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The New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA; german: Neue Eisenbahn-Alpentransversale, NEAT, french: nouvelle ligne ferroviaire à travers les Alpes, NLFA, it, Nuova ferrovia transalpina, NFTA), is a
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internationa ...
construction project for faster north–south rail links across the
Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swis ...
. It consists of two axes with several improvements along these rails including three new base tunnels several hundred metres below the existing apex tunnels, the
Gotthard Base Tunnel , rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard , image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station , line = Gotthard Line , location = Switzerland (Uri, Grisons and ...
, the
Lötschberg Base Tunnel , line = Lötschberg Line , location = Traversing the Bernese Alps in Switzerland , coordinates = – , system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS , status = , start = Frutigen, canton of Bern, , end = R ...
, and the
Ceneri Base Tunnel The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT, it, Galleria di base del Monte Ceneri) is a Swiss railway base tunnel in the canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano; it bypasses the former high ...
.
Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
subsidiary AlpTransit Gotthard AG and BLS AG subsidiary BLS Alp Transit AG (now BLS Netz AG) were founded for this project and built the tunnels. The total projected cost of the project was CHF 12.189 billion at its 1998 start; in December 2015, its final cost was projected to be CHF 17.900 billion. The 1998 projected total cost of the Gotthard Base Tunnel was CHF 6.323 billion; in December 2015, its final cost was projected to be CHF 9.560 billion. It opened on 1 June 2016, and became operational on 11 December of that year. The Ceneri Base Tunnel was opened on 3 September 2020 and became fully operational in December 2020 and is an important feeder for the Gotthard Base Tunnel. A decision between a full or partial completion of the second tube of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel is expected in 2023.


Political background

During late-1980s and early-1990s negotiations with the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
(the predecessor of the EU), Switzerland demanded a limitation on transalpine truck traffic. When the EEC refused, Swiss negotiators instead proposed a heavy-vehicle fee (HVF), a kilometre-based tax on freight vehicles, for all lorries above 3.5
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...
s and offered to build a high-speed rail link through the Alps for
intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...
. Swiss voters approved the rail link in a 27 September 1992
mandatory referendum A mandatory referendum, also known as an obligatory referendum, is a referendum that is legally required to be held under specific circumstances. This is in contrast to an optional referendum, which comes from either by public or legislative r ...
. The EU accepted the Swiss offer in 2000, but requested that the extant 28-tonne weight limit for
lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
be raised to 48 tonnes. The parties eventually compromised on a 40-tonne weight limit. The bilateral Land Transport Agreement with the European Union was signed, agreeing to an increase of the kilometer-based tax (HVF; german: LSVA, french: RPLP, it, TTPCP) on HGVs from 1.6 ct/tkm to 1.8 ct/tkm when the NRLA was completed. The condition was deemed fulfilled at the completion of the first track of the
Lötschberg Base Tunnel , line = Lötschberg Line , location = Traversing the Bernese Alps in Switzerland , coordinates = – , system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS , status = , start = Frutigen, canton of Bern, , end = R ...
in 2007. Other relevant Swiss legislation includes the 1994 Alps initiative, which prohibits road-building in the Alps and encourages the transport of as many transalpine goods as possible by rail rather than road, and the 1998 Traffic Transfer Act, which sets an ideal maximum number of trucks crossing the Alps by road. Meeting this goal requires a fully functional NRLA rail link. The original plans for the NRLA were to construct only one main base tunnel, but regional disputes prevented a choice between the two options and threatened to jeopardize the entire project. The
Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...
therefore decided in 1995 to build two base tunnels (Gotthard and Lötschberg) simultaneously. In 1998, the total projected cost of the NRLA project was CHF 12.189 billion; in December 2015, the final cost was projected to be CHF 17.900 billion. The projected cost of its centerpiece, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, was CHF 6.323  billion in 1998; in December 2015, the tunnel's cost was an estimated CHF 9.560 billion. The 1998 cost of the Lötschberg axis was an estimated CHF 3.214 billion; in December 2015, it was an estimated CHF 4.237 billion. Swiss voters approved the NRLA project on 27 September 1992, with 63.6% support. Two years later on 20 February 1994, the Swiss populace unexpectedly also accepted with 51.9% support the Alps protecting initiative, a
federal popular initiative In Switzerland, a popular initiative ( German: ''Volksinitiative'', French: ''Initiative populaire'', Italian: ''Iniziativa popolare'', Romansh: ''Iniziativa dal pievel'') allows the people to suggest law on a national, cantonal, and municip ...
initiated by just a few private citizens. This was despite neither the Federal Council nor the two parliamentary chambers endorsing the initiative, and their not even considering providing a counterproposal to the populace. Another mandatory referendum was held on 19 November 1998 about the creation of funds for four major public-transport projects (german: FinöV-Fonds, french: Fonds FTP, it, Fondo FTP), funding them with time-limited CHF 30 billion fund of which the NRLA would receive 13.6 billion. Another major project was the
Bahn 2000 Rail 2000 ( German: ''Bahn 2000''; French: ''Rail 2000'', Italian: ''Ferrovia 2000'') is a large-scale project of the Swiss Federal Railways (SFR) established in 1987 to improve the quality of the Swiss rail network for the New millennium. ...
project regarding the modernization of the railways. The Federal Council's request was approved with 63.5% support. The fund is replenished primarily by the previously mentioned kilometre-based tax on heavy-goods vehicles (HVF) and partially by taxes on
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic com ...
originally intended for road-building, a small fraction of the
VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
revenues, and funds from the general budget of the Swiss Confederation. The bilateral agreements with the EU containing the 40-tonne limit and the implementation of the HVF were finally accepted by the Swiss populace on 21 May 2000 with 67.2% support in a federal
optional referendum The optional referendum is a referendum which comes from a request by governmental authorities or the public. The best known types of optional referendums is the popular initiative to request a law, and the popular (or abrogative) referendum to ...
initiated by opposing political parties.


