This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future tunnel. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the construction or completion of the tunnel approaches, and more information becomes available.

The new Gotthard Base Tunnel together with the Zimmerberg Base tunnel form the northern part of the Gotthard axis of the Alptransit project
(yellow: major tunnels, red: existing main tracks, numbers: year of completion).

The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) is a railway tunnel under construction in Switzerland. With a planned length of 57 km (35 miles) and a total of 153.5 km (95 miles) of tunnels, shafts and passages planned, it will be the longest tunnel (of all railway and road tunnels) in the world upon completion, ahead of the current record holder, the Seikan Tunnel. The project is designed to feature two separate tunnels containing one track each. The tunnel is part of the Swiss AlpTransit project, also known as New Railway Link through the Alps NRLA which also includes the Lötschberg Base Tunnel between the cantons of Berne and Valais. Like the Lötschberg tunnel, it is intended to bypass winding mountain routes and establish a direct route suitable for high speed rail and heavy freight trains. On completion it is expected to decrease the current 3.5 hours travel time from Zürich to Milan by one hour. The two portals will be near the villages of Erstfeld, Canton Uri and Bodio, Canton Ticino. Completion has been projected for 2015 but due to delays the tunnel may only be completed as late as 2017. Moreover, according to a TSR programme, Temps Present aired on 25 May, 2007, rail links with the Italian network are far from assured, due the pressure on trains transporting cargo to avoid the Milanese conurbation in favour of passenger transport[1]. Nearby are two more St. Gotthard Tunnels: the 1881 railway tunnel and the 1980 road tunnel. Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... Image File history File links Tunnel_only. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (852x948, 1957 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (852x948, 1957 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... km redirects here. ... km redirects here. ... These tables are to be merged into one table with the tunnel purpose as a further column. ... In-train display showing progress through tunnel The Seikan Tunnel (青函トンネル Seikan Tonneru or 青函隧道 Seikan Zuidō) is a 53. ... AlpTransit is a swiss project aimed to build the longest rail tunnel in the world beneath the swiss alps. ... The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a 34. ... For other uses of Zurich, see Zurich (disambiguation). ... Coordinates: , Sovereign state Italy Region Lombardy Province Province of Milan Insubric settlement c. ... Erstfeld is a municipality in the canton of Uri, Switzerland. ... Uri (German:  ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... Bodio is a municipality in the district of Leventina, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. ... This article is about the Swiss canton Ticino. ... 2015 (MMXV) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2017 (MMXVII) will be a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... TSR may mean: BAC TSR-2, a prototype British bomber Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid, an anime Tamaracouta Scout Reserve, a Scout camp in Quebec. ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... The first Gotthard Tunnel, a 15 km long railway tunnel, connects Göschenen and Airolo. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The St. ...

Background

Intermodal train on the current Gotthardbahn in the Biaschina Gorge; truck on viaduct heading towards Gotthard road tunnel.

The route over Gotthard Pass or one of its tunnels is one of the most important passages through the Alps on the north-south axis in Europe. Traffic has increased more than tenfold since 1980 and the existing road and rail tunnels are at their limits. In order for a faster and flatter passage through the Alps, the Swiss voters have decided to build this tunnel cutting through the Gotthard massif at nearly ground level, 600 metres below the existing railway tunnel. On the current track, the Gotthardbahn, only limited freight trains with a maximum weight of 2,000 tons using two or three locomotives are able to pass through the narrow mountain valleys and through spiral tunnels climbing up to the portals of the old tunnel at a height of 1,100 meters above sea level. Once the new tunnel is completed, standard freight trains of up to 4,000 tons will be able to pass this natural barrier as easily as if the Alps did not exist. Because of the ever increasing international truck traffic, the Swiss voted on Feb. 20, 1994 for a shift in transportation policy (Traffic Transfer Act, enacted on Oct. 8, 1999). The goal of both the law (and the goal of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is one of the means by which the law will achieve its objective), is to transport trucks, trailers and freight containers from southern Germany to northern Italy and vice versa by train to relieve the already overused roads (intermodal freight transport and so called rolling highway where the entire truck is being transported) and to meet the political requirement of shifting as much tonnage as possible from truck transport to train transport, as required by the Alpine Protection Act of 1994. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2292x1800, 859 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel Gotthardbahn ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2292x1800, 859 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel Gotthardbahn ... The modern concrete span of the Devils bridge (Teufelsbrücke) across the Schöllenen Gorge replaces the older bridge below. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... In geology, a massif is a section of a planets crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. ... Map of the Gotthardbahn Gotthardbahn was the name of a private Swiss railway company which operated the railway line from Immensee (canton of Schwyz) to Chiasso (Italian border). ... Great Western Railway No. ... A schematic of a simple spiral A spiral (sometimes called a spiral loop) is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... An intermodal train carrying both shipping containers and highway semi-trailers in piggyback service, on flatcars, passes through the Cajon Pass in February, 1995. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ...

Passenger trains, on the other hand, will be able to travel as fast as 250 km/h (155 mph) through the new tunnels, reducing travel times for trans-alpine train trips by 50 minutes--and by one hour once the adjacent Zimmerberg and Ceneri Base Tunnels are completed. Zimmerberg Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel in Switzerland. ... The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT) is a railway tunnel under construction in Switzerlands Canton Ticino. ...

