43,152 trains

2016
Unscheduled stops
Unscheduled stops

The new base tunnel link proves hugely popular. After initial difficulties things settle down – but trains are still passing through the eye of a needle. (2017, Keystone)

24,757 freight trains and 18,395 passenger trains travel through the Gotthard Base Tunnel in its first year of operation. Goods traffic accounts for roughly 65% of the total; on peak days, up to 116 freight trains are using the line. Some 11,000 passengers a day are also conveyed. Passenger services do not always run smoothly in the initial months: technical problems with rolling stock, delays and overcrowded trains test rail users' patience. The construction is experiencing teething troubles. The SBB respond by laying on extra trains and adjusting the timetable for the summer season and when the weather is fine, especially on Sunday evenings.

« Gotthard Base Tunnel – positive start, delayed international integration. »

HUPAC website, Media release, 01.06.2017
165 number of trains

travelling through the Gotthard Base Tunnel on peak days.

24,757 number of goods trains

using the tunnel every year (together with 18,395 passenger trains).

30 per cent

increase in passenger numbers on the Gotthard line in the first year of operation.

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