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126-664: The railway comprises an international main line through Switzerland from Basel ( French : Bâle ) or Zürich to Immensee to Chiasso , together with branches, from Immensee to Lucerne and Rotkreuz , from Arth-Goldau to Zug or Pfäffikon SZ , and from Bellinzona to Chiasso via Locarno and Luino . At Chiasso, the line connects to the Milan–Chiasso railway , which runs across the Swiss–Italian border . The main line, second highest standard railway in Switzerland , penetrates

252-466: A rack railway to the summit of Monte Generoso . The Gotthard line then continues to Mendrisio and Chiasso . Chiasso station houses the border controls and has a large international marshalling yard . Conventional trains change locomotives here due to different traction voltages and train protection systems in Italy. The Gotthard line carries a mixture of freight and long distance passenger trains over

378-401: A bishops' crozier as the heraldic charge in the coat of arms of Basel first appears in the form of a gilded wooden staff in the 12th century. It is of unknown origin or significance (beyond its obvious status of bishop's crozier), but it is assumed to have represented a relic, possibly attributed to Saint Germanus of Granfelden . This staff (known as Baselstab ) became a symbol representing

504-427: A century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river "between Lake Constance and the sea". The first city guild were the furriers , established in 1226. A total of about fifteen guilds were established in the course of the 13th century, reflecting the increasing economic prosperity of the city. The Crusade of 1267 set out from Basel. Political conflicts between

630-556: A clear width of 12 metres (39 ft), bridging larger distances with iron superstructures , which therefore became a frequent sight on the original Gotthard line, their iron representing a weight of 17723 tons. The construction of each bridge represented its own individual challenge, depending on the surrounding geography and geology . With the exception of three arch bridges all steel bridges consisted of very simple, straight, single beam truss constructions . These had to be reinforced already before 1914 still during steam operation of

756-561: A great variety of information with regards to material and especially operational aspects in the year 1899, 17 years after the inauguration of the Gotthard tunnel and completion of the railway. The map key and captions to each column are to be found at the top of the page. Leading from left to right information is given on the location of each station's elevation in relation to sea level, the longitudinal profile, signal lights, tunnels and their length, for each route section on southbound journeys

882-524: A handful of wealthy families collectively referred to as the "Daig" played a pivotal role in city affairs as they gradually established themselves as a de facto city aristocracy . The first edition of Christianae religionis institutio ( Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin 's great exposition of Calvinist doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536. In 1544, Johann von Brugge,

1008-730: A line through the Splügen Pass or the Lukmanier Pass , Central Switzerland and Zürich favoured the Gotthard Pass and Western Switzerland supported the Simplon route. In 1871, the first line was completed through the Alps, connecting Italy and France with the Fréjus Rail Tunnel . The Compagnie de la Ligne d'Italie was founded in 1856 to build a connection between Romandy and Italy through

1134-584: A major junction is reached at Giubiasco . Here the original main line branches off what is now considered the main Gotthard line to Lugano and Chiasso. What was originally considered the main line continues down the valley of the Ticino, crossing the Italian border and continuing to meet the Italian railway system at Pino on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore . The line beyond Pino to the Italian town of Luino , although Italian-owned, has always been operated as part of

1260-555: A pro-Habsburg faction, known as Sterner , and an anti-Habsburg faction, the Psitticher . The Black Death reached Basel in 1348. The Jews were blamed , and an estimated 50 to 70 Jews were executed by burning on 16 January 1349 in what has become known as the Basel massacre . The Basel earthquake of 1356 destroyed much of the city along with a number of castles in the vicinity. A riot on 26 February 1376, known as Böse Fasnacht , led to

1386-556: A rich Dutch Protestant refugee, was given citizenship and lived respectably until his death in 1556, then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist David Joris . In 1543, De humani corporis fabrica , the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564). There are indications Joachim Meyer , author of

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1512-546: A safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as Erasmus of Rotterdam , the Holbein family, Friedrich Nietzsche , Carl Jung , and in the 20th century also Hermann Hesse and Karl Jaspers . Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since

1638-414: A signal bell. Southbound trains were signalled by 3 triple chimes, northbound trains by two double chimes. The signalling mechanism at each signal bell had to be manually wound up every day by station employees and railway watchmen. Part of the mechanism was a weight having to be raised by help of a pulley. The electric signal triggering the alarm operated a relay, activating the bell's hammer through force of

1764-581: Is Swiss Standard German and the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect. Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums , including the Kunstmuseum , which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland , the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen ),

1890-528: Is 19,803 m (64,970 ft) long; the second is 19,824 m (65,039 ft) long, making it the longest railway tunnel in the world for most of the twentieth century, from 1906 until 1982, when the Daishimizu Tunnel opened. Culminating at a height of only 705 m (2,313 ft) above sea level, the Simplon Tunnel was also the lowest direct Alpine crossing for 110 years, until the opening of

2016-522: Is May during which time Basel receives an average of 98 mm (3.9 in) of rain. The month with the most days of precipitation is also May, with an average of 11.7 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 45 mm (1.8 in) of precipitation over 8.4 days. The city of Basel functions as the capital of the Swiss half-canton of Basel-Stadt . The canton Basel-Stadt consists of three municipalities: Riehen , Bettingen , and

2142-647: Is also made with the Arth-Rigi-Bahn , a rack railway climbing the mountain Rigi . The Zug branch of the Gotthard railway commences in the city of Zug . It makes a junction, in Zug station , with the line to Zürich via Thalwil . The line then follows the east shore of the Lake of Zug to reach Arth-Goldau. From Arth-Goldau, the line then follows the Lauerzer See and passes Schwyz ,

