Gotthard Base Tunnel set to re-open for goods trains
The derailed goods train in the Gotthard Basis Tunnel on Friday
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Around 90 goods trains a day will be able to travel through the Gotthard Base Tunnel from Wednesday. In addition, around 20 goods trains will use the panoramic route. Passenger services are also to be improved from Thursday.
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The track-changing gate in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which was severely damaged on August 10 after a goods train derailed, had been successfully replaced by a mobile gate, the Swiss federal railways said on Friday. In the coming days, necessary adjustments would be made in the signal box. In addition, test runs were necessary, it said.
For freight traffic, the opening of the east tunnel would bring significantly more flexibility and would be a relief for customers, it said. From Wednesday, 110 goods trains a day will be able to travel through the Gotthard axis.
Initially, transit trains stationed in Switzerland and abroad would run, the federal railways said. These could not be diverted via the panoramic route because of their corner height. To ensure that all goods could be transported, goods trains will continue to be rerouted via the Lötschberg-Simplon axis and the Brenner route.
Passenger trains will remain diverted via the panoramic route. From Thursday the number of seats will increase because more maximum-length trains will run. Day trips to the southern canton of Ticino will be also possible, the federal railways said.
Regarding international passenger traffic, most of the cross-border trains to and from Italy will run directly again from Thursday. Travel time will thus be increased by 60 minutes instead of up to 120 minutes.
The federal railways rejected requests for a general price reduction owing to the longer journey time. It did, however, announce that from Thursday it would probably offer discounted tickets on connections to and from Ticino.
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1. The Gotthard Pass is legendary. As the scene of a swearing of allegiance between the first cantons in 1291 and of resistance against wartime occupation, the Gotthard region has a unique aura. Even the Matterhorn doesn’t have the symbolic value of this massif: the cradle of the confederation, the centre of the Alps, the…
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