Results for the phase
"Planning and realisation 1992 - 2020"
Planning proceeds at full speed from 1992. Exploratory boring starts in the mountains. Construction officially begins in 1999, with miners and boring machines cutting through the rock. There is a shift in transport policy as Swiss Federal Railways attaches more importance to passenger transport. The project's greatest milestones are the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel in 2007, the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016 and the Ceneri Base Tunnel in 2020.
Tunnel vision
The NRLA is architecture. A minimalist formal language pervades its every construction, even down to the barely visible tunnels.
View eventThe NRLA and Europe
From the outset, business representatives and politicians view the NRLA as a project that will advance Switzerland’s integration into Europe.
View eventPressure from the environmental movement
The «construction project of the century» is the subject of heated debate, with politicians, administrators and environmental organisations grappling to find common solutions.
View eventWork begins
The NRLA is far more than just the Gotthard Base Tunnel, but the first exploratory boring for the NRLA project takes place at the Gotthard.
View eventSpatial planning
Transport routes change the landscape. The routing of the NRLA lines thus becomes a matter of spatial planning.
View eventYes to the Alps Initiative
The unexpected popular vote in favour of the Alps Initiative accelerates development of the NRLA.
View eventGreen light for the network option
The Federal Council confirms the network option for the NRLA, clearing the way for construction of the Gotthard-Ceneri and Lötschberg axes.
View eventTransport policy as financial policy
Federal Councillor Otto Stich is convinced that the NRLA will cost more than the estimated 14 billion Swiss francs.
View eventLinks 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 eventRotterdam–Genoa
Expansion of the Rotterdam–Genoa freight axis makes slow progress. Italy lags behind on sea-port links.
View eventUri’s concerns
The canton of Uri is particularly affected by construction of the Gotthard axis. It wants the approach route to the rail tunnel to run underground. Negotiations with the Confederation run far from smoothly.
View eventYes to public transport funding
Funding for the NRLA is secured: over 30 billion francs are to be spent modernising Switzerland’s rail infrastructure.
View eventSupervision
Responsibility for ensuring that the large-scale project proceeds efficiently and in accordance with the law lies with parliament’s supervisory delegation.
View eventThe SBB becomes a limited company
Rail Reform 1 aims at a gradual liberalisation of rail transport.
View eventAdjustments go unnoticed
Almost unnoticed by the public at large, the Federal Council brings forward the previously postponed construction of the twin-track Zurich-Thalwil tunnel.
View eventConstruction begins
Although work actually began earlier, the first blasting at the Lötschberg is regarded as the official start of NRLA construction.
View eventThe 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 eventThe 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 eventGeology and surveying
Tunnel construction depends on scientific knowledge. Geology helps to find ways through the rock.
View eventYes to the Ceneri Base Tunnel
Funding for the Ceneri tunnel is controversial. Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger argues strongly in its favour.
View eventThe costs
Funding for the project is hotly debated. The main issue is rising costs.
View eventControl in the tunnel
A new control system transmits movement commands via a digital radio network to a screen in the driver’s cab.
View eventConstruction of the Ceneri tunnel
The Ceneri Base Tunnel is the third major project forming part of the NRLA. Although somewhat overshadowed by the Gotthard and Lötschberg tunnels, it will usher in a new era for regional transport in Ticino.
View eventBreakthrough in the Gotthard
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the centrepiece of the NRLA. The first breakthrough by a boring machine takes place in the east bore.
View eventThe Lötschberg enters operation
With the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, a first section of the NRLA becomes operational.
View eventTraversing the Piora Basin
The Piora Basin, with its sugar-grain rock, threatens to endanger construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
View eventThe 5.4-billion stage
How much will the NRLA cost? Initial estimates quote a figure of 12 billion francs. In 2009 Parliament approves an additional and decisive sum of 5.4 billion.
View eventUsing the tunnels to get away
The vast majority of passengers taking the train for their journey through the Alps are travelling not for business but for pleasure.
View eventNo 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.
View eventA million visitors
During construction of the Gotthard and Lötschberg Base Tunnels, the general public have an opportunity to view the inside of the mountain. Huge numbers do so.
View eventThe 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 eventRock meets concrete
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a high-tech product – and, like every tunnel, the result of much hard graft: by labourers, masons and concrete layers.
View eventTests on the Gotthard
There is a lot of technology in the new Gotthard line. Extensive tests are carried out to ensure it works properly.
View eventTunnels of the world
Whose tunnel is the longest? Tunnel construction is a never-ending competition for the world record.
View eventHigh-profile guests at the opening ceremony
No expense is spared at the Gotthard Base Tunnel inauguration ceremony in 2016. Merkel, Hollande and Renzi are in attendance, but not the heads of the EU.
View eventCosts and benefits
The NRLA has cost a lot of money. Time will tell how great the economic benefits are.
View eventMind the doors
The escape doors installed in the Gotthard tunnel are the best there is. They owe their construction to the NRLA. One major innovation led to multiple minor innovations.
View eventThe train feels the strain
The Lötschberg Base Tunnel becomes a victim of its own success. Planning for an expansion is already under way.
View event43,152 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 eventA 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.
View eventA language in themselves
Every wagon, coach and locomotive bears an assortment of cryptic symbols, letters and numbers without which the railway could not operate.
View eventCeneri, 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.
View eventWhither 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