The Gotthard Base Tunnel, with a length of 57.09 km (35.5 mi), is the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, connecting the cantons of Uri and Ticino in Switzerland. This engineering marvel, which opened in June 2016, is the core of the new transalpine railway axis AlpTransit.
The tunnel passes through the Alps at a maximum elevation of 549 m (1,801 ft) above sea level, making it the first flat route through a major mountain range. It consists of two single-track tunnels, with a total of 151.84 km (94.3 mi) of tunnels, shafts, and passages.
The tunnel reaches a maximum depth of 2,450 m (8,040 ft), comparable to the deepest mines on Earth.
One of the unique features of the Gotthard Base Tunnel is its purpose to increase local transport capacity through the Alpine barrier, especially for freight on the Rotterdam–Basel–Genoa corridor.
By shifting freight volumes from trucks to freight trains, the tunnel significantly reduces the danger of fatal road crashes involving trucks and the environmental damage caused by heavy trucks.
The tunnel also provides a faster connection between the canton of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland, as well as between northern and southern Europe, cutting the Basel/Zürich–Lugano–Milan journey time for passenger trains by one hour (and from Lucerne to Bellinzona by 45 minutes).
High-speed trains can whisk passengers through the tunnel in just 17 minutes.
The construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel was a complex and challenging project, with workers digging and blasting through 73 kinds of rock as hard as granite and as soft as sugar. Nine people perished in the process.
The project cost 11 billion euros and took 17 years to complete.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is not only an engineering marvel but also a symbol of European unity, linking the Dutch ports of Rotterdam in the north and Italy’s Genoa in the south.
The leaders of France, Germany, and Italy were among those invited to make the maiden voyage through the tunnel, showcasing solidarity at a time of increasing nationalism and fragmentation.