2268-446: Is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.67 km (7.98 sq mi) or 86.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.45 km (0.56 sq mi) or 6.1% is either rivers or lakes. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 10.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 40.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 24.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of

2394-654: Is located in Northwestern Switzerland and is commonly considered to be the capital of that region. It is close to the point where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, and Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. As of 2016 , the Swiss Basel agglomeration was the third-largest in Switzerland, with a population of 541,000 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland (municipal count as of 2018). The metropolitan area , called

2520-638: Is made with the Lugano–Ponte Tresa railway , a metre gauge railway to the town of Ponte Tresa . Following the western waterside of Lake Lugano , the line crosses Lake Lugano at the Melide causeway , a 817-metre-long (2,680 ft) causeway and bridge. The track follows the eastern waterside from the Melide causeway to Capolago-Riva San Vitale station . Here interchange is made with the Monte Generoso railway ,

2646-456: Is reached via Altdorf . The depot at Erstfeld station houses rolling stock needed for the Gotthard route, i.e. for banking service . A Ce 6/8 "crocodile" serves as a memorial for the legendary Gotthard locomotives. For the whole of the northern ramp from Erstfeld to Göschenen, the line follows the valley of the Reuss . The track now gets steeper with a gradient of up to 27 ‰. After Amsteg

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2772-459: Is recorded for 1185, and the first mayor , Heinrich Steinlin of Murbach, for 1253. The first bridge across the Rhine was built in 1225 under bishop Heinrich von Thun (at the location of the modern Middle Bridge ), and from this time the settlement of Kleinbasel gradually formed around the bridgehead on the far river bank. The bridge was largely funded by Basel's Jewish community who had settled there

2898-503: Is scheduled at 04:09, from where it leaves again at 04:14. In 1899 the entire train journey from Bellinzona to Lugano was scheduled to be 52 minutes. Today (2017), the same journey on one of the EC trains takes 27 minutes. The illustrations shows that between Giubiasco and Rivera Bironico trains do not pass each other as in 1899 this was, as mentioned in the paragraph above, a single track line. This information can thus be drawn form both,

3024-483: Is sometimes called a Re 10/10. If the trains are heavier, then any additional locomotives must be used as banking locomotives at the rear of the train, because the tractive effort of more power at the front of the train would exceed the capacity of the couplers within the train. The Gotthardbahn and its branchlines pass over a total of 1234 bridges and open passages which span a total of 6,471 metres (21,230 ft). Arch bridges from stone were only constructed up to

3150-514: The Alps using the Gotthard Tunnel at 1,151 metres (3,776 ft) above sea level. The line then descends as far as Bellinzona, at 241 metres (791 ft) above sea level, before climbing again to the pass of Monte Ceneri , on the way to Lugano and Chiasso. The extreme differences in altitude necessitate the use of long ramped approaches on each side, together with seven spirals . Construction of

3276-461: The BBC . Currently, the spelling Basel is most often used, to match the official German spelling. In French Basle was still in use in the 18th century, but was gradually replaced by the modern French spelling Bâle . In Icelandic, the city is recorded as Buslaraborg in the 12th-century itinerary Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan . There are traces of a settlement at the nearby Rhine knee from

3402-455: The Baselstab in red represented the bishop, and the same charge in black represented the city. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is In Silber ein schwarzer Baselstab (Argent, a staff of Basel sable). In 1400, Basel was able to purchase the towns of Liestal , Homburg and Waldenburg with its surrounding territory. In 1412 (or earlier), the well-known Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen

3528-625: The Canton of Valais and the Simplon . On 1 June 1874, it was taken over by the Simplon Company ( French : Compagnie du Simplon , S), which was created to promote the project. This merged in 1881 with the company Western Swiss Railways (French: Chemins de Fer de la Suisse Occidentale , SO) to create the Western Switzerland–Simplon Company (French: Compagnie de la Suisse Occidentale et du Simplon , SOS). The French financiers of

3654-452: The Ceneri section it is clearly visible to this day that these were built at greatly different points in time. The Giubiasco-Al Sasso and Al Sasso-Rivera sections were equipped with double-tracks in 1922 and 1934 respectively. The graphic timetable is a two-dimensional image of the train journeys. Time is displayed horizontally from midnight XII o'clock to midnight XII o'clock. The stations along

3780-504: The Federal Council of Switzerland for that year) Ludwig Forrer opened the tunnel at Brig on 19 May 1906. The builders of the tunnel were Hermann Häustler and Hugo von Kager . Work on the second tube of the tunnel started in 1912 and it was opened in 1921. Shortly after the opening of the first railway in Switzerland, each region began to favour a separate north–south link through the Alps towards Italy. Eastern Switzerland supported

3906-701: The French Revolutionary Wars . In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel from 29 August through 31 August 1897. Because of the Balkan Wars , the (Socialist) Second International held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912. In 1989, the Basel Convention was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of hazardous waste from wealthy to developing nations for disposal. Basel

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4032-531: The Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016. The tunnel has a maximum rock overlay of approximately 2,150 m (7,050 ft), also a world record at the time. Temperatures up to 56 °C (133 °F) have been measured inside the tunnel. Work on the first tube of the Simplon Tunnel commenced in 1898. The Italian king Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the president of the Swiss Confederation (presiding

4158-505: The Mont-Cenis , Semmering or Brenner railways. A north-south route through Switzerland had been discussed as far back as 1848. An international conference in Bern in 1869 had decided that the best route would be via the valleys of the rivers Reuss and Ticino , linked by a tunnel under the Gotthard Pass . The selected route was an ancient one that pilgrims and traders had used since at least

