Track laying complete in Gotthard Base Tunnel

Listen to this article

A “golden sleeper” has been cast to mark the completion of track laying on the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

It has taken contractor Transtec Gotthard 39 months to install 290 kilometres of slab track in what will be the world’s longest railway tunnel.

With the track now down, a diesel locomotive will be able to travel through the entirety of the 57-kilometre tunnel for the first time.

The track laying programme has been carried out by a team of 125, working in shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Goldene_Schwelle_Gotthard-Basistunnel_3_2014_10_02
Photo: AlpTransit Gotthard AG.

Testing is scheduled to begin across the entire tunnel from autumn 2015. An official opening ceremony will be held in June, 2016. The Gotthard Base Tunnel will then be integrated into the Swiss national rail network in December 2016.

AlpTransit has also said that excavation work is now 85 per cent complete on the Ceneri Bas Tunnel. The Ceneri Base Tunnel is being constructed along with the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Once complete both tunnels will be integrated into the existing Gotthard Railway route between Switzerland and Italy, significantly reducing journey times through the mountains.

A legal dispute over the awarding of the main construction contracts had threatened to delay the Ceneri Base Tunnel by two years, but the project is now on track to open in 2019 after the Federal Supreme Court decided that the original contracts could stand.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Rail News

ORR review leads to 50% reduction in maximum fees for ticket refunds

New rules will mean that from 2 April the maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can charge...

More like this...