Passenger trains are returning to the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland from Sunday, where rail traffic was halted after a derailment on 10 August.
When the new 2023-2024 timetable comes into force on 10 December, 31 passenger trains will run each week at the same times as before the train crash. In addition, weekly capacity for freight trains will be increased.
The new transport offer will be valid at least until Easter. Rail operator CFF may change train services for Easter, Ascension and Whitsun. The operator will reassess in the first quarter of next year whether to continue with 31 trains a week or increase the frequency.
Derailment in the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland on 10 August
The world’s longest railway tunnel, the 57 km-long Gotthard, was badly damaged after 23 wagons of a freight train derailed on 10 August 2023. Initially, the Swiss railway company had hoped that trains would resume running on 16 August, less than a week after the serious rail accident. However, this was not possible due to much greater damage than expected.
The repair work needed after the derailment will take longer than originally estimated, until September next year, when 7 km of track needs to be completely replaced. According to information currently available, repairing the damage will cost between CHF 100 and 130 million. SBB officials said last month that they were looking into ways of speeding up the work so that trains could resume running through the world’s longest railway tunnel as soon as possible.
Since the derailment on 10 August, SBB has stepped up the pace of work in the Gotthard base tunnel. Every day, up to 80 employees from SBB and other companies are working intensively in the tunnel under difficult conditions. Since the end of September, some passenger trains have been able to cross the tunnel again at weekends.
In addition to replacing 7 km of track, more than 20,000 half-tracks, the concrete slabs on which they are fixed, two cranes and many other pieces of equipment essential for railway safety need to be replaced. Under these conditions, CFF estimates that the two Gotthard tunnels will not be fully operational until September 2024.
The Swiss tunnel was completed in 2016 after 17 years of work and an investment of USD 12 billion. The opening ceremony was attended by leading politicians at the time: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
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