4284-584: The Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art , which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. The University of Basel , Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460), and the city's centuries-long commitment to humanism , have made Basel

4410-543: The Renaissance , and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century. In 1897, Basel was chosen by Theodor Herzl as the location for the first World Zionist Congress , and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location. The city is also home to the world headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements . The name of

4536-513: The Rete Adriatica (Adriatic Network) railway company. These three locomotives (which became FS Class E.360 ) hauled all traffic through the tunnel until 1908. On 2 March 1930, the Simplon tunnel was converted to 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC (single-phase). Between 1912 and 1921, the 19,823-metre long (65,036 ft) second tube, known as Simplon II, was built. On 7 January 1922 the northern section from

4662-500: The Roman castle . This name is mostly interpreted as deriving from the personal name Basilius , from a toponym villa Basilia (" estate of Basilius") or similar. Another suggestion derives it from a name Basilia attested in northern France as a development of basilica , the term for a public or church building (as in Bazeilles ), but all of these names reference early church buildings of

4788-469: The Roman invasion of Gaul . In Roman Gaul , Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km (12 mi) from Basel as the regional administrative centre, while a castrum (fortified camp) was built on the site of the Celtic oppidum . In AD 83, the area was incorporated into the Roman province of Germania Superior . The Roman Senator Munatius Plancus is known as the traditional founder of Basel since

4914-689: The Simplon Tunnel in 1906). Soon after construction, the army secured the line with fortresses (for instance, above Airolo, and at Biasca) and ways to block the tunnel in case of an invasion (among others, an artificial landslide to block the southern tunnel entrance). At the same time, the Aargauische Südbahn completed the section from Rotkreuz to Immensee, which provided a rail link from Aarau . The additional feeder lines from Lucerne to Immensee, and from Zug to Arth-Goldau were completed in 1887. The Gotthard Railway graphic timetable contains

5040-590: The Swabian League of Cities in 1385, and many knights of the pro-Habsburg faction, along with duke Leopold himself, were killed in the Battle of Sempach the following year. A formal treaty with Habsburg was made in 1393. Basel had gained its de facto independence from both the bishop and from the Habsburgs and was free to pursue its own policy of territorial expansion, beginning around 1400. The unique representation of

5166-553: The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) turned to selling these watchman houses. The Gotthard Railway Company worked the Gotthard railway until 1909, when it became part of the Swiss Federal Railways . This was seven years after the creation of that state owned railway, and the Gotthard railway was the last major railway to be absorbed. In 1922, the whole line was electrified by Brown, Boveri & Cie with 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC supplied by overhead line . The approaches to

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5292-688: The Treaty of Meerssen of 870. Basel was destroyed by the Magyars in 917. The rebuilt town became part of Upper Burgundy , and as such was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. From the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II of Metz in 999 until the Reformation , Basel was ruled by Prince-Bishops . In 1019,

5418-468: The Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel (TEB), consists of 62 suburban communes including municipalities in neighboring countries, and counted 829,000 inhabitants in 2007. Basel has an area, as of 2009 , of 23.91 square kilometers (9.23 sq mi). Of this area, 0.95 km (0.37 sq mi) or 4.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.88 km (0.34 sq mi) or 3.7%

5544-521: The Zoo Basel , opened its doors in the south of the city towards Binningen . In 1897 the first World Zionist Congress was held in Basel. Altogether the World Zionist Congress was held in Basel ten times, more than in any other city in the world. On 16 November 1938, the psychedelic drug LSD was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel. In 1967,

5670-492: The telegraph-relays were produced by Gustav Hasler  [ de ] ( Bern ). The Gotthardbahn employed signal bells within its stations and along the line to signal any approaching train. An alarm was triggered once a train had left a neighbouring station or block station. These signal bells were partly installed along the line and signalled any construction worker of an approaching train. In addition, any railway watchman's house and railroad crossing would be equipped with

5796-448: The "Biaschina-Loops", lead the line down to Giornico, at an altitude of 391 metres (1,283 ft). By the time the line has arrived at Biasca , at an altitude of 293 metres (961 ft), the valley has widened, and the gradient reduced. From Biasca station the line continues to follow the Ticino as far as Bellinzona , at an altitude of 241 metres (791 ft) and the capital of the canton of Ticino. Just beyond Bellinzona station ,

5922-605: The 13th century. Treaties for the construction of the line were made with the Kingdom of Italy , in 1869, and the German Empire , in 1871. The Gotthard Railway Company was incorporated in Lucerne in 1871. To the overall costs of CHF  238 million (in 1869/71) the Italian government eventually contributed CHF 58 million ( £ 2.25 million), with Germany contributing CHF 30 million (£1.25 million). Construction of

6048-534: The 4th century, but were repelled; one such event was the Battle of Solicinium (368). However, in the great invasion of AD 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau . The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century. The Alemannic and Frankish settlement of Basel gradually grew around

6174-502: The 4th or 5th century and cannot be adduced for the 3rd-century attestation of Basilia . By popular etymology, or simple assonance, the basilisk becomes closely associated with the city, used as heraldic supporter from 1448, represented on coins minted by the city, and frequently found in ornaments. The Middle French form Basle was adopted into English, but this form has fallen gradually out of use although it continues to be used in some sections of British English including

6300-431: The Basel diocese, depicted in bishops' seals of the late medieval period. It is represented in a heraldic context in the early 14th century, not yet as a heraldic charge but as a kind of heraldic achievement flanked by the heraldic shields of the bishop. The staff is also represented in the bishops's seals of the period. The use of the Baselstab in black as the coat of arms of the city was introduced in 1385. From this time,

