The Grimsel Tunnel (german: Grimseltunnel) is a proposed tunnel for power transmission and

rail transport in Switzerland 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. This is made necessary by strong regulations ...

. , it was planned to run under the

Grimsel Pass 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 ...

and link the

Zentralbahn The Zentralbahn is a Switzerland, Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luze ...

at the north end with the

Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn is a narrow gauge railway line and a railway company (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn AG, MGB) in Switzerland. The track width is . It was created in 2003 through an amalgamation of Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) and BVZ Zermatt- ...

at the south, with planned opening in approximately 2025-2026. The Canton of Bern, Canton of Valais, and Swissgrid unveiled their joint plans on 4 February 2016. The tunnel is proposed to carry a single-track

metre gauge railway Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

and railway electrification system. The total length of the new Grimsel Line (german: Grimselbahn) route containing the tunnel would be . It would link two groups of existing railway lines constructed to one-metre track gauge in Switzerland, forming a contiguous route of . The power transmission cables would run at 380kV and replace Swissgrid's existing

overhead power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...

, and allow the removal of the 121

electricity pylon A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. In electrical ...

s that had been in place for sixty years. The intended railway route would continue from the

Brünig railway line The Brünig railway line (german: Brünigbahn) is a Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes ...

Meiringen railway station Meiringen railway station (german: Bahnhof Meiringen) is a railway station, in the town of Meiringen in the Swiss canton of Bern, and at the junction of two railway lines. The Brünig line of the Zentralbahn is an inter-regional metre gauge railw ...

, via the Meiringen–Innertkirchen railway, to a stop at

Innertkirchen Innertkirchen is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Gadmen merged into the municipality of Innertkirchen.

, then via new stations at

Guttannen Guttannen is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Origin of the name Guttannen is the name of a meadow, which became the name of the municipality. It comes from the phrase ''ze ...

and

Handegg Handeck is a village in the municipality of Guttannen, Switzerland. The village is located near the lake Gelmersee, which may be reached by Gelmerbahn from Handeck. There is a hotel and bridge at the village. Geography Handeck is located approx ...

(') to

Oberwald railway station Oberwald railway station is a railway station serving the village of Oberwald, in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. The station is close to the western portal of the Furka Base Tunnel, on the metre gauge Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO), which connects ...

for continuation via the

Furka Base Tunnel The Furka Base Tunnel is a Swiss railway base tunnel on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's Furka–Oberalp line, an east-west railway connecting the cantons of Valais and Uri. Its west portal lies east of Oberwald (VS), at above sea level and its ...

. Travel time between Meiringen and Oberwald would be approximately 38 minutes—a reduction of three hours. A company called was founded by the promoters, with Peter Teuscher as its chair person. In 2016, the estimated cost was 580-million Swiss Francs. The split cost of 290-million Swiss Francs each for railway and power transmission usage would less than the individual estimated costs of 490-million Swiss Francs for a power-only tunnel or 430-million Swiss Francs for a rail-only tunnel. The tunnel route had first been proposed in 1860.

Route

References

External links

* (in German) * (in German) {{use dmy dates, date=February 2016 Proposed tunnels in Switzerland Electric power transmission systems in Europe Railway tunnels in Switzerland Proposed energy infrastructure in Switzerland Proposed transport infrastructure in Switzerland