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42-655: The Lötschberg Base Tunnel was built as one of two centrepieces of the New Railway Link through the Alps . Construction of the LBT began in 1999 and achieved breakthrough during 2005. It was completed in June 2007 and the first train operations began in December 2007. This initial project was estimated to cost SFr4.3 billion ($ 3.59 billion). The LBT was saturated within a few years of opening due to

84-443: A 21 km (13 mi) single-track section. Without a second bore, its overall capacity is greatly reduced. During 2016, a planning contract was awarded for the completion of the second track of the LBT, which has been estimated to cost 1 billion Swiss francs. The resulting plan was presented in spring 2019. In early 2024, Parliament decided to complete the second bore, with an estimated cost of SFr 1.7 billion. The LBT

126-520: A maximum weight of 3,600 tonnes (4,000 short tons) and a maximum length of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) have to use the LBT, as they are above the maximum gauge of the existing mountain track. By 2017, the LBT reportedly facilitated the movement of 35.7 million gross tonnes (79 billion pounds) of rail freight. The LBT is operated and monitored from a dedicated control centre based at nearby Spiez. The tunnel incorporates various measures for handling emergency situations; for use in such circumstances,

168-459: A means of accessing the active eastern tunnel; an adjacent exploratory bore driven during the early 1990s has also proved useful for such purposes. The cost of completing the LT was estimated to be around one billion Swiss francs in 2016. That project also includes two parallel bridges over the river Rhône in canton Valais, the 2.6 km (1.6 mi) Engstlige tunnel (built with cut-and-cover method;

210-409: A much lower capacity and would have required an eight months full closure of the line. In early 2024 the choice was made to go for the full option, with an estimated cost of CHF 1.7 billion. Its owner, BLS NETZ AG , presents the LBT as one of the safest, most modern and most technically complex rail tunnels in the world. The company has attributed the tunnel's congestion to the combination of

252-438: A pair of intermediate access tunnels connect with the main bores at a series of underground emergency stations. Trains can also be moved between the two bores via multiple cross-over links spread throughout its length. On 13 March 2020, the second bore of the LBT was temporarily closed to all traffic following the discovery of ingress by both water and sand while remedial work was performed to address this. In addition to cleaning

294-590: Is naturally more expensive and will take two years longer, but it provides a much higher capacity and avoids fully closing the line for eight months. The second part of the Lötschberg axis is the Simplon Tunnel , completed in 1905 as a 20-kilometre-long (12 mi) single-track base tunnel and augmented with a second bore in 1921. It connects Upper Valais to Northern Italy 's Piedmont region. Double track Too Many Requests If you report this error to

336-461: Is only partially completed. Because of NRLA cost overruns, funding for the axis was diverted to the Gotthard Base Tunnel and only one of the tunnel's two bores has been completed and is fully equipped for rail use. 14 kilometers of the other bore are completed; 14 kilometers are excavated but not equipped, and 7 kilometers have not been excavated. High-speed switches allow the completed 40% of

378-461: Is the world's longest and deepest traffic tunnel , as was the original 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) Gotthard Tunnel at its completion in 1881. It consists of two parallel single-track tunnels, connected by 178 cross-connections. There are two emergency stations in each tunnel, each connected to the corresponding opposite-tunnel emergency station. These stations are equipped with water supplies to refill firefighter and rescue trains. One ( Porta Alpina )

420-520: The Bernese Alps , was built by BLS Alp Transit. It supports the western transit network via Basel , Olten , Bern , Brig , Domodossola and Milan . The tunnel replaces the existing higher-altitude 1913 14.6-kilometre (9.1 mi) Lötschberg Tunnel for most traffic. The 34.6-kilometre-long (21.5 mi) base tunnel opened to traffic on 7 December 2007; it was the first part of the NRLA to be delivered, but

462-668: The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT), and surface connections. It was built by AlpTransit Gotthard under contract from the Swiss Federal Government . The axis is the first flat trans-alpine rail link, with a maximum elevation of 550 metres (1,800 ft) above sea level. This enables a high-speed link through the Alps with a top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph), reducing travel time between Zürich and Milan from previously four hours to currently three-and-a-half hours. The 57.1-kilometre (35.5 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel

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504-526: The EU ), Switzerland demanded a limitation on transalpine truck traffic. When the EEC refused, Swiss negotiators instead proposed a heavy-vehicle fee (HVF), a kilometre-based tax on freight vehicles, for all lorries above 3.5 tonnes and offered to build a high-speed rail link through the Alps for intermodal freight transport . Swiss voters approved the rail link in a 27 September 1992 mandatory referendum . The EU accepted

546-615: The Earth's circumference . Work over the following year centered on the fitting-out process, installing all of the operational systems, including the track itself. In July 2006, track construction in the LBT was declared complete. Extensive testing then took place, including more than 1,000 test runs, which focused among other things on the use of the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 system. Once satisfied that all systems had been validated, an official opening ceremony for

