Alptransit Portal

The Swiss tunnels

1882

Phase 1
1882 - 1960
Growth in traffic
Show phase
Phase 2
1961 - 1983
Idea and planning
Show phase
Phase 3
1983 - 1992
Planning and referendum
Show phase
Phase 4
1992 - 2020
Planning and realisation
Show phase

Society
1805
The first paved road through the mountains
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Society
1830
Journey times become shorter and shorter
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Construction
1846
An iron road made of steel
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Politics
1853
The long-standing committee
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Society
1867
Ticino sets the pace
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Construction
1882
Keeping danger in check
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Construction
21 May 1882
Inauguration of the Gotthard Tunnel
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Society
1897
The Gotthard railway in literature
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Construction
18 May 1906
The second tunnel
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Politics
30 April 1909
Nationalisation of the Gotthard Railway Company
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Construction
14 July 1913
Link through the Lötschberg
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Society
1914
The battle with nature
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Construction
1915
The first base tunnel
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Construction
1923
Water replaces coal
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Planning
1947
The Europe-Africa Express
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Society
1957
Rail tourism
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Politics
1960
Visionaries
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Planning
30 January 1962
The Gotthard Base Tunnel
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Planning
1963
Road vs rail
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Politics
24 June 1965
Car vs rail
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Society
1967
Combined goods transport
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Planning
19 June 1970
The tunnel plan
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Planning
1970
The abortive project begins
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Planning
1971
Traffic forecasts
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Politics
5 June 1971
Environmental policy turnaround
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Society
24 February 1977
The overall transport strategy
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Planning
19 December 1979
Gotthard or Splügen?
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Politics
1981
Coordination of rail transport
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Society
1984
The Gotthard myth
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Planning
1985
A dissertation revives a railway
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Construction
1986
Rail 2000
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Politics
1988
Making it happen
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Planning
11 July 1988
Five options
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Planning
1988
«Rail with road»
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Planning
1988
Order, build, operate
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Politics
1 March 1989
Cross-border solutions
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Politics
28 November 1989
No link for Eastern Switzerland
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Society
1990
The Federal Council reaches out to the people
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Planning
1990
Window of opportunity
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Planning
1990
The problem with slots
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Politics
3 October 1991
Parliament backs the NRLA
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Politics
1 May 1992
Agreement with Europe
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Society
1992
Approval from western Switzerland
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Politics
26 September 1992
Yes to the NRLA
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Politics
5 December 1992
No to the EEA
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Construction
1992
Tunnel vision
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Society
1 February 1993
The NRLA and Europe
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Society
20 April 1993
Pressure from the environmental movement
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Construction
3 October 1993
Work begins
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Society
12 December 1993
Spatial planning
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Politics
19 February 1994
Yes to the Alps Initiative
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Politics
19 February 1995
Green light for the network option
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Politics
28 May 1995
Transport policy as financial policy
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Society
12 September 1995
Links to other countries
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Politics
1995
Rotterdam–Genoa
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Politics
17 April 1996
Uri’s concerns
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Politics
28 November 1998
Yes to public transport funding
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Politics
17 December 1998
Supervision
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Planning
31 December 1998
The SBB becomes a limited company
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Politics
13 June 1999
Adjustments go unnoticed
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Construction
4 July 1999
Construction begins
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Society
7 October 1999
The big shift
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Politics
20 May 2000
The end of the 28-tonne limit
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Construction
26 November 2000
Geology and surveying
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Society
24 October 2001
A fire brings big changes
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Politics
16 December 2003
Yes to the Ceneri Base Tunnel
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Construction
15 April 2004
The costs
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Construction
2005
Control in the tunnel
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Construction
1 June 2006
Construction of the Ceneri tunnel
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Construction
5 September 2006
Breakthrough in the Gotthard
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Society
2007
Historians and the NRLA
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Construction
8 December 2007
The Lötschberg enters operation
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Construction
14 October 2008
Traversing the Piora Basin
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Politics
19 March 2009
The 5.4-billion stage
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Planning
2010
From drawing to 3D model
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Society
2010
Using the tunnels to get away
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Planning
15 May 2012
No to the Porta Alpina
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Society
22 August 2013
A million visitors
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Construction
31 May 2014
The four-metre corridor
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Construction
30 October 2014
Rock meets concrete
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Construction
30 September 2015
Tests on the Gotthard
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Society
2015
Tunnels of the world
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Society
31 May 2016
High-profile guests at the opening ceremony
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Society
10 December 2016
Costs and benefits
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Society
2016
43,152 trains
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Society
2016
The train feels the strain
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Construction
31 December 2016
Mind the doors
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Politics
11 August 2017
A vulnerable transport system
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Planning
2017
A language in themselves
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Politics
2019
Escher forever?
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Construction
2019
Ceneri, the third base tunnel
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Society
2021
Whither the mountain routes?
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2021