SBB assumes that the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be fully available for passenger and freight trains again from September 2, 2024. The repair work is on track. The test and trial runs will now follow.
According to current plans, rail operations through the longest railway tunnel in the world can be fully resumed in September. This will allow passengers to travel from Zurich to Lugano in less than two hours – and for the first time, every half hour.
Since the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel on August 10, 2023, SBB has been pushing ahead with repair work at full speed. This is continuing as planned.
Gotthard Base Tunnel: full reopening on 2 September 2024
SBB currently expects to be able to fully reopen the world’s longest railway tunnel on September 2, 2024. This means that all trains will once again run with travel times as before the derailment, which will reduce travel time for customers by one hour compared to the diversion via the panoramic route. This means that they can get from Zurich to Lugano in less than two hours.
Once the service is fully operational again, SBB will be able to offer its customers a full half-hourly service on long-distance services between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino for the first time.
From this point on, direct trains from Switzerland to Bologna and Genoa will also be running again, as will the Eurocity Basel-Lucerne-Milan and the trinational connection Frankfurt-Zurich-Milan, on which the Giruno will now operate.
Test and trial operation
Before the SBB can fully reopen the west tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, it will carry out a test and trial operation. This will comprehensively check the functions of all systems and equipment – similar to what was done before the tunnel was opened in 2016.
During the test operation, journeys will be made with empty trains to test the new systems, particularly the track, and to check how all systems work together.
As part of the trial operation from mid-August, scheduled trains that travel from south to north through the Gotthard Base Tunnel will again run through the west tube. In addition, individual trains that travel via the panoramic route according to the timetable will be diverted through the west tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
With regard to the planned restart, SBB will submit comprehensive documentation of the work carried out and the necessary safety certificates to the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). The prerequisite for full restart on September 2, 2024 is the approval of the FOT.
Regular maintenance work in the Gotthard Base Tunnel
Maintaining a tunnel with a length of 57 kilometers is an ongoing task. Maintenance work is carried out regularly in the Gotthard Base Tunnel. SBB used the accident-related (partial) closure of the west tube after the derailment to bring forward numerous previously planned maintenance works.
Regardless of the derailment last August, plans for regular maintenance windows lasting several days have been underway for some time. During these, there will also be diversions via the panoramic route and thus longer travel times.
SBB will communicate more detailed information on the maintenance windows when they are known and the operational experience since the event on August 10, 2023 has been incorporated. It is in close contact with the BAV on this matter.
Measures to prevent incidents and minimize impacts
The final report on the cause of the accident by the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (SUST) is still pending. In an interim report, the SUST stated that a broken wheel disc led to the derailment. The SBB does not have any wagons with corresponding wheel sets for freight or passenger transport, but other European freight wagon owners do have them and they also operate in Switzerland.
Due to the international use of the wheel type in question, measures are required that are defined at European level. The SUST stated this in its interim report. After the SUST’s interim report was published, the FOT launched an appeal via the European railway authorities.
It thus called on all wagon owners in Europe who have freight wagons with similar wheels to check them and, if necessary, take them out of service. The SBB welcomes the fact that the FOT has initiated the implementation of corresponding measures.
SBB has also analyzed the accident internally and is doing everything it can to prevent similar events or to limit their effects as much as possible. Measures to prevent events include, for example, the early detection of necessary maintenance measures on trains using condition and image data and the increased use of train control systems.
SBB is considering installing trackside derailment detectors
In order to reduce the effects as much as possible in the event of an event and to detect any derailment at an early stage, SBB is considering installing trackside derailment detectors at the track changes in and before the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
Due to the time required for planning and installing such systems and the complex integration into the existing systems, SBB assumes that the measures mentioned can be implemented in the medium term.
As an additional measure that can be implemented immediately, the speed in the area of the two portal lane changes in front of the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be temporarily reduced to 160 km/h once it is fully reopened, in order to reduce the impact in the event of a very unlikely reoccurrence. The speed reduction will have no impact on customers or connections in Ticino and German-speaking Switzerland, but will mean that there will be less travel time reserves to make up for delays, for example.
In the Gotthard Base Tunnel, passenger trains can travel at up to 230 km/h as before.
The SBB currently estimates the property damage, including loss of earnings, to be around 150 million Swiss francs. Of this, around 140 million Swiss francs are insured. The estimate accuracy for both figures is +/- 20 percent.
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