On 10 August 2023, a freight train derailed in the Gotthard base tunnel. The tunnel will remain closed at least until next Wednesday, 16 August, reported SRF. Those travelling by train via the tunnel must expect delays and train cancellations. According to Swiss Rail the Gotthard base tunnel will remain closed to passenger traffic until […]
Work started this week on second Gotthard road tunnel
On 29 September 2021, work began on the tunnel with a symbolic blast after being delayed since last spring because of the pandemic, reported RTS. The Gotthard road tunnel, which passes through the Alps between Göschenen (UR) et Airolo (TI), is one the most important and congested in Europe. The decision to build a second […]
Gotthard tunnel queue stretches 14 kilometres
Last Saturday morning, a queue of traffic stretched 14 kilometres from the northern entrance of Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel, according to RTS. At its peak, waiting time reached 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Gotthard tunnel is the main road link between Zurich and Milan. The obvious alternative is the San Bernardino pass. Normally this route […]
Switzerland’s new Gotthard train tunnel might be too small
20 Minutes. The new Gotthard train tunnel, which opened on 1 June 2016, might have a serious design flaw. Next December, Swiss Rail plans to start running high speed trains through the tunnel. The planned speed of these trains is 200 km/h. There are now fears that the tunnel is too tight to run trains this fast. As […]
10 km traffic jams predicted at Gothard tunnel
The beginning of the summer holidays got off to a slow start for those heading south via the Gotthard tunnel. On Saturday the queue at the northern end of the tunnel stretched seven kilometres according to 20 minutes. Seven kilometres is almost three quarters of the distance from central Zurich to the airport. Most holiday […]
The new Swiss trains with WiFi
At some point between now and 2019, travellers on some Swiss trains will be able to connect to WiFi. The WiFi equipment will be installed in trains used for two routes. The new Giruno trains linking Zurich, and nearby cities, to Italy via the new Gotthard tunnel, and the former Cisalpino trains linking Geneva to Italy […]
Gotthard pass opens again
20 Minutes. As summer approaches Switzerland’s high mountain passes open to drivers after spending the winter buried in deep snow. The Saint Gotthard pass, which connects the German-speaking Swiss canton of Uri with the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino, will open today. The pass, sitting at 2,106 metres above sea level, lies above the Saint Gotthard road […]
Swiss vote: the pros and cons of a new Alpine road tunnel
It is voting season again in Switzerland. On the Sunday 28 February 2016 Swiss citizens get to vote on four proposals. The first is to decide whether to build a second Gotthard road tunnel or not. The current Gotthard road tunnel runs nearly 17km under around one kilometre of Alpine rock from Göschenen in the German-speaking […]
High speed Swiss Gotthard tunnel countdown begins
On 2 June 2015 the 365 day countdown to the official opening of the new Gotthard base rail tunnel started. The 57 kilometre long train tunnel is scheduled to open on 1 June 2016. It is the world’s longest train tunnel, longer than the Channel Tunnel and the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, which links the […]
