With a length of 57 kilometre, Gotthard Base Tunnel is listed as the world’s longest railway tunnel. This tunnel passing through Alps in Switzerland encompasses the depth of 2,300 meters which makes it the deepest tunnel in the world as well.
Gotthard Base Tunnel is located in heart of Central Europe, Switzerland. It runs between the towns of Erstfeld in the north and Bodio in the south.
This spectacular GB tunnel has overtaken Japan’s Seikan rail tunnel as the longest in the world and pushed the Channel Tunnel into third place.
The project took 17 years to build this fantastic tunnel. Work on the first tunnel through the Gotthard began as early as 1872 and opened in 1882. The final breakthrough of the Gotthard Base Tunnel took place in 2010. The test operations for Gotthard Base Tunnel began in 2015 and the tunnel finally opened in 2016. Commercial train services began in December 2016.
And during the construction of this tunnel, nine workers died in accidents. Four were Germans, three Italians, and one each came from South Africa and Austria.
The tunnel starts from Erstfeld, canton of Uri then crosses Alps and ends in Bodio, canton of Ticino. Gotthard base tunnel provides a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps between northern and southern Europe.
Benefits of Gotthard Base Tunnel
- Gotthard Base Tunnel provides a high-speed facility to passengers to travel more quickly through Alps.
- It also shorten the distance between Altdorf and Bellinzona.
- Gotthard Tunnel also works to increase the conversion of heavy traffic from road to rail.