, it, Galleria del San Gottardo
, other_name =
, line =
Gotthard Line
The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) 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 nort ...
, location = Traversing the
Saint-Gotthard Massif
The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif (german: Gotthardmassiv or ; it, Massiccio del San Gottardo; rm, Massiv dal Gottard) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and Grau ...
in the middle of the
Swiss Alps
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...
, coordinates =
, os_grid_ref =
, status =
, system =
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
(SBB CFF FFS)
, start =
Göschenen
Göschenen (German, it, Casinotta, rm, Caschanuttais) a village and municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. It sits at the northern end of the Gotthard tunnel. The Göschenen riots (1875) saw Urner troops opening fire on Italian miners ...
,
canton of Uri
The canton of Uri (german: Kanton Uri rm, Chantun Uri; french: Canton d'Uri; it, Canton Uri) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territ ...
(north, )
, end =
Airolo
Airolo (''Airöö'' in Lombard, in rm, italic=yes, ) is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Geography
Airolo is located in Leventina valley and the Lepontine Alps, on the southern flank of th ...
,
canton of Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
(south, )
, stations =
, startwork =
, opened =
, closed =
, rebuilt =
, reopen =
, owner = SBB CFF FFS
, operator =
SBB Infrastructure
, traffic = railway
, character = passenger, freight
, engineer =
Louis Favre
, construction =
, length =
, linelength =
, tracklength =
, notrack =
Double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
, gauge = (
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
)
, el =
15 kV 16.7 Hz since
, speed =
, hielevation =
(inside the tunnel)
, lowelevation =
(north portal)
, height =
, width =
, grade =
, map =
![Gotthardtunnel-b2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Gotthardtunnel-b2.png)
, extra =
The Gotthard Tunnel (german: Gotthardtunnel, it, Galleria del San Gottardo) is a railway
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
and forms the summit of the
Gotthard Railway
The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) 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 no ...
in Switzerland. It connects
Göschenen
Göschenen (German, it, Casinotta, rm, Caschanuttais) a village and municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. It sits at the northern end of the Gotthard tunnel. The Göschenen riots (1875) saw Urner troops opening fire on Italian miners ...
with
Airolo
Airolo (''Airöö'' in Lombard, in rm, italic=yes, ) is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Geography
Airolo is located in Leventina valley and the Lepontine Alps, on the southern flank of th ...
and was the first tunnel through the
Saint-Gotthard Massif
The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif (german: Gotthardmassiv or ; it, Massiccio del San Gottardo; rm, Massiv dal Gottard) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and Grau ...
in order to bypass the
St Gotthard Pass
german: Gotthardpass
, photo = File:Gotthardpass 2008.jpg
, photo_caption = The area of the Gotthard Pass from the west
, elevation_m = 2106
, elevation_ref =
, traversed = National Road 2 Old paved road ( Tremola) Gotthard Rail Tunnel Go ...
. It was built as single bore tunnel accommodating a standard gauge double-track railway throughout.
When opened in 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the world.
The tunnel rises from the northern portal at Göschenen () and the highest point () is reached after approximately . After two more kilometers, the border between the
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
of
Uri Uri may refer to:
Places
* Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland
* Úri, a village and commune in Hungary
* Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India
* Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...
and
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
is passed; after another , the tunnel ends at the southern portal near to Airolo (). The trip takes about seven to eight minutes by train. Services are operated by the
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
.
History
Background
The origins of the Gotthard Tunnel and its construction can be traced back to the widely-felt desire to improve interconnectivity between the European nations.
Even prior to the scheme's commencement, such a tunnel had been envisioned as a necessary but singular element of a wider railway network that would connect the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
together, opening up new commercial opportunities by facilitating the movement of goods and people between the ports of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany with those of Northern Italy, along with many of the major inland cities lying in between. To achieve this, it was necessary for the line to traverse the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
around its most central point. Of all possible routes, Gotthard had historically been a favoured one for the passage of travellers by foot or
packhorse
A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...
.
But several other location where the tunnel through the alps was to be constructed were also discussed. in 1838
Zanino Volta
This is a list of rural localities in Vologda Oblast. Vologda Oblast ( rus, Вологодская область, p=vəlɐˈɡotskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Vologodskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center i ...
of
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
approached
St.Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website = ...
and
Grisons
The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include:
*german: (Kanton) Graubünden ;
* Romansh:
** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...
with plans of a tunnel through the
Splügen
Splügen ( Romansh: ''Spleia'', Italian: ''Spluga'') is a former municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2006 Splügen incorporated its neighbouring municipality of Medels im Rheinwald. On 1 January 2 ...
.
