“Switzerland follows its way. Connecting all of Europe”, it’s the perfect catchphrase, announced by the same Swiss authorities, to summarize what has been achieved in less than 20 years in the heart of the Alps, to be soon officially announced. On June 1st will be inaugurated the first Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel ever constructed (57 kilometers, 3 more than the Channel tunnel), that will shorten the distance between Northern and Southern Europe, making passenger and freight transport faster along the north-south axis, from the Dutch port of Rotterdam to that in Genoa, in Italy.
The “lowland” tunnel. A fifteen-kilometre rail tunnel cuts through the Gotthard Massif since the late 18th century, connecting the Uri and Ticino cantons with railway tracks that climb up at a height of 1,100 m. Since the 1980s it is crossed by a motorway tunnel of approximately the same length. Since the end of the war Swiss authorities started to plan a lowland tunnel (whence derives the term Base tunnel, with a maximum height of 500 m above sea level) longer than the previous one,
enabling a gradual shift of passenger and freight traffic to rail transportation: 26 million tons of raw materials and consumer goods pass through the country each year, 80% in transit to and from other neighbouring states.
The tunnel was first approved in 1992 in a national referendum whose costs were planned to be covered by new taxes.
World record. Now the Swiss are justly proud of the world’s longest tunnel: two single track “tubes” 57 km long, plus a plethora of gauges and tunnels for ventilation and safety, reaching 152 km of rock excavated by four enormous milling machines of 10 m diameter, a part of which via explosive charges, extracting 28 million tonnes of excavated material, almost all of which was re-used to make cement. The result was achieved thanks to 2,600 workers operating simultaneously. Thus the St. Gotthard, the deepest railway tunnel in the world, with a maximum depth of approximately 2,300 metres, “is – Bern’s government made known – the core of New Transalpine Railroad (NEAT).”
The record-breaking tunnel “is the result of three typical Swiss features, such as innovation, precision and reliability.”
The tunnel “shortens the distance between Swiss regions and between the South and North of Europe.”
The “heart” of the Country. The technological achievement is memorable per se, and all the more so in the eyes of the Swiss.
In fact, along with the Rütli meadow (where the oath of the Confederacy is said to have occurred in 1291) the St. Gotthard is the “heart” and “soul” of Swiss citizens.
“Many legends revolve around the Gotthard Massif, where all Alpine valleys intersect,” said historian Ralph Aschwanden. “It is also considered the watershed of Europe. For many years it was also believed to be the highest mountain in the Alps, due to its central location.” Hence since the Middle Ages it was a strategic transport route for trade and armies.” The Swiss people have always had a special relationship with this mountain. Then, with the construction of the railway and the road tunnel, its importance has increased further. ” All of these aspects – the centre of Switzerland, the watershed, the linguistic border and its military importance – were molded into the legends (William Tell) and into the defence of the Pass, an important source of income.
From Erstfeld to Pollegio. For these reasons it was decided to hold a great celebration, for which no expense was spared (CHF 9 million). On 31 May there will be a press conference in Lugano with alpine ministers. On June 1, celebrations – to be attended by the President of the Confederation Johann Schneider-Ammann, 1,100 guests and 300 journalists from all over Europe – will be held in two venues: in Erstfeld / Rynächt (Canton Uri), the “northern portal”, i.e. the ‘northern mouth of the tunnel, and Pollegio, not far from Biasca (Ticino Canton).
The first two trains that will transit through the tunnel after the interreligious blessing, will transport one thousand Swiss citizens
raffled among the 160 thousand who participated in a special contest. The AlpTransit Gotthard AG, responsible for construction, will deliver the two-track gallery (costing CHF 12 billion, to which will be added a dozen more for another tunnel under Mount Ceneri that will be completed in 2019) to the Confederation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Swiss Railways, in charge of managing it.
Street celebrations. Street celebrations are planned for next June 4-5. The program features official speeches, artistic performances, attractions for children and adults, train rides and typical dishes and snacks for everyone from Uri and Ticino, such as potato stews, sausages, mountain cheeses, chocolate, beer and Merlot wine. Regular traffic for the Gotthard base tunnel, after further security tests, is scheduled to begin next December 11. By then is expected a daily traffic of aapproximately 250 freight trains (100 more than today) and 60/70 superfast passenger trains.
