Editing NRLA (section)

{{short description|Swiss rail project}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
[[Image: Alptransit project overview engl.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|alt=Rail map of Switzerland and surrounding countries|The NRLA project is the centrepiece of the [[Central Europe]]an rail network.]]
The '''New Railway Link through the Alps''' ('''NRLA'''; {{langx|de|Neue Eisenbahn-Alpentransversale, '''NEAT'''}}, {{langx|fr|nouvelle ligne ferroviaire à travers les Alpes, '''NLFA'''}}, {{langx|it|Nuova ferrovia transalpina, '''NFTA'''}}), is a [[Switzerland|Swiss]] construction project for faster north–south rail links across the [[Swiss Alps]]. It consists of two axes with several improvements along these rails including three new [[base tunnel]]s several hundred metres below the existing apex tunnels, the {{convert|57|km|adj=on}} [[Gotthard Base Tunnel]], the {{convert|35|km|adj=on}} [[Lötschberg Base Tunnel]], and the {{convert|15|km|adj=on}} [[Ceneri Base Tunnel]].<ref name=ATPOv>{{cite web |url=https://www.alptransit-portal.ch/en/overview/ |title=Overview |publisher=Federal Swiss Archives FSA, Federal Office of Transport FOT |work=AlpTransit Portal |location=Berne, Switzerland |access-date=2017-07-01}}</ref> [[Swiss Federal Railways]] subsidiary AlpTransit Gotthard AG and [[BLS AG]] subsidiary BLS Alp Transit AG (now BLS Netz AG) were founded for this project and built the tunnels.<ref name=ATPC>{{cite web |url=https://www.alptransit-portal.ch/en/overview/construction/?no_cache=1 |title=Construction |publisher=Federal Swiss Archives FSA, Federal Office of Transport FOT |location=Berne, Switzerland |work=AlpTransit Portal |access-date=2017-07-01}}</ref>

The total projected cost of the project was [[Swiss franc|CHF]]&nbsp;12.189&nbsp;billion at its 1998 start; in December 2015, its final cost was projected to be CHF&nbsp;17.900&nbsp;billion. The 1998 projected total cost of the Gotthard Base Tunnel was CHF&nbsp;6.323&nbsp;billion; in December 2015, its final cost was projected to be CHF&nbsp;9.560&nbsp;billion.<ref name=NeatKosten>{{cite web |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 |website=Fedlex |date=29 April 2016 |id=BBl 2016 6665 (-6732) |language=de, fr, it |page=6686 |access-date=2017-06-06}}</ref> It opened on 1 June 2016, and became operational on 11 December of that year. The Ceneri Base Tunnel was opened on 3 September 2020 and became fully operational in December 2020 and is an important feeder for the Gotthard Base Tunnel.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alptransit.ch/en/gotthard/gotthard-base-tunnel/ |title=The Gotthard Base Tunnel |publisher=AlpTransit Gotthard AG |location=Luzern, Switzerland |access-date=2016-10-15}}</ref> A decision to fully complete the second tube of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel was made in early-2024, with an estimated cost of CHF&nbsp;1.7&nbsp;billion<ref name="BLS-2024">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bls.ch/en/unternehmen/projekte-und-hintergruende/neat |title=BLS is upgrading the Lötschberg Base Tunnel|website=www.bls.ch}}</ref> and construction expected to extend from 2026 to 2033.<ref name="TunnelOnline-2020">{{Cite web |url=https://www.tunnel-online.info/en/artikel/tunnel_Plans_for_Further_Development_of_the_Loetschberg_Base_Tunnel_Enter_Next-3577057.html |title=Plans for Further Development of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel Enter Next Stage|website=www.tunnel-online.info}}</ref>