Gotthard Tunnel
Sign in to saverailway tunnel in Switzerland
Key facts
- Official name
- German : Gotthardtunnel , Italian : Galleria del San Gottardo
- Line
- Gotthard Line
- Location
- Traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the middle of the Swiss Alps
- System
- Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS)
- Start
- Göschenen , canton of Uri (north, 1,106 m or 3,629 ft)
- End
- Airolo , canton of Ticino (south, 1,145 m or 3,757 ft)
- Work began
- September 13, 1872 ( 1872-09-13 )
- Opened
- June 1, 1882 ( 1882-06-01 )
- Owner
- SBB CFF FFS
- Operator
- SBB Infrastructure
- Traffic
- railway
- Character
- passenger, freight
- Design engineer
- Louis Favre
- Length
- 15,002.64 m (9.32221 mi)
- Number span no of tracks
- Double
- Track gauge
- 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) ( standard gauge )
- Electrified
- 15 kV 16.7 Hz since September 18, 1920 ( 1920-09-18 )
- Highest elevation
- 1,151 m (3,776 ft) , (inside the tunnel)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Country
- Switzerland
- Located in
- Göschenen
- Operator
- Swiss Federal Railways
- Image
- Goeschenen nordportal.jpg
- Length
- 15.003
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- Gotthard rail tunnel
- track gauge
- standard-gauge railway
- crosses
- Saint-Gotthard Massif
- terminus
- Göschenen
- structural engineer
- Louis Favre
- carries thoroughfare
- Gotthard railway
- terminus location
- Göschenen
- inception
- 1882-05-22
- date of official opening
- 1881-00-00
- different from
- Gotthard Base Tunnel
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Gotthard Tunnel (German: Gotthardtunnel, Italian: Galleria del San Gottardo) is a 15-kilometre-long (9.3 mi) railway tunnel that forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pass. It was built as single bore tunnel accommodating a standard gauge double-track railway throughout. When opened in 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the world.
The tunnel rises from the northern portal at Göschenen (1,106 m or 3,629 ft) and the highest point (1,151 m or 3,776 ft) is reached after approximately eight kilometres (5 mi). After two more kilometers, the border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino is passed; after another five kilometres (3 mi), the tunnel ends at the southern portal near to Airolo (1,142 m or 3,747 ft). The trip takes about seven to eight minutes by train. Services are operated by the Swiss Federal Railways.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gotthard Tunnel” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.