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Article: Lotschberg base tunnel set to open in 2007; fitting out of the Lotschberg base tunnel is well underway. This is the first of Switzerland's huge AlpTransit construction projects to improve rail links through the Alps.(Alpine Railways)(Company Profile)
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- December 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN the 34.6km Lotschberg base tunnel opens in 2007 it will provide a shorter and faster north-south rail link beneath the Alps than the existing tortuous line higher up the mountain. The new tunnel will increase rail capacity, particularly for freight, to cope with the relentless growth in traffic between Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
Entering the southern portal of the Lotschberg tunnel on a works train during a visit to the tunnel organised by Nexans, immediately gives one a sense of the scale of the project. The southern portal at Raron is reached from a fly-over across the existing main line which then crosses the River Rhone on a bridge, before diving ...