Alps]] (NRLA) project, which also includes the [[Ceneri Base Tunnel]] further south (opened on 3 September 2020) and the [[Lötschberg Base Tunnel]] on the other main north–south axis. It is referred to as a "[[base tunnel]]" since it bypasses most of the existing vertex line, the [[Gotthard railway|Gotthard railway line]], a winding mountain route opened in 1882 across the [[Saint-Gotthard Massif]], which was operating at its capacity before the opening of the GBT. The new base tunnel establishes a direct route usable by [[high-speed rail]] and heavy [[freight train]]s.<ref name="malins">{{cite news |last=Malins |first=Richard |title = Crossing the Alps |url=http://www.modern-railways.com/view_issue.asp?ID=4522 |work =[[Modern Railways]] |issn=0026-8356 |location=London |pages=79–81 |date=December 2010|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The main purpose of the Gotthard Base Tunnel is to increase local transport capacity through the Alpine barrier, especially for freight on the Rotterdam–Basel–Genoa corridor. The tunnel is specifically meant to shift freight to trains from [[truck]]s, and thereby to reduce [[environmental damage]] and deadly road crashes. The tunnel also provides a faster connection between the canton of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland, as well as between northern and southern [[Rail transport in Europe|Europe]], cutting the [[Basel]]/[[Zürich]]–[[Lugano]]–[[Milan]] journey time for passenger trains by one hour (and from [[Lucerne]] to [[Bellinzona]] by 45 minutes).<ref>{{cite news |last=Monnat |first=Lucie |date=11 December 2014 |title=Le tunnel de base du Gothard révolutionnera le rail dans deux ans |url=http://www.24heures.ch/suisse/Le-tunnel-de-base-du-Gothard-revolutionnera-le-rail-dans-deux-ans/story/23248700 |newspaper=[[24 heures (Switzerland)|24 heures]] |location=[[Lausanne]] |access-date=7 June 2015}}</ref> After 64 percent of Swiss voters accepted the NRLA project in a [[1992 Swiss referendums|1992 referendum]], the first preparatory and exploratory work began in 1996. Construction began in November 1999 at [[Amsteg]].<ref name="Chronology">{{cite web |title=Chronology of a Project of the Century: Milestones in the Construction History up to 2010 |url=http://www.57km.ch/fileadmin/gotthard/Downloads/Dokumente_PDF_e/Chronology_e.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313192759/http://www.57km.ch/fileadmin/gotthard/Downloads/Dokumente_PDF_e/Chronology_e.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2012 |publisher=AlpTransit Gotthard AG |location=Lucerne, Switzerland |access-date=20 April 2013}}</ref> Drilling operations were completed in March 2011.<ref name=NeatKosten>{{cite periodical |url=http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/federal-gazette/2016/6665.pdf |title=Oberaufsicht über den Bau der Neat im Jahre 2015: Bericht der Neat-Aufsichtsdelegation der eidgenössischen Räte zuhanden der Finanzkommissionen, der Geschäftsprüfungskommissionen und der Kommissionen für Verkehr und Fernmeldewesen |author=Thomas Müller |author2=Isidor Baumann |periodical=Bundesblatt |publisher=NRLA supervisory board of the federal councils |volume=2016 |issue=16.005 |date=29 April 2016 |id=BBl 2016 6665 (-6732) |language=de, fr, it |page=6686 |access-date=6 June 2017}}</ref> Completed in 2016, the final cost was reported to be CHF 12.2 billion ({{US$|12}} billion).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-switzerland-rail-tunnel-20160601-snap-story.html|title=After 17 years and $12 billion, Switzerland inaugurates world’s longest rail tunnel|date=1 June 2016|location=Geneva|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|via=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)