In 2012 the Federal Council decides to shelve the Porta Alpina «for the time being». It would impair the passenger and freight transit capacities too much and so jeopardise the goals of the NRLA. The Porta Alpina would have connected Sedrun and the Surselva to the Gotthard Base Tunnel via a lift. The idea for the underground rail station goes back to the middle of the 20th century. It rapidly gains popularity, against the backdrop of Graubünden's disappointment at the rejection of its arguments for a rail link through the eastern Alps. The shell of a tunnel station had already been excavated in the mountain.
« The forward-looking Porta Alpina Sedrun project presents a unique opportunity for the people of the valley and the entire Oberalp-Gotthard region that must be pursued further. »
Government of the Canton of Graubünden, Dispatch to the Grand Council, p. 1,220, 01.11.2005