In the 1840s, the two cantons then joined forces with the
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
for a tunnel through the Lukmanier.
The
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
Piemont then wanted a tunnel through the
Grimsel
The Grimsel Pass (german: Grimselpass; french: Col du Grimsel; it, Passo del Grimsel) is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of . The pass connects the Haslital, the upper valley of the river Aare, with the ...
, so the tunnel through the alps would be further away from the
Austrian empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
.
Zurich and Tessin favored a tunnel through the
Lukmanier, while Basel, Uri and Lucerne tried to prevent this at all means.
In 1852, the British supported a tunnel through the Lukmanier massif, but this wasn't realized at the time.
Thus in 1853, several Swiss cantons met in Lucerne for a Gotthard Conference.
At the conference it was decided to request funds from the Federal Council. which declined alleging that the law prohibited the state to support the private railways financially.
But the Federal Councillor
Josef Martin Knüsel
Melchior Josef Martin Knüsel (16 November 1813 – 14 January 1889) was a Swiss jurist and politician from the Liberal Radical Party (FDP) and member of the Federal Council of Switzerland over which he presided in 1861 and 1866. Before he was ...
supported the realization of the Gotthard – Tunnel and was against the Lukmanier route. Accordingly, the
Gotthard Railway Company
The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) 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 nort ...
was established in 1871 to develop such a route, the company being initially operated under the stewardship of the accomplished Swiss industrialist
Alfred Escher
Johann Heinrich Alfred Escher vom Glas, known as Alfred Escher (20 February 1819 – 6 December 1882) was a Swiss politician, business leader and railways pioneer. Thanks to his numerous political posts and his significant role in the foundatio ...
. Prior to its formation, surveys had been conducted that determined the optimum locations for either end of the prospective tunnel to be at
Göschenen
Göschenen (German, it, Casinotta, rm, Caschanuttais) a village and municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. It sits at the northern end of the Gotthard tunnel. The Göschenen riots (1875) saw Urner troops opening fire on Italian miners ...
and
Airolo
Airolo (''Airöö'' in Lombard, in rm, italic=yes, ) is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Geography
Airolo is located in Leventina valley and the Lepontine Alps, on the southern flank of th ...
.
Initially, there were difficulties encountered in securing sufficient finance for the project; accordingly the financing was distributed among a wide variety of private and public investors from
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(20M CHF),
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(45M CHF) and the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
(20M CHF). The confidence of both investors and engineers was bolstered by the
Fréjus Rail Tunnel
The Fréjus Rail Tunnel (also called Mont Cenis Tunnel) is a rail tunnel of length in the European Alps, carrying the Turin–Modane railway through Mont Cenis to an end-on connection with the Culoz–Modane railway and linking Bardonecchia in ...
, the construction of which had been substantially aided by the introduction of various modern innovations that made the prospects of building long tunnels more practical than they previously had been.
It was decided that the contract to build the tunnel ought to be subject to a competitive
tendering
An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...
process, during which a bidding war broke out between two engineering companies, based in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
and Italy respectively. Ultimately, the final bid submitted by the Swiss engineer
Louis Favre was selected as the best offer, receiving a contract to build the tunnel with an estimated cost of 2830 Swiss francs per meter. As a consequence of the relatively low bid, which contrasted poorly against the additional costs that were incurred during construction, Favre increasingly found himself at odds with Swiss politicians and investors alike.
Even prior to the onset of construction activity, the location of the tunnel presented challenges that exceeded those of the earlier Fréjus Rail Tunnel; due to both the steepness and height of the summits, surveys using direct observation were impossible, thus more complex indirect techniques combining
triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points.
Applications
In surveying
Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...
and accurate
cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
were performed by a team headed by M. Gelpke, and subsequently confirmed by a second team led by M. Koppe via different methodology.
Construction
During 1871, construction of the Gotthard Tunnel proper commenced, it would take ten years to complete. Boring was commenced from both sides simultaneously, being reliant upon accurate surveying to keep each bore in alignment with one another.
Amongst other feats, the boring process involved the first large-scale use of
dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
, a relatively recent innovation that had only been
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
ed in 1867. Another key innovation was the use of
mechanised tunneling machines, which the Swiss engineer
Louis Favre, supervisor of the work as well as prime contractor, strongly advocated for despite some pressure to make greater use of manual boring.
The engineering used to created the tunnel can be largely credited to Favre, although he was unable to see its completion, having suffered a fatal
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
while inside the tunnel on 19 July 1879, barely six months before breakthrough would be achieved.
The tunnel's construction proved difficult on account of multiple factors technical, geological, and financial. The copious supply of water, which was necessary in order to power any heavy equipment at the time, was unreliable; the Tremola spring was one source, but would greatly change in capacity seasonally, leading to water being extracted from the more distant river
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
instead.
