Twenty years in the making, and the longest in the world (57 km / 35 mi), it improves the rail connection between Switzerland and northern Italy.
It opened today, with some truly strange ceremonies.
Here in what the Swiss colloquially refer to as the Big Canton, we have every reason to be green with envy. The Swiss have completed their part with relatively minor adjustment in time and budget while the German part, the expansion of the Upper Rhine rail corridor (agreed on with Switzerland in 1996 to be completed concurrently with the Gotthard Base Tunnel) has been mired in nimbyism and will possibly be completed in 2020.
I read the Wiki article on this. 200 to 250 trains per day to traverse the tunnel. Wow I find that an incredible number of trains.
I assume they must all be electric. I not know how freight rail traffic in Europe is powered but can’t imagine they want diesel in that tunnel.
Of course they are electric. The German-language Wikipedia says nowadays 98% of the 4527 km of Swiss railway lines are electric. That’s a lot even for Central Europe (in Germany it’s only 52 % of 19079 km) - apart from the inclines that need powerful locomotives, a major factor in the early 20th century was to avoid depending on (foreign) coal.
Can’t diesel-electric trains switch to full electric when possible?
Well, they did hire a German to direct it…
A. Tunnel Project lessons learned
1.When building a tunnel for 20 years remember to let the workers out for some fresh air now and then, or they turn into bizarre-ass dancing zombies.