Gotthard Base Tunnel

Beneath the Alps in Switzerland lies the world’s longest railway tunnel — Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT). Stretching across 57 km it surpassed the undersea wonder that is the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. Gotthard Base Tunnel

GBT factbox

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152 km Total length of all tunnels and shafts
1996 Start of construction
2017 Commissioning (prospectively)
250 km/h Max. train speed
> 200 Trains per day
Present Travelling time: 3h 40 min: Zurich - Gotthard - Milan
Future Travelling time : 2h 40min (further reductions conceivable)
Present Freight traffic capacity : 20 million tonnes per annum
Future Freight traffic capacity approx 50 million tonnes per annum
Peak altitude: 550 m above sea level*
cost : $10.22 billion (as of Oct. 2010)