Breakthrough at the Gotthard: The longest tunnel in the world

The Gotthard: A Tunnel That Redefines “Epic”

Okay, picture this: you’re boring a hole – a really, really big hole – straight through the heart of the Swiss Alps. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened with the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT). This isn’t just any tunnel; we’re talking about the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, clocking in at a staggering 57.09 kilometers (that’s 35.47 miles for those of us who think in freedom units). It’s a game-changer for travel and shipping between northern and southern Europe, plain and simple.

The official opening was back in June 2016, but it wasn’t until December that the whole thing was up and running like a well-oiled Swiss watch. But the story starts way before that.

Believe it or not, the idea for this tunnel was floating around way back in 1947, thanks to a visionary engineer named Carl Eduard Gruner. But it took until 1992 for the Swiss people to give it the thumbs-up, approving the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) project. Fast forward to November 1999, and the real work began. Seventeen years and roughly CHF 12.2 billion (or about $12 billion USD) later, boom – the GBT was a reality. It’s a real shame that nine workers lost their lives during construction. It’s a stark reminder of the human cost sometimes behind these incredible achievements.

Now, building this thing wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. I mean, you’re digging deep under the Glarus Alps and the Saint-Gotthard Massif, hitting depths of up to 2,450 meters (over 8,000 feet!). Imagine the pressure! And the heat – we’re talking temperatures soaring to 46°C (115°F) inside the mountain. That’s like working inside a pizza oven!

To speed things up, they built four access tunnels, which meant they could work on different sections at the same time. Clever, right? They used these massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for most of the digging – about 80% of it. The other 20%? Good old-fashioned blasting. And get this: they dug out 28.2 million tonnes of rock! But they didn’t just dump it. They recycled a third of it to make concrete for the tunnel lining. Talk about being resourceful!

Of course, there were hiccups along the way. Tricky rock conditions in places like the Tavetsch Intermediate Massif North and the Clavaniev Zone gave the engineers some headaches. And in the Faido section, the rock was squeezing in, which meant they had to beef up the support system. It’s like trying to hold back a giant, geological hug!

So, why go through all this trouble? Well, the GBT is all about moving more stuff across the Alps, especially freight heading along the Rotterdam–Basel–Genoa corridor. The idea is to get trucks off the roads and onto trains, which is better for the environment and safer for everyone. We’re talking about boosting freight train capacity from 180 to 260 trains a day!

But it’s not just about freight. The GBT also makes it quicker to get between Ticino and the rest of Switzerland, and between northern and southern Europe in general. You can now shave an hour off the Basel/Zürich–Lugano–Milan train journey. Passenger trains whiz through the tunnel at 200 km/h (124 mph), making the trip from Erstfeld to Bodio in just 20 minutes. For a place like Ticino, which can feel a bit cut off, that’s a huge deal.

Of course, even the best-laid plans can hit a snag. In August 2023, a freight train derailed, causing a lot of damage and shutting the tunnel down for repairs. But the Swiss are nothing if not resilient. By September 2, 2024, normal service was back on track, with more trains running between Ticino and German-speaking Switzerland. Now, you can get from Milan to Zurich in just 3 hours and 17 minutes. Not bad, eh?

The Gotthard Base Tunnel is more than just a tunnel. It’s a symbol of Swiss ingenuity, a testament to international teamwork, and a big step towards a more sustainable future. It just goes to show what can be achieved when you’re willing to dig deep – literally and figuratively.