Overview | |
---|---|
Line | Gotthard Line |
Location | Zürich, Switzerland |
Coordinates | 47°19′40″N8°31′52″E / 47.3277°N 8.5312°E |
Status | Active since 2003 |
System | Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) |
Start | Zürich |
End | Thalwil |
Operation | |
Opened | April 2003 [1] |
Owner | SBB Infrastructure |
Operator | SBB CFF FFS |
Traffic | Railway |
Character | Passenger and freight |
Technical | |
Length | 9.4 km (5.8 mi) [2] |
No. of tracks | 2 [2] |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) |
Electrified | 15 kV 16.7 Hz |
Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) |
The Zimmerberg Base Tunnel (ZBT) is a railway tunnel under the Zimmerberg mountains in Switzerland. Phase I of the tunnel was opened to traffic during April 2003.
The ZBT has been divided into two phases of work; as of 2024, only Phase I is operational while Phase II remains in the planning and preparation stages. Zimmerberg I is about 10 km long; it links Zürich with Thalwil, bypassing a section of the Lake Zürich left-bank railway line, which allows rail traffic to traverse the mountains more efficiently.
During the 1990s, Switzerland embarked upon a major programme of modernization and improvements across its railway infrastructure. [3] The NRLA initiative sought to provide better alternatives to the steep mountain railways across Gotthard, Ceneri and Lötschberg through the construction of a number of base-level tunnels that enabled trains to more rapidly and efficiently traverse the Swiss Alps. The Zimmerberg Base Tunnel (ZBT) was one such tunnel constructed under the initiative. [4]
Phase I of the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel is a major feature of the route between Zürich and Thalwil. The tunnel was the longest double-track tunnel to have been constructed by Switzerland in over 100 years, a milestone in Swiss railway infrastructure. [5] The tunnel was designed to accommodate high speed transit, with trains traversing at peak speeds of up to 200 km/h. The projected cost of the 10.7 km Phase I section was reportedly 820 million Swiss francs. Construction of the tunnel commenced in September 1997. [5] [6]
The local geography and location of the tunnel posed some challenges to the construction effort, such as the need to avoid impacting nearby urban development, as well as little cover being available at key areas. [7] [8] Boring operations through the rock incorporated both the use of a tunnel boring machine and conventional techniques, such as blasting, soil injection, and pipe arches amongst other auxiliary construction measures intended to reduce the risk of excessive settlement. [7] Approximately 315 meters of the tunnel's length features a continuous grouted ceiling, which was done to reduce deformation and permeability as well as a potential loss of cover. This was created by injecting a precise mixture of cement and slurry via pressurized grouting pipes across 120,000 valves; areas were tested for potential weaknesses and promptly re-grouted where appropriate. [8]
From an early stage of the project, the tunnel's opening was projected for June 2003. [5] This target was met on time. [8]
The proposed Phase II of the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel is one element of the wider Rail 2030 programme, which has an overall projected budget of 21 billion Swiss francs. [9] However, during 2010, it was reported that further work on the project had been put on hold indefinitely. At the time, work was underway on multiple other base tunnels, including the Ceneri Base Tunnel and the Gotthard Base Tunnel. [10]
If it is built as per the original plans, Phase II of the tunnel will bring its length to about 20 km, and will link Zürich with Zug. Even following its completion, it is planned to retain the intermediate exit to Thalwil, which would still be used by passenger and freight trains going to Chur as well as by international trains to Austria. Until Phase II is completed, capacity and speeds both remain heavily constrained by traditional routes; the Swiss Federal parliament has voted to include the work in its long term expansion plan for 2030–2035. [11] [12]
Switzerland has a dense network of roads and railways. The Swiss public transport network has a total length of 24,500 kilometres and has more than 2600 stations and stops.
The Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon-Bahn (BLS), known between 1997 and 2006 as the BLS Lötschbergbahn, was a Swiss railway company. In 2006 the company merged with Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG to form a new company called BLS AG.
The Swiss rail network is noteworthy for its density, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-Alp freight system. It is made necessary by strong regulations on truck transport, and is enabled by properly coordinated intermodal logistics.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of 57.09 km (35.5 mi), it is the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. It lies at the heart of the Gotthard axis and constitutes the third tunnel connecting the cantons of Uri and Ticino, after the Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel.
The New Railway Link through the Alps, is a Swiss construction project for faster north–south rail links across the Swiss Alps. It consists of two axes with several improvements along these rails including three new base tunnels several hundred metres below the existing apex tunnels, the 57-kilometre (35 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel, the 35-kilometre (22 mi) Lötschberg Base Tunnel, and the 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) Ceneri Base Tunnel. Swiss Federal Railways subsidiary AlpTransit Gotthard AG and BLS AG subsidiary BLS Alp Transit AG were founded for this project and built the tunnels.