6426-628: The Day by Thomas Pynchon , Reef Traverse, one of the novel's characters, works on the construction of the Simplon Tunnel. In the novel "The Couloir" by Richard Manichello, the Canton Valais is a major geographical setting for action and scenes. especially the Val de Bagnes. Brig and the Simplon Pass & Tunnel play an important role in the main plot, moving characters in and out of Western Swiss locations or over

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6552-634: The Ecclesiastical Princes of the Imperial Diet . In 1500 the construction of the Basel Münster was finished. The city had remained neutral through the Swabian War of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The Treaty of Basel ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland de facto from

6678-508: The Gotthard Railway's early days ultrasound was not available to examine the tracks. Fractures within these were far more common than today, when special ultrasound equipped trains are employed in the maintenance process. The railway watchman was especially important in ensuring the Gotthard railway's safe operation. A railway watchman was assigned to a special segment of tracks which he had to inspect every day. Fractures, deformations and

6804-494: The Gotthard Tunnel are susceptible to rockfalls , regularly leading to closures of the railway line. In the worst such incident in recent times, the Gotthard line was closed to all traffic for almost one month following a rockfall near Gurtnellen on 5 June 2012, which killed one rail worker and injured two others. The closure caused massive disruption of both passenger and international freight traffic. The Lucerne branch of

6930-610: The Gotthard line is within this tunnel, 1,151 metres (3,776 ft) above sea level, which makes it the second highest standard railway in Switzerland, after the Lötschberg railway line , the other main north-south axis in the country. Here the tunnel crosses the border between the canton of Uri and the canton of Ticino , and line passes from the German-speaking part of Switzerland to the Italian-speaking part. The line exits

7056-443: The Gotthard line meets the Schöllenenbahn , a metre gauge rack operated branch of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn that ascends to Andermatt , where connections can be made over the Oberalppass to Chur or through the Furka Base Tunnel to Brig . Immediately after Göschenen station, the Gotthard railway enters the Gotthard Tunnel, a 15,003-metre-long (49,222 ft), double-track tunnel, built as one tube. The highest point of

7182-437: The Gotthard railway commences in Lucerne station , facing the south shore of Lake Lucerne . From here it undertakes a 270 degree turn, heading first south, then west, north and east, as well as crossing the river Reuss , to reach the north shore of the lake. From here it continues along the west shore of the Küssnacht arm of the lake to reach Immensee station . Here it meets the Rotkreuz branch , which runs from Rotkreuz to

7308-504: The Gotthard railway in the Bellinzona area, before proceeding down the branches to Locarno and Luino respectively, with some S30 trains extended to Milan Malpensa Airport . Besides trains operated by the Swiss Federal Railways , other railway companies have also been able to run trains on the Gotthard route since the introduction of open access in 2001. Companies that have taken advantage of this include Deutsche Bahn AG , who operate through freight trains from Germany to Italy. Most of

7434-471: The Gotthard railway ran on double-tracks from the villages of Flüelen to Giubiasco . Facing north the picture on the right shows the watchman's house at the Mondascia bridge depicts the double-tracks and advance signal to the entry signal before Biasca (at 132.5 km), mentioned in the timetable. The next picture on the right shows the Pianotondo viaduct and the Pianotono-spiral tunnel's upper gate with its watchman's house, which came into use during

7560-409: The Gotthard railway started in 1872, and the first lowland sections from Biasca to Locarno and Lugano to Chiasso were opened by 1874. The whole line was inaugurated with festivities in Lucerne and Chiasso from 21 May to 25 May 1882. Scheduled operations started on 1 June. At the time, the 15,003-metre-long (49,222 ft) Gotthard Rail Tunnel was the world's longest rail tunnel (seconded by

7686-533: The Gotthard railway used a telegraph -network, which linked up all railway stations on the entire line from Luzern to Chiasso , Locarno and Luino . This network is pointed out on the left hand side of the graphic timetable dated 1899. The telegraphs for every railway station shown on the timetable are marked with a black dot. As a detailed section from the timetable shows, the Biasca station used four telegraphs at that time. One of those telegraphs linked all stations from Biasca to Bellinzona . Whatever message

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7812-456: The Gotthardbahn are: Basel Basel ( / ˈ b ɑː z əl / BAH -zəl ; German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ), also known as Basle , is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the River Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine ). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva ), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits. The official language of Basel

7938-550: The Gotthardbahn due to quickly increasing traffic and load. Fish-belly truss structures were attached to the bridges from below where possible and an arch truss structure was added from the top, where a short clear height made this necessary, besides other measures. Eventually all original iron bridges had to be replaced with modern bridges because they had been built and were repeatedly reinforced to specifications that again and again were surpassed by increasing traffic, velocity and load. Notable originally single beam truss bridges on

8064-454: The Holy Roman Empire. On 9 June 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its eleventh canton . It was the only canton that was asked to join, not the other way round. Basel had a strategic location, good relations with Strasbourg and Mulhouse , and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among

8190-406: The Jura–Simplon Railway. The route of the tunnel was determined by military considerations so that the state border between the two countries was in the middle of the tunnel, allowing either country to block the tunnel in the event of war. On 1 May 1903, the Jura-Simplon Railway was nationalized and integrated into the network of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which completed the construction of

8316-440: The Lötschberg-Simplon axis into a powerful transit axis, various extensions to the access lines (from Bern and Lausanne in the north and from Novara and Milan in the south) have been made in recent years and decades. The largest projects have dealt with the northern access from Basel-Bern via Lötschberg. Between 1976 and 2007 there were three major transformations. First, the remaining single-track line between Spiez and Brig

