Results for Goods traffic

21 May 1882

Inauguration of the Gotthard Tunnel

When it opens, the first tunnel through the Gotthard is the longest rail tunnel in the world. It is mostly financed by foreign capital.

View event
24 June 1965

Car vs rail

Rail has held onto its lead for a long time, but with the opening of the Gotthard road tunnel in 1980 road transport through the Alps mounts a strong challenge.

View event
1971

Traffic forecasts

Forecasts often turn out to be incorrect, but in 1990 the Federal Council gets it spot on.

View event
24 February 1977

The overall transport strategy

The coordination of transport policy, with funding from the Confederation, forms an important basis for the NRLA.

View event
1985

A dissertation revives a railway

Rarely has an academic dissertation caused such a political stir. Hans-Jörg Bertschi’s work lends new momentum to the NRLA.

View event
1990

The problem with slots

Planning rail traffic is a complex business: trains travelling on the same tracks can only overtake at a small number of places. The principal planning unit is known as a slot.

View event
1 May 1992

Agreement with Europe

Even before the Swiss people vote on the NRLA, politicians are discussing the project in their negotiations with the EEC.

View event
12 September 1995

Links to other countries

The success of the NRLA hinges on countries other than Switzerland. The amount of freight carried by rail will only increase if the Rotterdam-Genoa axis is modernised.

View event
1995

Rotterdam–Genoa

Expansion of the Rotterdam–Genoa freight axis makes slow progress. Italy lags behind on sea-port links.

View event
31 December 1998

The SBB becomes a limited company

Rail Reform 1 aims at a gradual liberalisation of rail transport.

View event
7 October 1999

The big shift

With the expansion of the NRLA, goods traffic through the Alps is progressively transferred from road to rail, though more slowly than planned.

View event
20 May 2000

The end of the 28-tonne limit

For the first time, goods vehicles weighing forty tonnes are permitted to travel on Swiss roads. In return, the EU accepts the heavy vehicle fee.

View event
31 May 2014

The four-metre corridor

In order to transport the heavier loads, not only the tunnels but also other parts of the rail infrastructure need to be adapted.

View event
2016

43,152 trains

In the opening months, traffic in the new Gotthard Base Tunnel occasionally grinds to a halt. The SBB lay on extra trains to cope.

View event
2016

The train feels the strain

The Lötschberg Base Tunnel becomes a victim of its own success. Planning for an expansion is already under way.

View event
2021

Whither the mountain routes?

Not everyone is a winner from the NRLA. The future of the world-famous Gotthard mountain route through the Urseren Valley and the Leventina is still undecided.

View event