
The Lötschberg Tunnel is a long
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
tunnel on the
Lötschberg Line, which connects
Spiez and
Brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
at the northern end of the
Simplon Tunnel
The Simplon Tunnel (''Simplontunnel'', ''Traforo del Sempione'' or ''Galleria del Sempione'') is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shor ...
cutting through the
Bernese Alps
The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...
of
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Its ends are at the towns of
Kandersteg (2 km away) in the
canton of Bern and
Goppenstein in the
canton of Valais
Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
.
The top elevation of the tunnel is above sea level, this is
the highest point of the main Swiss railway network.
Construction began in 1907 and suffered delays by several severe accidents.
* February 1908: An
avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...
destroyed a hotel that the workers lived in, killing 13.
* July 1908: The tunnel broke into a deep fissure below th
Gasterntalvalley and flooded with water and glacial deposit from the fissure, killing 25, and 1554 meters (5100 feet, 0.9656 mile) of the tunnel had to be abandoned and sealed off and replaced by a curved bypass.
* March 1911: Breakthrough was achieved
* 3 June 1913: Finalization
* 15 July 1913: Regular service through the Lötschberg Tunnel began in 1913.
The tunnel is a single bore twin track.
The
BLS AG company offers a car transport service through the tunnel, between
Kandersteg station and
Goppenstein station, for accompanied vehicles. The journey time of approximately 20 minutes, passengers remain in their cars in open sided car transport vehicles. At peak times, the car transport service operates in each direction every 7½ minutes.
The new
Lötschberg Base Tunnel, opened on June 15, 2007, has been constructed some below the level of the current Lötschberg Tunnel as part of the
NRLA (New Railway Link through the Alps) project.
See also
*
Lötschberg
*
Lötschberg Base Tunnel
*
Simplon Tunnel
The Simplon Tunnel (''Simplontunnel'', ''Traforo del Sempione'' or ''Galleria del Sempione'') is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shor ...
*
NRLA
References
Further reading
* Baumgartner, B., and M. Lortscher. 2007. "Commissioning of the Lotschberg Base Tunnel". ''Elektrische Bahnen; Zentralblatt F̐ưur Elektrischen Zugbetrieb Und Alle Arten Von Triebfahrzeugen Mit Elektrischem Antrieb''. no. 6: 345-350.
* Lortscher, M., et al. "Electric Installations in the Lotschberg Base Tunnel." ''Elektrische Bahnen; Zentralblatt F̐ưur Elektrischen Zugbetrieb Und Alle Arten Von Triebfahrzeugen Mit Elektrischem Antrieb''. 6 (2007): 323-344.
* Pesendorfer, M., and S. Loew. 2004. "Hydrogeologic Exploration During Excavation of the Lotschberg Base Tunnel (AlpTransit Switzerland)". ''Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences''. no. 104: 347-358.
* Vuilleumier, F., A. Weatherill, and B. Crausaz. 2002. "Safety Aspects of Railway and Road Tunnel: Example of the Lotschberg Railway Tunnel and Mont-Blanc Road Tunnel". ''Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology''. 17, no. 2: 153-158.
* 2000. "Lötschberg Base Tunnel Will Open Up Low-Level High-Cube Route in 2007". ''
Railway Gazette International''. 156: 175-182.
* 2002. "TUNNELS - Lotschberg Team Advances Swiftly Through the Alps - Teams Using TBMs and Drill-and-Blast Methods Drive Tunnel That Will Speed Trucks Through Switzerland". ''ENR.''. 249, no. 3: 28.
* 2005.
Tracklaying Reaches Halfway in the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. ''
Railway Gazette International''. 161, no. 12: 773-775.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotschberg Tunnel
Railway tunnels in Switzerland
Tunnels in the canton of Valais
Bernese Oberland
Tunnels completed in 1913
Tunnels in the canton of Bern
Bern–Valais border
1913 establishments in Switzerland
Tunnels in the Alps