At the suggestion of the Geneva-based engineer M. Colladon, it was decided to use
compressed air
Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and o ...
as a means of conveying energy around the worksite and along the bores. Air was compressed by water-driven pumps and stored in cooled reservoirs prior to use; as the air pipes traversed greater and greater distances, the diameter of the pipes used was increased in order to maintain pressure. To reduce the heat of the rock during drilling, water jets were routinely used to cool the rockface.
![Gotthardtunnel Bauarbeiter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Gotthardtunnel_Bauarbeiter.jpg)
While the geology encounter typically comprised rocks of sufficient hardness for mechanical drilling to be used, those of exceptional hardness were often encountered, resulting in even the best drills being blunted and greatly slowing the rate of advancement, sometimes to as little as one meter per day.
There was also a section of entirely disaggregated bedrock encounter, which could only be cleared using traditional manual techniques, which came with the risk of potential collapse. To attain sufficient clearance for the running of trains, the ceiling was vaulted following the completion of advanced boring.
![Gotthardbahn04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Gotthardbahn04.jpg)
The conditions present in either of the bores were thoroughly inhospitable during the tunnel's construction, particularly in the bore driven from Airolo, where vapours were persistently present throughout the work.
They were also hazardous; in one major accident alone, around 200 workers (the exact number is not known) were killed largely by the
compressed air-driven trains that were used to carry excavated material out of the tunnel; other tunnel workers were killed as a result of rock slides, dynamite explosions, and a few drowned due to water inrushes.
[Konrad Kuoni: ''Der Gotthard gewinnt das Alpenbahnringen''. In: ''Kohle, Strom und Schienen''. Verkehrshaus (Hg.), Zürich 1998, S. 163.] Of those that survived, several suffered from serious health issues caused by an epidemic of
hookworm
Hookworms are intestinal, blood-feeding, parasitic roundworms that cause types of infection known as helminthiases. Hookworm infection is found in many parts of the world, and is common in areas with poor access to adequate water, sanitation, an ...
infection (''
Ancylostoma duodenale
''Ancylostoma'' is a genus of nematodes that includes some species of hookworms.
Species include:
: ''Ancylostoma braziliense'', commonly infects cats, popularly known in Brazil as ''bicho-geográfico''
: ''Ancylostoma caninum'', commonly infec ...
'').
Medical investigations led to "major advances in
parasitology
Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...
, by way of research into the aetiology, epidemiology and treatment of
ancylostomiasis
Ancylostomiasis is a hookworm disease caused by infection with Ancylostoma hookworms. The name is derived from Greek ancylos αγκύλος "crooked, bent" and stoma στόμα "mouth".
Ancylostomiasis is also known as miner's anaemia, tunnel d ...
".
During 1875, the workforce went on
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
; this was promptly violently suppressed by local police force (21 men) from
Altdorf, resulting in four deaths amongst the workers and the wounding of 13 others. Consequently, 80 workers left the building site afterwards.
During 29 February 1880, it was announced that both of the tunnel's advance borings had broken through into one another around the mountain's middle point.
It was also observed that a high degree of accuracy had successfully been achieved, a testament to the stringent surveying and directing that had been performed throughout the construction phase. The occasion was widely publicised and hailed as a major engineering triumph; the engineer Adolphe Gautier described it at the time as being "the greatest work hitherto attempted by man".
Following this milestone, a further two years of construction work continued upon the tunnel.
This period of activity largely revolved around removing the excess spoil and the completion of its masonry. These finishing works were considered to be relatively low risk compared with the preceding boring that had taken so long, and was actually easier to complete than the approach lines to meet with either end of the tunnel.
Operation
![Grafischer Fahrplan 1899](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Grafischer_Fahrplan_1899.jpg)
On 1 January 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was opened for traffic for the first time. The opening drew substantial international attention; the president of Switzerland,
Simeon Bavier
Simeon Bavier (16 September 1825 – 27 January 1896) was a Swiss politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council (1878-1883).
He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 10 December 1878 and resigned on 5 January 1883. He was affiliated with ...
, praised the project and declare it to be: "A triumph of art and science, a monument to work and diligence! The barrier which divided nations has fallen, the
Swiss Alps
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...
have been breached. Countries have moved closer to each other, the world market is open!".