8442-424: The Renaissance. Roman control over the area deteriorated in the 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian . Basilia is first named by the Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae as part of the Roman military fortifications along the Rhine in the late 4th century. The Germanic confederation of the Alemanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in

8568-433: The Rhone valley lines will be increased from 160 to 200 km/h (99 to 124 mph). On 9 June 2011, a 300 m (984 ft) section of the Simplon II tunnel's roof was seriously damaged when a northbound BLS freight train caught fire and stopped 3 km (1.9 mi) into the tunnel. The temperature exceeded 800 °C (1,470 °F) and took more than two weeks to cool back to normal. By agreement all repairs to

8694-458: The SOS were able to secure finance for the tunnel in 1886. The company considered 31 proposals and selected one that involved the construction of a tunnel from Glis to Gondo, which would have been fully in Switzerland. From Gondo it would have continued on a ramp through the Divedro valley down to Domodossola . At a Swiss-Italian conference held in July 1889, it was agreed, however, to build a nearly 20-kilometre long (12 mi) base tunnel through

8820-610: The Swiss locomotives were originally constructed for the Gotthard line, so many of them were called "Gotthardlokomotiven", for instance C 5/6 "Elephant" , Ce 6/8 and Be 6/8 "Krokodil" , Ae 8/14 "Landilok" , Ae 6/6 , Re 620 . Famous trainsets on the Gotthard route are the Trans Europ Express and the Roter Pfeil , as well as the tilting train , Cisalpino Pendolino . Nowadays passenger trains are mostly pulled by Re 4/4 (up to two for long trains) and sometimes by Re 460 , freight trains by Re 6/6 and Re 4/4 . Up to 1300 tons may be pulled by an Re 6/6 with an Re 4/4 . This combination

8946-452: The Swiss system. At Cadenazzo on the line to Pino, a further branch crosses the Ticino and runs a short distance down the western shore of Lago Maggiore to a terminus at the Swiss resort town of Locarno . Transfer can be made at Locarno station to the international metre gauge Domodossola–Locarno railway . At Giubiasco , the line from Immensee to Chiasso reaches its lowest point of 230 metres (750 ft) above sea level. From here

9072-402: The adjoining railways of Germany and France. To the west, a line had reached Brig , in the upper Rhone valley , from Lausanne . In the central north, lines linked Olten , Lucerne , Zug and Zürich . However, no line had yet reached through the Alps to southern Switzerland or the border with Italy. All north-to-south rail traffic had to pass either to the west or east of Switzerland through

9198-570: The aforementioned weight. Each signal bell within the Gotthard railway's network is marked on the graphic timetable. The railway watchman's house number 159 (Casello 159) signal bell on the Monte Ceneri line between Giubiasco and Rivera-Bironico is shown as an example in the timetable's excerpt . A southbound train departing Giubiasco for Rivera-Bironico would trigger alarms of eleven different signal bells on its 11 kilometres long journey. Around 1980 these signal bells were decommissioned. In

9324-534: The ancient bishopric of Augusta Raurica , was established in the 8th century. Under bishop Haito (r. 806–823), the first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle (replaced by a Romanesque structure consecrated in 1019). At the partition of the Carolingian Empire through the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Basel was first given to West Francia and became its German exclave. It passed to East Francia with

9450-719: The area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 8.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 2.5% is used for growing crops and 1.3% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Under the Köppen system , Basel features an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ), although with notable continental influences due to its relatively far inland position with cool to cold, overcast winters and warm to hot, humid summers. The city averages 118.2 days of rain or snow annually and on average receives 842 mm (33.1 in) of precipitation . The wettest month

9576-399: The bishops and the burghers began in the mid-13th century and continued throughout the 14th century. By the late 14th century, the city was for all practical purposes independent although it continued to nominally pledge fealty to the bishops. The House of Habsburg attempted to gain control over the city. This was not successful, but it caused a political split among the burghers of Basel into

9702-519: The capital of the canton of Schwyz , at an altitude of 455 metres (1,493 ft). From Brunnen to Flüelen , the line follows the Lake Lucerne (that part of it is also referred to as Urnersee ). In that section, the Axen , the two tracks follow two different routes mainly in tunnel because the second track was built later (up to 1943) and on a straighter route through longer tunnels. At Flüelen station ,

9828-596: The city Basel itself. The political structure and agencies of the city and the canton are identical. Simplon Tunnel The Simplon Tunnel ( Simplontunnel , Traforo del Sempione or Galleria del Sempione ) is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig , Switzerland and Domodossola , Italy, through the Alps , providing a shortcut under the Simplon Pass route. It is straight except for short curves at either end. It consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 15 years apart. The first to be opened

9954-462: The city is internationally known through institutions like the Basel Accords , Art Basel and FC Basel . Basel is Switzerland's main centre for the pharmaceutical industry, hosting both Novartis and Roche . In 2019 Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by Mercer . The name of Basel is first recorded as Basilia in the 3rd century (237/8), at the time referring to

10080-478: The construction of the cathedral of Basel (known locally as the Münster ) began under Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor . In the 11th to 12th century, Basel gradually acquired the characteristics of a medieval city . The main market place is first mentioned in 1091. The first city walls were constructed around 1100 (with improvements made in the mid-13th and in the late 14th century). A city council of nobles and burghers

10206-518: The context of a nationwide rail upgrading project, Rail 2000 , between 1985 and 2004. Further adjustments are proposed. In November 2004, the 7-kilometre long (4.3 mi) new line between Salgesch and Leuk in the Rhone Valley was completed to replace the last single-track bottleneck on the route. Under the ZEB ("Future rail development projects") package, the maximum speed on the long straight sections of

