Planning

The planning of the NRLA is no less important than its construction. The first project for a Gotthard base tunnel dates back to 1961. From that time onwards, plans are drawn up for routes, tunnel variants, approaches, new buildings and goods and passenger capacities – always with particular attention paid to their funding. Engineers have to incorporate countless imponderables in their plans, from the type of rock to be cut – the Piora Basin in the Gotthard is the stuff of legend – to local resistance to the new structures. Compromises have to be made along the way.

1947

The Europe-Africa Express

An engineer has a vision: from Basel to Chiasso by rail in just two hours – time enough for a shower, a haircut and some telephone calls.

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30 January 1962

The Gotthard Base Tunnel

The Confederation moots the idea of a «Gotthard Base Rail Tunnel», and commissions Elektro-Watt to develop a project.

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1963

Road vs rail

After the Second World War, plans are made for a road tunnel through the Gotthard. In 1963 the SBB call for a base tunnel, but the Federal Council favours the road solution.

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19 June 1970

The tunnel plan

Specialists arguing for a Gotthard Base Tunnel point to Switzerland’s important position as a European transit nation.

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1970

The abortive project begins

The plan for the first Gotthard Base Tunnel is thwarted by the economic crisis of the mid-1970s.

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1971

Traffic forecasts

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

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19 December 1979

Gotthard or Splügen?

A tunnel through the Gotthard would be more profitable, but the Splügen would bring more benefits to the regional economy, the experts conclude.

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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.

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11 July 1988

Five options

Lötschberg-Simplon, Gotthard, Ypsilon or one of two Splügen options? The Federal Council decides to pursue the Gotthard and Lötschberg-Simplon options.

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1988

«Rail with road»

In an influential report, Infras recommends an internationally coordinated approach, and shifting road traffic onto the railways.

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1988

Order, build, operate

For the NRLA’s construction, the Confederation separates infrastructure from operations. The new project management system is a success.

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1990

Window of opportunity

Some chances only come once. Even then, they sometimes go unnoticed. Ogi, however, is ready.

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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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31 December 1998

The SBB becomes a limited company

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

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2010

From drawing to 3D model

Major construction projects require meticulous preparation. They are underpinned by a vast range of plans.

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15 May 2012

No to the Porta Alpina

It is a popular vision: the Porta Alpina to connect Sedrun and the Surselva via a lift to the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

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2017

A language in themselves

Every wagon, coach and locomotive bears an assortment of cryptic symbols, letters and numbers without which the railway could not operate.

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