Gotthard Base Tunnel

The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway <a href="/facts/Tunnel/PJNSaSIw">tunnel</a> through the <a href="/facts/Alps/Q3zdQId4">Alps</a> in <a href="/facts/Switzerland/LcGuxeTe">Switzerland</a>. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of 57.09 km (35 mi 38 ch), it is the <a href="/facts/List_of_longest_tunnels/0m9YX9z0">world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel</a> and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. Located at the heart of the <a href="/facts/Gotthard_Pass/dmXV7oDs">Gotthard</a> axis, it is the third tunnel to connect the cantons of <a href="/facts/Canton_of_Uri/Hjbalhww">Uri</a> and <a href="/facts/Canton_of_Ticino/KX7Ite1h">Ticino</a>, after the <a href="/facts/Gotthard_Tunnel/QJ6Wf7VQ">Gotthard Tunnel</a> and the <a href="/facts/Gotthard_Road_Tunnel/qE3EB9wx">Gotthard Road Tunnel</a>.
The GBT consists of a large complex with, at its core, two <a href="/facts/Single_track_(rail)/PohuVQQ5">single-track</a> tunnels connecting <a href="/facts/Erstfeld/UtSvQMkX">Erstfeld</a> (Uri) with <a href="/facts/Bodio/jsPLHjmY">Bodio</a> (Ticino) and passing below <a href="/facts/Sedrun/IG8IHX9a">Sedrun</a> (<a href="/facts/Canton_of_Grisons/MngHSID3">Grisons</a>). 
It is part of the <a href="/facts/NRLA/N1rDd7WI">New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA)</a> project, which also includes the <a href="/facts/Ceneri_Base_Tunnel/J2lH8N0J">Ceneri Base Tunnel</a> further south (opened on 3 September 2020) and the <a href="/facts/L%25C3%25B6tschberg_Base_Tunnel/GexvFPy9">Lötschberg Base Tunnel</a> on the other main north–south axis. 
It is referred to as a "<a href="/facts/Base_tunnel/qwopIG6x">base tunnel</a>" since it bypasses most of the existing vertex line, the <a href="/facts/Gotthard_railway/0SpoeJqM">Gotthard railway line</a>, a winding mountain route opened in 1882 across the <a href="/facts/Saint-Gotthard_Massif/wdllhhek">Saint-Gotthard Massif</a>, which was operating at its capacity before the opening of the GBT. 
The new base tunnel establishes a direct route usable by <a href="/facts/High-speed_rail/I1obpP6M">high-speed rail</a> and heavy <a href="/facts/Freight_train/uejxQ9yb">freight trains</a>.
The main purpose of the Gotthard Base Tunnel is to increase local transport capacity through the Alpine barrier, especially for freight on the Rotterdam–Basel–Genoa corridor. The tunnel is specifically meant to shift freight to trains from <a href="/facts/Truck/9GMJWsQU">trucks</a>, and thereby to reduce <a href="/facts/Environmental_damage/MTI24T7B">environmental damage</a> and deadly road crashes. The tunnel also provides a faster connection between the canton of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland, as well as between northern and southern <a href="/facts/Rail_transport_in_Europe/gE2TNcou">Europe</a>, cutting the <a href="/facts/Basel/EzXbzbUx">Basel</a>/<a href="/facts/Z%25C3%25BCrich/dXpgq7df">Zürich</a>–<a href="/facts/Lugano/Y1zln3Y9">Lugano</a>–<a href="/facts/Milan/0xrtbPdt">Milan</a> journey time for passenger trains by one hour (and from <a href="/facts/Lucerne/VIVKyRVM">Lucerne</a> to <a href="/facts/Bellinzona/YDB1julN">Bellinzona</a> by 45 minutes).
After 64 percent of Swiss voters accepted the NRLA project in a <a href="/facts/1992_Swiss_referendums/T93c63B8">1992 referendum</a>, the first preparatory and exploratory work began in 1996. Construction began in November 1999 at <a href="/facts/Amsteg/X4Gy0bTB">Amsteg</a>. Drilling operations were completed in March 2011. Completed in 2016, the final cost was reported to be CHF 12.2 billion (US$12 billion).

Gotthard Base Tunnel open-in-new

Gotthard Base Tunnel