10332-436: The days of the double-track steam service, roughly at the time of the graphic timetable's validity. The graphic timetable sees two tracks running southwards from Giubiasco station . One is signposted "Chiasso" , the other " Luino / Locarno ". From this point onwards the railway runs on single tracks. Giubiasco's neighbouring stations to the south, Rivera-Bironico and Cadenazzo , are all on single tracks. At each underpass on

10458-568: The double loop of Wassen , at an altitude of 928 metres (3,045 ft), which allows the famous church of Wassen to be seen three times from different perspectives, first from below and the last time from 200 metres (660 ft) above. The line passes over the Reuss twice, and the Meienreuss three times in this section. After a 1,570-metre-long (5,150 ft) tunnel, the line reaches Göschenen station , at an altitude of 1,106 metres (3,629 ft). Here

10584-586: The early La Tène period (5th century BC). In the 2nd century BC, there was a village of the Raurici at the site of Basel-Gasfabrik (to the northwest of the Old City, and likely identical with the town of Arialbinnum that was mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana ). The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an oppidum on the site of Basel Minster , probably in reaction to

10710-546: The electrification. They decided in 1904 to use the three-phase system being introduced in Italy, with a three-phase power supply of 3,400 volts at 15.8 Hz using two overhead wires with the track acting as the third conductor. BBC had no electric locomotives and initially acquired three locomotives built for the Ferrovia della Valtellina —the owner of the lines from Colico to Chiavenna and Tirano , which had been electrified with this system in 1901 and 1902 —from their owner,

10836-531: The full length of the line. The long distance passenger trains include EuroCity (EC) trains between Zürich and Milan , and ICN and IR trains between a number of cities in northern Switzerland and various points in Ticino . Passenger trains using the Gotthard line in the past included the Trans Europ Express trains Gottardo , Roland , and Ticino . Regional commuter rail services also operate on

10962-476: The graphic timetable. Information can be drawn as to the tunnel's vertex which lies at 1154.5 meters above sea level and the fact that the tunnel does not run in a straight line but rather in a slope down from either side of its vertex. The tunnel was designed in such a way that inflowing water would be able to drain. From the railway station of Göschenen to the tunnel's vertex the train lines ascend at an angle of 6 ‰ and descend at 2 ‰ from vertex to

11088-413: The greatest gradient, distances, employed telegraphs and their networking, signal bells and their connection, telephones, block stations, track layout of the respective station and their equipment, total usable length of the remaining tracks, the longest side track, station names and distances between them, distance to point of origin and between main stations. Departure and arrival times are displayed within

11214-643: The influential 16th-century martial arts text Kunst des Fechten ("The Art of Fencing"), came from Basel. In 1661 the Amerbaschsches Kabinett , a vast collection of exotic artifacts, coins, medals and books was purchased by Basel. It was to become to the first public museum of art. Its collection became the core of the later Basel Museum of Art . The Bernoulli family, which included important 17th- and 18th-century mathematicians such as Jakob Bernoulli , Johann Bernoulli and Daniel Bernoulli , were from Basel. The 18th-century mathematician Leonhard Euler

11340-413: The intervention of vigilantes and the Swiss army . With up to 2,150 m (7,054 ft) of rock over the tunnel, temperatures of up to 42 °C (108 °F) were expected and a new building method was developed. In addition to the single-line main tunnel, a parallel tunnel was built, with the tunnel centres separated by 17 m (56 ft), through which pipes supplied fresh air to the builders in

11466-407: The journey, from Zug and Lucerne to Chiasso , Locarno and Luino are displayed vertically. The first scheduled train, an express train with 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages, leaves Bellinzona at 03:17. The train with the number 55 is powered by a steam locomotive and, according to the timetable, does not make a scheduled stop at Giubiasco, Rivera-Bironico and Taverne . Arrival at Lugano

11592-423: The killing of a number of men of Leopold III, Duke of Austria . This was seen as a serious breach of the peace , and the city council blamed "foreign ruffians" for this and executed twelve alleged perpetrators. Leopold nevertheless had the city placed under imperial ban , and in a treaty of 9 July, Basel was given a heavy fine and was placed under Habsburg control. To free itself from Habsburg hegemony, Basel joined

11718-575: The land around Farnsburg became a part of Basel. The Schwabe publishing house was founded in 1488 by Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business. Johann Froben also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by Erasmus. In 1495, Basel was incorporated into the Upper Rhenish Imperial Circle ; the Bishop of Basel was added to the Bench of

11844-411: The late 1980s, a one kilometre (0.62 mi) long overhead electric rail had been tested at 160 km/h (99 mph). Before this experiment, trains running under overhead electric rails in Switzerland had been limited to 110 km/h (68 mph) and internationally to 80 km/h (50 mph). Restricted rail operations were maintained during the entire construction period. In order to expand

11970-618: The line falls by no less than 849 metres (2,785 ft) in 46 kilometres (29 mi). At Piotta , the Funicolare del Ritom ascends to the Ritom dam. Beyond Rodi-Fiesso , at an altitude of 942 metres (3,091 ft), the most impressive section of the southern ramp begins. The valley narrows to the Piotta canyon, and the line passes two spirals ("Piottino-Loops") to lose 200 metres (660 ft) in height before reaching Faido . Two more spirals, known as

