Switzerland Closes World’s Largest Tunnel After Derailment

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent

BERN (Worthy News) – Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest rail tunnel once viewed as a human miracle, will be closed for months for passenger services after a derailment, the country’s primary railway operator SBB acknowledged Thursday.

Sixteen wagons derailed and are still stuck inside, a week after the incident on August 10, officials said.

Opened in 2016, the Gotthard rail link took 20 years to build and cost more than $12 billion.

The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board announced an inquiry into the accident.

SBB said about 7.8 kilometers (4.9 miles) of track and 20,000 concrete sleepers would need to be replaced as part of the repairs.

“The damage after the accident in the west tube is significantly greater than initially estimated,” SBB added in a statement. “The repair work is complex and will take several months. Priority is currently given to commissioning the undamaged east tunnel.”

It said freight traffic is expected to use the tunnel beginning August 23, while passenger traffic will be diverted “until further notice.”

STILL SAFE?

Despite the derailment, “The Gotthard Base Tunnel is one of the safest in the world,” claimed SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot.

“The fact that such an accident could still happen hits us hard. Luckily there were no injuries, but there was a lot of property damage,” he told reporters.

The high-speed rail tunnel was considered a significant engineering accomplishment when it was finished.

With a route length of 57.09 kilometers (35.5 miles), it is the world’s longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps mountains.

In recent years it has become a critical route for goods and cargo in Switzerland and Europe, experts say.

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