One of the important traffic connections to the south was closed for around two weeks. The Gotthard Base Tunnel has now been reopened to freight traffic. However, travelers still need to be patient.
After a train derailed two weeks ago, the first freight trains drove through the Gotthard Base Tunnel again. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) released one of the tunnel tubes during the night.
However, international passenger trains that would otherwise travel through the tunnel will continue to be diverted through the pass. This extends the travel time to the canton of Ticino and further to Italy on this route by 60 minutes. Full repairs will likely take months as announced by the SBB.
According to the SBB, a total of almost 100 freight trains per day can travel through the base tunnel. In autumn 2022, around 120 freight trains were still running through the tunnel every day.
Important traffic connection
At 57 kilometers, the tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the world and an important transport link. It connects German-speaking Switzerland with the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino and is part of the north-south axis from Germany to Italy.
16 wagons still in the tunnel
The accident happened almost two weeks ago. According to the SBB, 16 wagons are still in the tunnel. Some are so badly damaged that they have to be dismantled in the tunnel before being transported away. A total of around eight kilometers of track and 20,000 sleepers have to be replaced in the tunnel. Nobody was injured in the accident.