The Gotthard Base Tunnel is located in the Swiss Alps, and at 57 kilometers long, it is the longest railway tunnel in the world. This major civil engineering project, which will benefit more than 20 million people, is scheduled to open in 2017.
The project consists of two tubes, each about 10 meters in diameter, with one lane in each direction. A total of 1,800 people have worked on the construction of this rail tunnel, which has taken a a budget of 10,000 million euros.
The maximum speed of the trains will be 250 kilometers per hour, making it possible to travel through the tunnel in just 15 minutes, thereby significantly reducing travel time; for example, the current travel time between Milan and Zurich is four hours, which will be reduced to just two hours and thirty minutes.
For the excavation, which was no easy task, four tunnel-boring machines were used, and the following were extracted: 24 million metric tons of rock. Explosives and excavators were also used during the excavation, and cement grout was injected to ensure stability at certain difficult spots.
Trains will be able to switch tunnels at two multifunctional stations, located in Sedrun and Faido, which can be used in emergency situations. The project has been designed to have the least possible impact on the natural environment.