12096-578: The line passes the Chärstelenbach Bridge and changes the side of the valley over the Intschireuss Bridge, which is, with its 77 metres (253 ft), the highest bridge in the SBB network. After Gurtnellen , at an altitude of 738 metres (2,421 ft), the first of several tunneled railway spirals is encountered; their purpose is mainly to gain height where no space is available. Two of them form

12222-524: The line rises again to Monte Ceneri , the pass between the Sopraceneri and the Sottoceneri , and then passes through the two parallel, single-track Monte Ceneri Tunnels . It reaches the highest point on this part of the line, at Rivera-Bironico station , at an altitude of 472 metres (1,549 ft), before descending to Lugano , at an altitude of 335 metres (1,099 ft). At Lugano station interchange

12348-423: The line started in 1872, with some lowland sections opening by 1875. The full line opened in 1882, following the completion of the Gotthard Tunnel. The line was incorporated into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1909 and electrified in 1922. The line has 36 tunnels totaling 31,216 meters. The approaches to the existing tunnel continue to restrict speed and capacity on this important international route, and in 1992 it

12474-608: The line. In Italian these watchman's houses are called Casello . Every day they had to inspect the tracks up to the next watchman's segment. The watchman houses were built along the entire Gotthard line with distances of up to 4 kilometres between them and were all numbered. From 1950 onward the track inspections did not require as many inspections as before. Between Giubiasco and Rivera the railway watchmen then only had to perform such an inspection every other day. Their former watchman houses now remained unmanned and were subsequently used as holiday homes or private dwellings. From 1995 onward

12600-461: The main tunnel. It was envisaged that the parallel tunnel could be upgraded to a second running tunnel when required. The first Simplon Tunnel (19,803 m (64,970 ft) in length) was built almost straight, with only short curves at the two tunnel portals. On 24 February 1905, the two halves of the tunnel came together. They were out of alignment by only 202 mm (8 in) horizontally and 87 mm (3.4 in) vertically. Construction time

12726-533: The north portal to the 500-metre long (1,640 ft) passing loop in the middle of the tunnel was brought into operation, followed on 16 October 1922 by the southern section from the passing loop to the south portal. During the Second World War, on both sides of the border, there were preparations for the possible detonation of the tunnels. In Italy, the German army planned, as part of its 1945 withdrawal, to blow up

12852-593: The north. Immensee station is considered the starting point of the main line of the Gotthard railway, and official distances to all points south are measured from here. From Immensee, the line follows the Lake of Zug to Arth-Goldau station , at an altitude of 510 metres (1,670 ft). Here it joined by the Zug branch of the Gotthard railways, and there is a junction with the Südostbahn route to Rapperswil and Romanshorn . Connection

12978-776: The northern and southern sections of the Gotthard line. To the north, line S2 of the Zug Stadtbahn operates hourly between Zug , Arth-Goldau and Erstfeld , whilst line S3 of the S-Bahn Luzern operates hourly between Luzern , Arth-Goldau and Brunnen . To the south, the Gotthard line is served by trains on line S10 of the Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia (TILO), which operate every half-hour between Bellinzona , Lugano and Chiasso , with some trains extending northwards to Airolo and southwards to Milan . The same operator's lines S20 and S30 also operate over

13104-518: The old Roman castle in the 6th and 7th century. It appears that Basel surpassed the ancient regional capital of Augusta Raurica by the 7th century; based on the evidence of a gold tremissis (a small gold coin with the value of a third of a solidus ) with the inscription Basilia fit , Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Basel at this time was part of the Archdiocese of Besançon . A separate bishopric of Basel , replacing

13230-445: The other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation. In 1503, the new bishop Christoph von Utenheim refused to give Basel a new constitution; whereupon, to show its power, the city began to build a new city hall. In 1529, the city became Protestant under Oecolampadius and the bishop's seat was moved to Porrentruy . The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms. For centuries to come,

13356-400: The piggyback traffic on the Italian side as well on the Simplon southern approach. Here, too, for financial reasons, at times only one line was cleared for the rolling highway. South of Domodossola, the single line to Novara via Lake Orta was electrified and modernized. The classic approach to the Simplon from Paris and Lausanne —less important for today's transit traffic—was upgraded in

13482-416: The population of Basel voted in favor of buying three works of art by painter Pablo Picasso which were at risk of being sold and taken out of the local museum of art, due to a financial crisis on the part of the owner's family. Therefore, Basel became the first city in the world where the population of a political community democratically decided to acquire works of art for a public institution. Pablo Picasso

13608-403: The previous profile of the Simplon Tunnel, but capacity would have been heavily restricted because its height was too low to carry trucks at the permitted maximum corner height of four metres (13 ft 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). The clearance in the tunnel was therefore increased by lowering the rail trackbed. This work began in 1995 and lasted eight years. At the same time, the tunnel vault

13734-427: The railway makes a connection with the steamer services on Lake Lucerne. Steamers operate a shorter, in distance, but longer, in time, service to the city of Lucerne , serving many other towns and villages along the lake shore. The Gotthard Panorama Express uses this interchange to provide its tourist oriented boat and rail service between Lucerne and Lugano . Erstfeld , at an altitude of 472 metres (1,549 ft),

13860-498: The stations' track layout and the graphic timetable. Also visible on the graphic timetable is the fact that between Osogna and Biasca , trains however do pass each other along their journeys, it being a double-track line. Further, the Arth-Rigi-Bahn's trains (nowadays Rigi Railways ), are also listed in the Gotthard railways' timetable. The timetable's scale is 15mm/hour horizontally and 1.75mm/km vertically. To coordinate trains,