The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass at 2,106 m (6,909 ft) is a mountain pass in the Alps traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif and connecting northern Switzerland with southern Switzerland. The pass lies between Airolo in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, and Andermatt in the German-speaking canton of Uri, and connects further Bellinzona and Lugano to Lucerne, Basel, and Zürich. The Gotthard Pass lies at the heart of the Gotthard, a major transport axis of Europe, and it is crossed by three traffic tunnels, each being the world's longest at the time of their construction: the Gotthard Rail Tunnel (1882), the Gotthard Road Tunnel (1980) and the Gotthard Base Tunnel (2016). With the Lötschberg to the west, the Gotthard is one of the two main north-south routes through the Swiss Alps.
The Lötschberg Base Tunnel (LBT) is a 34.57 km (21.48 mi) railway base tunnel on the BLS AG's Lötschberg line cutting through the Bernese Alps of Switzerland some 400 m (1,300 ft) below the existing Lötschberg Tunnel. It runs between Frutigen, Bern, and Raron, Valais.
The Simplon Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shortcut under the Simplon Pass route. It is straight except for short curves at either end. It consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 15 years apart. The first to be opened is 19,803 m (64,970 ft) long; the second is 19,824 m (65,039 ft) long, making it the longest railway tunnel in the world for most of the twentieth century, from 1906 until 1982, when the Daishimizu Tunnel opened.
The Gotthard railway is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between northern and southern Europe, especially on the Rotterdam-Basel-Genoa corridor. The Gotthard Railway Company was the former private railway company that financed the construction of and originally operated that line.
The Ceneri Base Tunnel is a Swiss railway base tunnel in the canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano; it bypasses the former high-altitude rail route through the Monte Ceneri Tunnel. It is composed of two single-track tunnels, each 15.4 km (9.6 mi) long. It is part of the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) project for faster north-south rail links across the Swiss Alps.
Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It connects the Magadino Plain and the Vedeggio Valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of 554 metres (1,818 ft) above sea level. It provides the most direct route between the cities of Bellinzona and Lugano. Despite its name, Monte Ceneri is the lowest point on the crest between Monte Tamaro and the Camoghè.
Rail 2000 is a large-scale project of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) established in 1987 to improve the quality of the Swiss rail network for the New millennium. It includes measures to accelerate a number of existing connections and the modernisation of rolling stock. The federal government decision to support the project in 1986 was approved by a referendum in 1987. In 2004 the first phase was completed consisting of around 130 projects with a budget of around CHF 5.9 billion.
The construction and operation of Swiss railways during the 19th century was carried out by private railways. The first internal line was a 16 km line opened from Zürich to Baden in 1847. By 1860 railways connected western and northeastern Switzerland. The first Alpine railway to be opened was under the Gotthard Pass in 1882. A second alpine line was opened under the Simplon Pass in 1906.
Bellinzona railway station serves the town of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railways' Gotthard line. The station is nicknamed Porta del Ticino since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016.
Giubiasco railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Ticino and municipality of Bellinzona. The station is on the Swiss Federal Railways Gotthard railway, between Bellinzona and Lugano, and is a junction point with several other lines.
The Zurich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug railway is a railway connecting the Swiss cities of Zurich and Zug via Affoltern am Albis. It was opened by the Zurich–Zug–Lucerne Railway on 1 June 1864. The Zug–Lucerne line was opened by the same company on the same day. The line officially begins in Zürich Altstetten, which was still an independent municipality at that time. The line's only significant traffic consists of services on Zurich S-Bahn line S5. Long distance trains between Zurich, Zug and Lucerne now run via the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel, the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau line and the Zug–Lucerne line.
High-speed rail in Switzerland consists of two new lines and three new base tunnels, including the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel: the Gotthard Base Tunnel whose length is 57 km (35 mi). Each of these tunnels have a technical maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), which is reduced, at least in the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Ceneri Base Tunnel, to a maximum authorized speed of 230 km/h (145 mph), for environmental and economic reasons.
The Zurich–Zug–Lucerne Railway (Zürich-Zug-Luzern-Bahn) is a former railway company that built railway lines in the Swiss cantons of Zurich, Zug and Lucerne from the 1860s. It was absorbed by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in 1902. Its lines now form the Zurich–Zug railway and the Zug–Lucerne railway.
The Thalwil–Arth-Goldau railway is a Swiss railway that acts as a feeder route to the Gotthard Railway. It was opened for this purpose on 1 June 1897, with the Thalwil–Zug section owned by the Swiss Northeastern Railway and the Zug–Arth-Goldau section owned by the GB. Since the nationalisation of the GB in 1909, the entire route has belonged to the Swiss Federal Railways.
The InterCity, abbreviated IC, are mainline trains in Switzerland connecting the country's major agglomerations, the range of services of which is located between InterRegio (IR) (inter-regional) and EuroCity (EC). These trains are generally equipped with air-conditioned equipment, a CFF restaurant or a CFF bistro, a mini-bar service, a quiet area and a business area in 1st class as well as a family area or, occasionally, a family car in 2nd class.
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