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Article: Tunnel vision: over three-quarters of Switzerland's Gotthard base tunnel has been excavated, and construction work is on schedule, as regional editor Anitra Green explains.(Alpine railways)
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- December 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 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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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
THE opening of the 57km Gotthard base tunnel is scheduled for the end of 2017, when it will become the longest in the world. Like the Lotschberg base tunnel completed last year, it will be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS), enabling up to 150 trains/day/direction to pass through it at speeds up to 250km/h. About one hour will be sliced off the Zurich--Milan passenger journey time which is currently 3h 33min.
According to Alptransit Gotthard, the company in charge of construction, work is on schedule: out of the total of 153.5km of tunnels and passages, 120.5km or 78.6% had been excavated by November 1.
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