Infrastructure
Gotthard Base Tunnel
Also Known As Gotthard-Basistunnel
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The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel running 57.09 kilometers under the Swiss Alps, cutting through the Gotthard Massif in the cantons of Uri, Grisons and Ticino. Construction began on 4 November 1999; the tunnel opened in June 2016 and full commercial service began that December, at a final reported cost of CHF 12.2 billion. At its deepest point it runs about 2,450 meters below the surface, roughly 600 meters beneath the older, higher Gotthard rail tunnel that preceded it. Operated by Swiss Federal Railways, it is the world's longest railway tunnel and the world's deepest traffic tunnel, and forms the centerpiece of the Gotthard axis carrying freight and passengers through the Alps on a flat, high-capacity route.
Facts
Completion Year SignificanceWorld's longest railway tunnel and the world's deepest traffic tunnel; the flagship structure of the Gotthard axis, the flat, low-gradient rail corridor built to move freight and passengers through the Alps without the steep grades of the historic mountain route. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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Why is the Gotthard Base Tunnel considered a record breaking piece of infrastructure?
It is the world's longest railway tunnel and the world's deepest traffic tunnel.
At 57.09 kilometers, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world's longest railway tunnel, and at a maximum depth of 2,450 meters it is also the world's deepest traffic tunnel. It runs about 600 meters beneath the older, higher Gotthard rail tunnel it was built to replace, giving trains a flat, low-gradient route through the Alps instead of the steep grades and helical tunnels the historic line needed.
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