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- Just in time for the time change, the first trains passed through the Ceneri base tunnel today.
- Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga spoke of a “happy day for Switzerland” in this regard.
- According to SBB, today’s time change went smoothly across Switzerland. However, there was a glitch.
With today’s time change, passenger and freight trains in Ticino will now pass regularly through the Ceneri Base Tunnel. The structure, which was inaugurated in September, completes the Nueva Transversal Ferroviaria-Alpina (NEAT) and streamlines north-south connections.
In reality, the “first historic trip” should have been accompanied by representatives of the federal government, the cantons and the SBB. Due to the corona pandemic, a decision was made against him, he said in a message. Instead, travelers expected recorded train announcements from Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga after her departure from Zurich.
“You are the first guests to experience today what Switzerland has achieved in recent decades with its idea of Neat: a fast and ecological connection between north and south, a flat railway through the Alps, through the Gotthard and the Ceneri, “said Sommaruga. “Enjoy the trip. It’s a happy day for Switzerland,” Sommaruga continued.
The Sopraceneri (northern Ticino) and the Sottoceneri (southern Ticino) are stitching together through the 15.4 km long tunnel between Camorino in the north and Vezia in the south. Ticino can be reached up to twenty minutes faster from most regions of German-speaking Switzerland. Trains now cover the Zurich-Lugano route in less than two hours.
Since the official opening of the Ceneri base tunnel on September 4, SBB has been conducting test drives. According to information from the Federal Office of Transport (FOT), around 5,800 commercial passenger and freight trains passed through the tunnel during the test operation. This also creates more capacity in freight transport.
In addition, double-decker trains can now also run on the north-south axis. To this end, SBB renovated and extended a 15-kilometer stretch on Lake Zug during a year and a half closure. It was the longest closing in SBB history, according to SBB.
The time change went smoothly
According to SBB, today’s time change went smoothly across Switzerland. In addition to many other changes in local and long-distance traffic in all regions of Switzerland, as well as time adjustments in the minute range, there was another premiere: the Südostbahn (SOB) enters long-distance traffic for the first time. . On the Gotthard, the SOB will now drive on the mountain route instead of the market leader SBB.
Electric train misdirected
The 2021 schedule also brings faster and more frequent connections to Milan (I) and Munich (D). After full electrification on the Zurich – Munich route, the new SBB Astoro trains will run there, reducing travel time from 45 minutes to four hours. Twice as many trains now run between Germany and Switzerland.
On Sunday, an SBB train from Zurich to Munich broke down shortly after the border. A train that runs exclusively on electricity was diverted onto a track with no electrical connection. The train managed to reach the next station in Hergatz in the Bavarian-Swabian district of Lindau, but then stopped.
