The Grimsel Tunnel () is a proposed tunnel for power transmission and

rail transport in Switzerland Rail transport in Switzerland is noteworthy for the density of its network, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-Alps, Alp freight system. It is made nece ...

. , it was planned to run under the

Grimsel Pass The Grimsel Pass (; ; ) is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of . The pass connects the Haslital, the upper valley of the river Aare, with the upper valley of the Rhône. In so doing, and as the Aare is a t ...

and link the

Zentralbahn The Zentralbahn is a Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Sta ...

at the north end with the

Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn is a narrow gauge railway line and a railway company (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn AG, MGB) in Switzerland. The track width is . It was created in 2003 through an amalgamation of Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) and BVZ Zermatt ...

at the south, and its construction is scheduled to begin in 2027.Bundesrat will nichts von der Abkürzung wissen
/ref> The tunnel is proposed to carry a single-track

metre gauge railway Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

and

railway electrification system Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), electric multiple units ( passenger cars with their own ...

. The total length of the new Grimsel Line () route containing the tunnel would be . It would link two groups of existing railway lines constructed to one-metre track gauge in Switzerland, forming a contiguous route of . The power transmission cables would run at 380kV and replace

Swissgrid Swissgrid, based in Aarau and Prilly, is the Swiss transmission grid operator. It is subject to supervision by the Swiss Federal Electricity Commission ElCom. History Swissgrid was established in January 2005 by Switzerland’s main electric ...

's existing

overhead power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors (commonly multiples of three) suspended by towers or poles. ...

, and allow the removal of the 121

electricity pylon A transmission tower (also electricity pylon, hydro tower, or pylon) is a tall structure, usually a lattice tower made of steel that is used to support an overhead power line. In electrical grids, transmission towers carry high voltage, high-volt ...

s that had been in place for sixty years. The intended railway route would continue from the

Brünig railway line The Brünig steam railway line () is a Switzerland, Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes over ...

at Meiringen railway station, via the Meiringen–Innertkirchen railway, to a stop at

Innertkirchen Innertkirchen is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in Bern (canton), the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014, ...

, then via new stations at

Guttannen Guttannen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. Origin of ...

and

Handegg Handeck (Handegg) is a village on the Grimsel pass road in the municipality of Guttannen, Switzerland. The village is located near the lake Gelmersee, which may be reached by Gelmerbahn from Handeck. There is a hotel and bridge at the village. ...

(') to

Oberwald railway station Oberwald railway station is a railway station serving the village of Oberwald, in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. The station is close to the western portal of the Furka Base Tunnel, on the metre gauge Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO), which connec ...

for continuation via the

Furka Base Tunnel The Furka Base Tunnel is a Swiss railway base tunnel on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's Furka–Oberalp line, an east–west railway connecting the cantons of Valais and Uri. Its west portal lies east of Oberwald (VS), at above sea level and it ...

. Travel time between Meiringen and Oberwald would be approximately 38 minutes—a reduction of three hours. A company called was founded by the promoters, with Peter Teuscher as its chair person. In 2016, the estimated cost was 580-million Swiss Francs. The split cost of 290-million Swiss Francs each for railway and power transmission usage would less than the individual estimated costs of 490-million Swiss Francs for a power-only tunnel or 430-million Swiss Francs for a rail-only tunnel. The tunnel route had first been proposed in 1860.

Route

References

External links

* (in German) * (in German) {{use dmy dates, date=February 2016 Proposed tunnels in Switzerland Electric power transmission systems in Europe Railway tunnels in Switzerland Proposed energy infrastructure in Switzerland Proposed transport infrastructure in Switzerland