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.
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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Eight things you should know about the Gotthard
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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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