588-518: The Gotthard Base Tunnel are the two centerpieces of the Swiss NRLA project. In 1994, early drilling was conducted in the area. During 1999, full-scale construction work on the LBT commenced. It was largely excavated using a combination of traditional techniques, including drilling and blasting. Roughly 80% of the tunnel was built using these conventional practices. The remaining 20% was excavated using tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The excavation work

630-473: The Alps ( NRLA ; German : Neue Eisenbahn-Alpentransversale, NEAT , French : nouvelle ligne ferroviaire à travers les Alpes, NLFA , Italian : Nuova ferrovia transalpina, NFTA ), is a 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 tunnels several hundred metres below

672-407: The Alps by road. Meeting this goal requires a fully functional NRLA rail link. The original plans for the NRLA were to construct only one main base tunnel, but regional disputes prevented a choice between the two options and threatened to jeopardize the entire project. The Swiss Federal Council therefore decided in 1995 to build two base tunnels (Gotthard and Lötschberg) simultaneously. In 1998,

714-609: The LBT allows a substantial number of trucks and trailers to be loaded onto trains in Germany, pass through Switzerland on rail and be unloaded in Italy ( rolling highway or trailer-on-flatcar respectively). It also cuts down travel time for German tourists going to Swiss ski resorts, and puts the Valais into commuting distance to Bern by reducing travel time by 50%. The total cost was SFr 4.3 billion (as of 2007, corrected to 1998 prices). This and

756-474: The LBT shall be modified accordingly. On 27 April 2020, it was announced that the LBT had been fully reopened. Warm groundwater continuously drains from the LBT. The warmth of this water flowing out of the tunnel is used to heat the Tropenhaus Frutigen , a tropical greenhouse producing exotic fruit, sturgeon meat and caviar . Download coordinates as: NRLA The New Railway Link through

798-501: The LBT was held during June 2007; at this event, the tunnel was recognised as the longest land tunnel anywhere in the world. The LBT overran its budget of roughly $ 2.7 billion by around $ 840 million, which has impacted its operation. On 9 December 2007, the LBT was declared operational. Initially, only regular freight services traversed the LBT, along with a minority of international and InterCity passenger trains (without stops between Spiez and Brig); passenger trains continued to operate on

840-500: The NRLA was completed. The condition was deemed fulfilled at the completion of the first track of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel in 2007. Other relevant Swiss legislation includes the 1994 Alps initiative , which prohibits road-building in the Alps and encourages the transport of as many transalpine goods as possible by rail rather than road, and the 1998 Traffic Transfer Act, which sets an ideal maximum number of trucks crossing

882-601: The Swiss Confederation. The bilateral agreements with the EU containing the 40-tonne limit and the implementation of the HVF were finally accepted by the Swiss populace on 21 May 2000 with 67.2% support in a federal optional referendum initiated by opposing political parties. The Gotthard axis consists of the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT), the partially operational Zimmerberg Base Tunnel ,

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924-483: The Swiss offer in 2000, but requested that the extant 28-tonne weight limit for lorries be raised to 48 tonnes. The parties eventually compromised on a 40-tonne weight limit. The bilateral Land Transport Agreement with the European Union was signed, agreeing to an increase of the kilometer-based tax (HVF; German : LSVA , French : RPLP , Italian : TTPCP ) on HGVs from 1.6 ct/tkm to 1.8 ct/tkm when

966-410: The existing apex tunnels, the 57-kilometre (35 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel , the 35-kilometre (22 mi) Lötschberg Base Tunnel , and the 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) Ceneri Base Tunnel . 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. The total projected cost of the project

1008-452: The freight traffic it carries. The 21 kilometres (13 mi) of single track, which lack passing loops , greatly complicates operations. Despite its relatively recent completion date, the LBT has already become a major bottleneck for rail freight traversing the Alps. Typically, trains using the LBT are scheduled together in batches that run in each direction separated by long intervals; trains more than seven minutes late are either routed via

1050-435: The initiative, and their not even considering providing a counterproposal to the populace. Another mandatory referendum was held on 19 November 1998 about the creation of funds for four major public-transport projects ( German : FinöV-Fonds , French : Fonds FTP , Italian : Fondo FTP ), funding them with time-limited CHF 30 billion fund of which the NRLA would receive 13.6 billion. Another major project

1092-518: The old line or must wait for the next available timetable slot in their direction in the LBT, incurring long further delays in either case. By 2019, around 110 trains per day were using the LBT, while a further 66 have continued to use the old mountain tunnel largely due to the base tunnel's current capacity constraints. Of these 110, 30 were passenger services and 80 were hauling various types of freight, including intermodal freight transport and long-distance heavy freight trains. Heavy freight trains up to

1134-418: The old timetable (the travel time between Spiez and Brig was considered to be 56 minutes until December 2007, even if actual travel time through the LBT was only about 30 minutes). Since February 2008, the LBT has been routinely used for normal InterCity routes. Travel time between Visp and Spiez is about 28 minutes, of which 16 minutes is spent inside the LBT. As a consequence of spiraling costs attributable to