Gotthard axis

The Gotthard axis consists of the
Gotthard Base Tunnel , rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard , image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station , line = Gotthard Line , location = Switzerland (Uri, Grisons and ...
(GBT), the partially operational
Zimmerberg Base Tunnel The Zimmerberg Base Tunnel (ZBT) is a railway tunnel under the Zimmerberg mountains in Switzerland. Phase I of the tunnel was opened to traffic during April 2003. The ZBT has been divided into two phases of work; as of 2020, only Phase I is op ...
, the
Ceneri Base Tunnel The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT, it, Galleria di base del Monte Ceneri) is a Swiss railway base tunnel in the canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano; it bypasses the former high ...
(CBT), and surface connections. It is being built under contract from the Swiss Federal Government by AlpTransit Gotthard. The axis is the first flat trans-alpine rail link, with a maximum elevation of above sea level. This enables a high-speed link through the Alps with a top speed of , reducing travel time between Zurich and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...
from previously four hours to currently three-and-a-half hours. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world's longest and deepest traffic tunnel, as was the original Gotthard Tunnel at its completion in 1881. It consists of two single-track tunnels, connected by 178 cross-connections. There are two emergency stations in each tunnel, each connected to the corresponding opposite-tunnel emergency station. These stations are equipped with water supplies to refill firefighter and rescue trains. One (
Porta Alpina (from Romansh: Alpine Gate) was a proposed railway station to be located in the middle of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, serving the Alpine village of Sedrun in Switzerland. It was intended to promote tourism and the economy in the region of Graub ...
) was proposed as an 800m deep rail station, but the proposal was rejected on both economic and technical grounds. The completed tunnel was handed over to the Swiss government by AlpTransit Gotthard on 31 May 2016. It was formally opened in a ceremony the next day, during which the tunnel was conveyed to its operator:
Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
(SBB CFF FFS).


Lötschberg axis

The Lötschberg axis, with the
Lötschberg Base Tunnel , line = Lötschberg Line , location = Traversing the Bernese Alps in Switzerland , coordinates = – , system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS , status = , start = Frutigen, canton of Bern, , end = R ...
(LBT) in the
Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type=Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , le ...
, was built by BLS Alp Transit. It supports the western transit network via
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
,
Olten Olten (High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zürich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub o ...
,
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , websit ...
,
Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
,
Domodossola Domodossola (; Lombard: Dòm) is a city and '' comune'' in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Osso ...
and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...
. The tunnel replaces the existing higher-altitude 1913
Lötschberg Tunnel , line = Lötschberg Line , location = Circumventing the Lötschen Pass in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland(Canton of Bern, canton of Valais) , coordinates = – , system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS , status = , s ...
for most traffic. The base tunnel opened to traffic on 7 December 2007; it was the first part of the NRLA to be delivered, but is only partially completed. Because of NRLA cost overruns, funding for the axis was diverted to the
Gotthard Base Tunnel , rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard , image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station , line = Gotthard Line , location = Switzerland (Uri, Grisons and ...
and only one of the tunnel's two bores has been completed and is fully equipped for rail use. 14 kilometers of the other bore are completed; 14 kilometers are excavated but not equipped, and 7 kilometers have not been excavated. High-speed switches allow the completed third to be used as a passing track, but the of single track without
passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
s complicates operations and greatly reduces the line capacity. Trains are scheduled by batches in each direction and separated by long intervals; trains more than seven minutes late are routed via the old line or must wait for the next available timetable slot in their direction in the tunnel, causing major further delays. A planning contract was awarded in 2016 for the completion of the second track of the LBT, which is estimated to cost 1 billion Swiss francs. The resulting plan was presented in Spring 2019. A decision now needs to be made between fitting out the existing 14 km of unequipped tunnels and a full completion of the second tube, and is expected in 2023. The full option is naturally more expensive and takes two years longer, but it provides a much higher capacity and avoids an eight months full closure of the line. The second part of the Lötschberg axis is the
Simplon Tunnel The Simplon Tunnel (''Simplontunnel'', ''Traforo del Sempione'' or ''Galleria del Sempione'') is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shortcut under the Simpl ...
, completed in 1905 as a single-track base tunnel and augmented with a second bore in 1921. It connects
Upper Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the Sw ...
to
Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...
's
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
region.


See also

*
Rail transport in Switzerland The Swiss rail network is noteworthy for its density, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-alp freight system. This is made necessary by strong regulations ...
* History of rail transport in Switzerland * High-speed rail in Switzerland


References


External links


AlpTransit.chAlpTransit Portal
of the
Swiss Federal Archives The Swiss Federal Archives (german: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv, french: Archives fédérales suisses, it, Archivio federale svizzero, rm, Archiv federal svizzer) are the national archives of Switzerland. Additionally, the cantons have offici ...

The New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA) by the Federal Office of Transport FOT
* ttp://www.alpine-initiative.ch/alpine-initiative.html Alpine Initiative site with political background information {{coord missing, Switzerland International railway lines International tunnels Rail infrastructure in Switzerland Railway tunnels in Switzerland