Results for Rail network

1867

Ticino sets the pace

The peripheral region of Ticino boasts some magnificent historic stations. The locals are quicker off the mark than their counterparts in central Switzerland, building while money is still available.

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18 May 1906

The second tunnel

After the Gotthard, the Simplon Tunnel becomes the second rail line through the Swiss Alps. Now, western Switzerland is connected to the south.

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1915

The first base tunnel

Long before the Gotthard and Lötschberg, the first base tunnel in Swiss rail history is driven through the hills at Hauenstein near Olten.

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1986

Rail 2000

For all the talk of the NRLA, Rail 2000 is also a big part of the story. It encouraged the drive towards a denser rail network and an expanded infrastructure.

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1 March 1989

Cross-border solutions

A European transport conference in Frankfurt in 1989 gives its backing to rail transport. Adolf Ogi is there representing Switzerland.

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28 November 1989

No link for Eastern Switzerland

A rail line through the eastern Alps is eastern Switzerland’s dream. While those hopes come to nought, the region is included in the network option.

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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.

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10 December 2016

Costs and benefits

The NRLA has cost a lot of money. Time will tell how great the economic benefits are.

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11 August 2017

A vulnerable transport system

When the track subsides at Rastatt in summer 2017, traffic grinds to a halt. The collapse highlights the fragility of Europe’s rail system.

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2019

Ceneri, the third base tunnel

The NRLA is more than its three tunnels, but they are convenient media labels for the project stages. Completion of the Ceneri Base Tunnel in 2020 marks the end of the NRLA.

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