After being closed for more than a year, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the main rail connection between Switzerland and Italy, is set to reopen on Monday. The tunnel was closed in August last year following an accident where a freight train derailed due to a broken wheel, causing extensive damage. An investigation revealed that hairline fractures in a wagon wheel led to the derailment.
The clean-up operation was challenging as temperatures in the tunnel reached almost 40 degrees centigrade, making it difficult to remove the train and clear the accident site. The repair cost was initially estimated at €135 million but ended up being 150 million Swiss francs (€159 million). The closure of the tunnel has been a major challenge for the rail freight sector, with freight trains being rerouted through the undamaged eastern tunnel.
The closure of the Gotthard Tunnel, combined with the closure of the Frejus Railway due to a landslide, has cost rail freight operators millions of euros. Measures are being developed to prevent derailments in the future. The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in the world at 57 kilometers, is a crucial link between Switzerland’s German and Italian-speaking cantons, costing 9.7 billion Swiss francs (€10.3 billion) to construct. The reopening of the tunnel will be a relief for rail freight operators using this strategic transport route.
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