1176-455: The overall NRLA project, it was decided to redirect funds from the Lötschberg tunnel to the Gotthard Base Tunnel . This funding decision leaves the LBT in a partially-completed state for a protracted period. Once fully complete, the LBT will consist of two single track bores side by side from portal to portal, connected about every 300 m (980 ft) with cross cuts, enabling the other tunnel to be used for escape. The construction process

1218-411: The rapid growth of passenger and freight traffic with the presence of a single track section, which severely limits its overall capacity; it views the implementation of double-track running as being "absolutely essential". Operation of the LBT allegedly has an impact on the timetable reliability and flexibility across the entire Swiss rail network, as well as facilitating a reduction in production costs via

1260-408: The second bore to be used as a passing track, but the 21 kilometres (13 mi) of single track without passing loops complicates operations and greatly reduces the line capacity. Trains are scheduled by batches in each direction and separated by long intervals; trains more than seven minutes late are routed via the old line or must wait for the next available timetable slot in their direction in

1302-517: The total projected cost of the NRLA project was CHF 12.189 billion; in December 2015, the final cost was projected to be CHF 17.900 billion. The projected cost of its centerpiece, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, was CHF 6.323  billion in 1998; in December 2015, the tunnel's cost was an estimated CHF 9.560 billion. The 1998 cost of the Lötschberg axis was an estimated CHF 3.214 billion; in December 2015, it

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1344-516: The tunnel interior, removing the sand and excess water via suction , and the flushing out of its drainage system, temporary steel tanks have been installed in the bore with regular inspections of the tunnel with a particular focus on this issue. Furthermore, solutions to prevent reoccurrence in the long term have been identified and are to be compiled into a plan for approval by the Federal Office for Transport during late 2020; if approved, sections of

1386-513: The tunnel, causing major further delays. A planning contract for the completion of the second track of the LBT was awarded in 2016. The resulting plan was presented in Spring 2019, with options of either only fitting out the existing 14 km of unequipped tunnels or fully completing the second tube. In early-2024 the choice was made to go for the full option, with an estimated cost of CHF 1.7 billion and an expected delivery date of 2033. It

1428-469: The two tracks are separated by a wall). A planning contract for phases two and three was awarded in 2016 to the Swiss engineering consortium IG Valbt , headed by SRP Ingenieur . The resulting plan was presented for review in early 2019, and a decision between funding only phase two or both phase two and three was initially expected in 2023. The first option would naturally have been cheaper and would have taken two years less to build, but it would have provided

1470-411: Was CHF  12.189 billion at its 1998 start; in December 2015, its final cost was projected to be CHF 17.900 billion. The 1998 projected total cost of the Gotthard Base Tunnel was CHF 6.323 billion; in December 2015, its final cost was projected to be CHF 9.560 billion. It opened on 1 June 2016, and became operational on 11 December of that year. The Ceneri Base Tunnel

1512-491: Was an estimated CHF 4.237 billion. Swiss voters approved the NRLA project on 27 September 1992, with 63.6% support. Two years later on 20 February 1994, the Swiss populace unexpectedly also accepted with 51.9% support the Alps protecting initiative, a federal popular initiative initiated by just a few private citizens. This was despite neither the Federal Council nor the two parliamentary chambers endorsing

1554-415: Was conducted from both the north and south portals. During April 2005, the construction process reached a milestone when breakthrough was achieved; the event was attended by 1,000 guests. The excavation process reportedly used 15 thousand kilograms (16 short tons) of explosives, while the material extracted would have filled a freight train that was 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) in length – one-tenth of

1596-401: Was divided into three phases, of which only phase one has been completed to date: Currently, from South to North, 40% of the tunnel is therefore double track , 40% is single track with the second bore in place but not equipped, and 20% is only a single track tunnel with the parallel exploration adit providing the emergency egress. This unused western bore has been used by maintenance crews as

1638-584: Was opened on 3 September 2020 and became fully operational in December 2020 and is an important feeder for the Gotthard Base Tunnel. A decision to fully complete the second tube of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel was made in early-2024, with an estimated cost of CHF 1.7 billion and construction expected to extend from 2026 to 2033. During late-1980s and early-1990s negotiations with the European Economic Community (the predecessor of

1680-471: Was principally constructed to ease lorry traffic on the Swiss road network by providing faster routes for rail-based freight as an alternative. Reportedly, between the 1980s and 2000s, traffic on the north-south European axis (North Sea Ports to/from Northern Italy and along the Blue Banana ) had increased more than tenfold, necessitating infrastructure investments to better cope with rising demands. Accordingly,

1722-429: Was proposed as an 800m deep rail station, but that proposal was rejected on both economic and technical grounds. AlpTransit Gotthard handed the completed tunnel over to the Swiss government on 31 May 2016. It was formally opened in a ceremony the next day, during which the tunnel was conveyed to its operator: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). The Lötschberg axis, with the Lötschberg Base Tunnel (LBT) in

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1764-492: Was the Bahn 2000 project regarding the modernization of the railways. The Federal Council's request was approved with 63.5% support. The fund is replenished primarily by the previously mentioned kilometre-based tax on heavy-goods vehicles (HVF) and partially by taxes on gasoline originally intended for road-building, a small fraction of the VAT revenues, and funds from the general budget of

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