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It has taken more than ten years to build and completes what Switzerland calls the building project of the century. The Ceneriba tunnel is described as capable of traveling through the Alps for the first time, rather than passing or traversing.
A train tests the Ceneriba tunnel, which is approximately 15 kilometers long.
Together with the previously opened Gotthardbas and Lötschberg tunnels, the tracks below the Ceneri Alpine peak form a giant project which in German is abbreviated Neat (Neue Eisenbahn-Alpentransversale), a nearly flat transportation route between the northern and southern sides of the Alps.
Relative to sea level, it is still a matter of unevenness of several hundred meters, but being so flat can still be a revolution for freight traffic. Large heavy freight trains, which previously did not have the opportunity to scale Europe’s largest mountain range, can travel the 140 miles between the giant ports of Rotterdam and Genoa unhindered.
Passenger traffic will also be more fluid. Trains between Milan and Zurich should be able to run in three hours, compared to four today.
– This is the last piece of the puzzle. The goal of having a flat lane through the Alps has been achieved, Vincent Ducrot, CEO of the Swiss state railway company SBB, told the media in connection with the opening on Friday.
The Ceneriba tunnel has cost 3.6 billion French francs (34.5 billion Swedish crowns), while the entire Neat has cost 220 billion Swedish crowns. But the capacity will also be large, up to 170 freight trains and 180 passenger trains can pass through the tunnel every day.
– We will be able to have 750 meter long freight trains with up to 2,100 tonnes of freight, says Ducrot.
This means that the Alps avoid hundreds of truck trips every day and therefore less emissions.
“The environmental benefits are clear, and it’s not just about the Alps,” Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga told Reuters.
– This means a competitive advantage both for Switzerland and for the sustainable transport policy.
After the opening ceremony this week, regular traffic in the Ceneriba tunnel will not begin until December 13.
