Autumn resumption for Gotthard rail service is confirmed
Trains should be able to run again from September in the western tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, which was badly damaged in a derailment in August 2023.
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However, there is currently no exact date for the tunnel to be fully operational.
+ Why is the Gotthard Base Tunnel so important?
Swiss Federal Railways announced this on Friday at a media conference at the Faido multifunctional station. A freight train derailed there on August 10, 2023. The track was severely damaged over a length of seven kilometres and the track change gate.
The track systems have been renewed, said Tom Gut from SBB Infrastructure. The new track change gate is currently being installed.
A derailed freight car had partially broken through the gate that separates the two tunnel tubes. A temporary gate currently separates the tunnel tubes. The gate is primarily important for fire protection. It is only opened in cases where a train must change from one tube to the other.
Work on the lane change gate is expected to be completed by mid-June. The repaired tunnel will then be put through its paces with test runs. After the Federal Office of Transport has approved the facility, a trial run will follow before the official commissioning, in which commercial trains will also be used.
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Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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