Initially, the tunnel was operated by the private railway company Gotthardbahn, which ran conventional trains drawn by
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s between
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
and
Chiasso
Chiasso (; lmo, Ciass ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
As the southernmost of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is on the border with Italy, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a frazione of C ...
at the Italian border. According to Gautier, at the time of the tunnel's construction, there were proposal to operate trains hauled by
atmospheric locomotives through the tunnel; however, he voiced his scepticism over the value of doing so in comparison to the addition work that would need to be performed to facilitate such rolling stock being operated. There were also some concerns over the tunnel's ventilation being sufficient considering the challenging conditions encountered during construction, but it was believed that these would settle during routine operations without the need for extensive intervention.
During 1909, the Gotthardbahn was integrated into the
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
. On 18 October 1920, the first
electric trains were run through the Gotthard Tunnel. Initially, the voltage had to be reduced from the desired to , because the grime deposited on the insulators by the
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s encouraged excessive
arcing
An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma (p ...
. However, in May the next year, steam was replaced entirely by electric traction, and the problem of soot and grime was eliminated.
[Book: "Die Bahn durch den Gotthard"]
During 1932, a memorial for those workers who had died during the tunnel's construction was erected close to the station building at Airolo. The memorial contains a relief produced by
Vincenzo Vela
Vincenzo Vela (May 3, 1820 - October 3, 1891) was a Swiss-Italian sculptor, active mainly in northern Italy.
Biography
Vela was born in Ligornetto in the canton of Ticino to parents of little means. Having started work as boy as a stonecutter a ...
from 1882/1883, titled "Vittime del lavoro" (Victims of labour).
Until the opening of the
Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980, the Swiss Federal Railways offered
car shuttle train
A car shuttle train, or (sometimes) car-carrying train, is a shuttle train used to transport accompanied cars (automobiles), and usually also other types of road vehicles, for a relatively short distance.
Car shuttle trains usually operate on l ...
services for cars and trucks through the Gotthard Tunnel. Today, that service exists as the
rolling highway
In rail transportation, a rolling highway or rolling road is a form of combined transport involving the conveying of road trucks by rail, referred to as Ro-La trains. The concept is a form of piggyback transportation.
The technical challeng ...
from the German to the Italian border and aims to reduce truck traffic on Swiss expressways. An improvisational piggyback service from Göschenen to Airolo was offered during the two-month closure of the Gotthard Road Tunnel following a fatal fire caused by a collision in 2001.
Neighbouring tunnels
The adjacent ramps include several turn tunnels (see
Table of turn tunnels
Lists of spiral (helicoidal) tunnels and tunnels on a curved alignment on roads and railway lines worldwide.
Road tunnels
* Churchischleif, road to Isenfluh (Switzerland)
* Drammen Spiral, Norway
* on SS 659 near Formazza, Italy (full 360° turn ...
). While a triumph of its era and an example of pioneering engineering, the Gotthard Tunnel was considered to be relatively slow to traverse by twentieth century standards, leading to talk of building a superior successor tunnel as early as the 1940s.
During 1980, the neighbouring
Gotthard Road Tunnel was opened; by 2016, it was reportedly being used to convey around one million freight lorries each year.
A second railway tunnel, the
Gotthard Base Tunnel
, rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard
, image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station
, line = Gotthard Line
, location = Switzerland (Uri, Grisons and ...
, was opened on 1 June 2016 after 17 years of construction; in comparison, it is considerably longer (57.1km; namely the world's longest railway tunnel) and at a about 500 m lower elevation than the first Gotthard Tunnel, enabling trains to traverse the
Central Alps
The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and possibly Hungary (if one includes the Kőszeg Mountains).
This article describes the del ...
on a flat and straight route and therefore more efficiently, at higher speeds, with much less energy consumption, and longer freight trains.
See also
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Saint-Gotthard Massif
The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif (german: Gotthardmassiv or ; it, Massiccio del San Gottardo; rm, Massiv dal Gottard) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and Grau ...
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St Gotthard Pass
german: Gotthardpass
, photo = File:Gotthardpass 2008.jpg
, photo_caption = The area of the Gotthard Pass from the west
, elevation_m = 2106
, elevation_ref =
, traversed = National Road 2 Old paved road ( Tremola) Gotthard Rail Tunnel Go ...
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Gotthard Base Tunnel
, rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard
, image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station
, line = Gotthard Line
, location = Switzerland (Uri, Grisons and ...
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Gotthard Road Tunnel
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NRLA
The New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA; german: Neue Eisenbahn-Alpentransversale, NEAT, french: nouvelle ligne ferroviaire à travers les Alpes, NLFA, it, Nuova ferrovia transalpina, NFTA), is a Swiss construction project for faster north ...
References
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Railway tunnels in Switzerland
Tunnels in the canton of Uri
Tunnels in Ticino
Tunnels completed in 1882
Ticino–Uri border
Tunnels in the Alps
1882 establishments in Switzerland
Car shuttle trains