13986-586: The territory of both states. In order to secure credit for the tunnel, the SOS joined with the Jura–Bern–Luzern Railway to create the Jura–Simplon Railway (French: Compagnie du Jura–Simplon , SOS). The participation of the Swiss government led to the signing of a treaty with Italy on 25 November 1895 concerning the construction and operation of a railway through the Simplon from Brig to Domodossola by

14112-477: The tracks' general condition were to be reported to the track master. Tending to loose screws and cutting down shrubs were also part of the watchman's job description. Also putting out small shrub fires, caused by the heavily employed brakes of downhill running cargo trains, were part of his duty. The railway watchman was equipped with a red flag to be able to stop trains in an emergency. The Gotthard railway's watchmen lived in specially provided watchman houses along

14238-516: The tunnel at Airolo , at an altitude of 1,142 metres (3,747 ft) in the valley of the river Ticino , which it follows as far as Bellinzona . Both north and south portals are within a few hundreds metres from those of the Gotthard Road Tunnel . After passing through Airolo station , the line crosses the Ticino and descends through its valley in the Leventina . Between Airolo and Biasca

14364-418: The tunnel's shuttle schedule was cut back, then ended altogether on 3 January 1993. Almost twelve years later, on 12 December 2004, the car shuttle service began again and now runs about every 90 minutes. In the early 1990s, a project to implement the rolling highway system of piggyback operations for transalpine freight on the Lötschberg –Simplon axis was implemented. Such operations were possible under

14490-404: The tunnel, but was thwarted by Italian partisans with the help of two Swiss officials and Austrian deserters. There is a car-carrying shuttle between Brig and Iselle di Trasquera , which provides a 20-minute train journey as an alternative to driving over the Simplon Pass. The service began on 1 December 1959. As roads over the Simplon Pass steadily improved throughout the 1970s and 1980s

14616-469: The tunnel. The construction of the tunnel was carried out by the Hamburg engineering company Brandt & Brandau, of Karl Brandau and Alfred Brandt  [ de ] . On average, 3,000 people a day worked on the site. They were mostly Italians, who suffered under very poor working conditions: 67 workers were killed in accidents; many died later of diseases. During the work, there were strikes, which led to

14742-634: The tunnels are the responsibility of the SBB , which expected to reopen the tunnel in December 2011. The other tunnel remained in service. Repair work was completed in November 2011. In the 1957 novel From Russia, with Love by Ian Fleming , protagonist James Bond fights his enemy, SMERSH agent Donovan Grant, eventually killing him, while passing through the Simplon Tunnel on the Orient Express . In Against

14868-538: The village of Airolo . The tunnel's length is indicated to be 14,998 meters, its vertex being at kilometre 80. The old Gotthard railways' distances were measured from the town of Immensee , as clearly indicated on the graphic timetable. Electrical Telegraphs and signal bells are listed on the distance column's right and a detailed description thereof is to be found in the chapters The Gotthard railway Telegraph Network and The Gotthard railway Signal Bells . The track layout of each station shows that in 1899

14994-481: Was 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 years, rather than 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 years, due to problems such as water inflows and strikes. Operations commenced through the tunnel on 19 May 1906. Because of its length among other things, it has operated with electric traction rather than steam from the beginning. The official decision to use electricity was made only half a year before its opening by the then-still-new SBB. Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) were commissioned to carry out

15120-550: Was born in Basel and studied under Johann Bernoulli. In 1792, the Republic of Rauracia , a revolutionary French client republic , was created. It lasted until 1793. After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of Basel-Landschaft . Between 1861 and 1878 the city walls were slighted . On 3 July 1874, Switzerland's first zoo,

15246-541: Was decided to build a new lower level route on the Gotthard axis as part of the NRLA project. This route involves the construction of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel and Ceneri Base Tunnel . The Gotthard Base Tunnel has been completed and was integrated with the existing route in 2016, while the Ceneri Base Tunnel was opened in 2020. By the early 1870s, northern Switzerland had a significant network of railways, with links to

15372-502: Was dualled. Later, adjustments were made to the tunnel profile for piggyback traffic; in places only widening one track was possible. Finally, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel partially opened in 2007, although the new tunnel still has a 21-kilometre (13 mile) single-track section; this was done in order to save costs for the construction of the longer Gotthard Base Tunnel , which was completed in 2016. Clearances were also raised for

15498-481: Was established. Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th century Council of Basel (1431–1449), including the 1439 election of antipope Felix V . In 1459, Pope Pius II endowed the University of Basel , where such notables as Erasmus of Rotterdam and Paracelsus later taught. At the same time the new craft of printing was introduced to Basel by apprentices of Johann Gutenberg . In 1461,

15624-442: Was rehabilitated, while the drainage tunnel was rebuilt. A total of 200,000 m (260,000 cu yd) of rock was removed with pneumatic breakers. In addition, a new railway electrification system was installed using overhead electric rail instead of the tensioned cable normally used for overhead electrification so that the required 4.90-metre (16 ft 7 ⁄ 8  in) height clearance could be achieved. In

15750-607: Was so moved by the gesture that he subsequently gifted the city with an additional three paintings. Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel (1499) ended the Swabian War . Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation . The Peace of Basel in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition against France during

15876-516: Was tapped out on this telegraph (sent by morse code ), was transmitted to all stations up to Bellinzona . A second telegraph linked all stations from Biasca to Göschenen . What was tapped out on the third telegraph, reached only the railway stations Bellinzona , Faido , Airolo , Göschenen , Wassen and Erstfeld . The fourth telegraph was for long distances. Messages transmitted from there reached Bellinzona , Airolo , Erstfeld , Goldau and Luzern . The telegraphs with their Morse keys and

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