Scheme of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, centrepiece of the New Railway Link through the Alps NRLA (green: excavation in progress).

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x860, 179 KB) Summary Description: Scheme of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, centerpiece of the New Railway Link throught the Alps NRLA, 57 kilometer long double-tube tunnel in Central Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x860, 179 KB) Summary Description: Scheme of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, centerpiece of the New Railway Link throught the Alps NRLA, 57 kilometer long double-tube tunnel in Central Switzerland. ...

Construction

Responsible for the construction is the AlpTransit Gotthard AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS). In order to decrease the construction time by half, four access tunnels were built so that the construction of the tunnel can start at four (finally five) different sites at the same time (Erstfeld, Amsteg, Sedrun, Faido and Bodio). Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. ...

It was decided to build a tunnel system with two single-track tunnels. The two rail tunnels are joined approximately every 325 metres by connecting galleries. Trains can change tunnels in the two multifunction stations (MFS) at Sedrun and Faido. These stations will house ventilation equipment and technical infrastructure and will serve as emergency stops and evacuation routes once the tunnel is operational. Sedrun is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. ... Faido is a village in the Italian (Southern) part of Switzerland in the canton Ticino. ...

Construction site near Bodio.

Wye junction at multifunction station Faido.

The TBM from Bodio has arrived at MFS Faido on September 6, 2006.

Scale model of the TBM S-210.

In the eastern bore near Amsteg.

The access to the construction site where the multifunction station of Sedrun is being excavated is quite difficult. It is only reachable by a one kilometer long flat access tunnel from the valley floor near Sedrun, where at the end two 800 m long shafts lead straight down to the base tunnel level. There is a local project to extend this multifunction station to an official train stop called Porta Alpina which will connect to the Rhaetian Railway/Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn east-west rail route via local buses to Sedrun and Disentis stations. Preparations are already ongoing but the final decision has not been made yet. Fears are that Porta Alpina would significantly reduce the base tunnel capacity. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 419 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 419 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 368 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 368 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 473 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 473 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... A tunnel boring machine that was used at Yucca Mountain. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 302 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 302 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gotthard Base Tunnel ... A tunnel boring machine that was used at Yucca Mountain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1183 KB) Summary Eastern tube in the Gotthard Base Tunnel at the Amsteg construction site. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1183 KB) Summary Eastern tube in the Gotthard Base Tunnel at the Amsteg construction site. ... Porta Alpina is a proposed railway station to be built in the middle of the 57 kilometre long Gotthard Base Tunnel which is currently under construction in southern Switzerland. ... The RhB (Rhaetian Railway / Rhätische Bahn (German) / Ferrovia Retica (Italian) / Viafier Retica (Rumantsch)) has the largest network of all the private railways in Switzerland. ... The Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn (MGB) is a narrow gauge railway in Switzerland. ... Disentis (German)) or Mustér (Romansh), with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a community of the district Surselva in the Northwest of Canton Grisons in Switzerland. ...

Facts and figures

• Length: 56,978 km (western tunnel ) 57,091 km (eastern tunnel)
• Total length of all tunnels and shafts: 153.4 km

• Begin of construction: 1993 (sounding drills), 1996 (preparations), 2003 (mechanical excavation)
• End of construction: 2016 - 2017
• Commissioning: 2015
• Total cost: CHF 8,035 billion (US$ 6.428 billion)
• Trains/day: 200-250
• Volume of excavated rock: 24 million tons (13.3 million m³ or the equiv. of 5 Gizeh-pyramids)
• Number of tunnel boring machines (TBM): 4 (2 southbound from Amsteg to Sedrun, 2 northbound from Bodio to Faido and Sedrun, section from Erstfeld to Amsteg will also be built with TBM, maybe the same used for Amsteg-Sedrun)
  • Total length: 440 m (incl. back-up equipment)
  • Total weight: 3,000 tons
  • Effect: 5 MWatt
  • Max. excav. daily: 25-30 m (in excellent rock conditions)
  • Total excav. length by TBM: about 45 km
  • Manufacturer: Herrenknecht AG, Schwanau, Germany

ISO 4217 Code CHF User(s) Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Campione dItalia Inflation 1. ... A tunnel boring machine that was used at Yucca Mountain. ...

Construction progress

Km of tunnels bored at the beginning of each month. In Faido, the TBM of the western tube will re-start boring to Sedrun on June 6th, 2007.

See also

• AlpTransit
• Lötschberg Base Tunnel
• Treno Alta Velocità

AlpTransit is a swiss project aimed to build the longest rail tunnel in the world beneath the swiss alps. ... The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a 34. ... Treno Alta Velocità SpA is special purpose entity owned by RFI for planning and construction of high-speed rail lines (TAV) along Italys most important and saturated transport routes. ...

External links

• Alptransit Gotthard AG - Official project site
• PDF-File issued by Alptransit Gotthard AG describing the entire project
• Atlas Copco - The Longest Tunnel in the World
• Study on the optional Use of Jet Fans in the Gotthard Base Tunnel near the Portals to support the Emergency Ventilation
• Brochure for the Porta Alpina project (.pdf file, in German).
• Overall project writeup, by SpiegelOnline, plus a proposed tourist elevator (Dec, 2006)

Footnotes

• TSR "Gotthard: From Dream to Nightmare" "Temps Present" May 24, 2007