The completion of the 35-mile tunnel will offer travelers the opportunity to reach Milan from Zürich in just two hours and fifty minutes, ensuring a swift and comfortable journey.
As you stand within the confines of the awe-inspiring Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world, you can feel a gentle breeze on your cheek and hear a distant hum. Peering into the dimly lit abyss, one might momentarily mistake the sound for an approaching train. However, the prospect of trains hurtling through this marvel at 150mph quickly dispels any notion to the contrary.
While the tunnel will not open for another three-and-a-half years, the noticeable sound you hear is actually the air conditioning system. This is a necessary measure to adhere to Swiss labor regulations, restricting the temperature to a maximum of 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit). Otherwise, the stifling atmosphere beneath the surface would reach scorching temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
Once work on the 35-mile tunnel is complete, you will be able to hurtle in air-conditioned comfort from Zürich to Milan in just two hours 50 minutes – a saving of 50 minutes on the current travel time. Along the way, you can enjoy the novelty of burrowing 8,000 feet, or one-and-a-half vertical miles, below the surface of the earth – at double motorway speed limits.
For now you can join a group tour of the tunnels. These are organised by the visitor centres, where you can see a model of the machine that did most of the work: a mechanical mole nearly 500 yards long, weighing more than 300 tons, and guzzling as much electricity as 4,000 family homes. In good conditions, it chewed through more than 125ft of rock a day.
The tunnelling machines finished their work in March 2011, but engineers still have to complete installation of the track, power supply, and telecommunications equipment. The first trains are expected to thunder through towards the end of 2016 – 20 years after engineers dug the first shafts, and a year ahead of schedule.
More remarkable still is the effect the project will have on the emotional map of the continent. The new railway route will be 25 miles shorter than the existing one, as well as much faster. Not only will the Alps shrink in significance as a barrier, but the Latin and Teutonic realms will find themselves within commuting distance of each other. Europe is being redefined.
Which is why I had embarked on my journey. I wanted to explore a mountain barrier that has also been gateway between north and south for nearly a millennium. Starting deep underground and years in the future, I wanted to travel up and over this mass of rock as well as through the various tunnels that pierce it, threading backwards and forwards through a century and a half of railway history.
The Gotthard massif has an additional resonance for me. When I was a child, we would cross it every summer on our way to visit family in the Italian-speaking south of Switzerland, where my mother grew up. We would drive over in our 1961 Volkswagen Caravette, and as we climbed over Gotthard, I imagined our dormobile had shrunk to take on a guest role in a giant train set.
Embarking on a journey from Erstfeld's visitor centre, located at the northern tip of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, I experienced a similar sensation as the train started its southern bound expedition along the existing railway path. Initially, the route gently traverses along the banks of the River Reuss, gradually revealing the picturesque valley scenery. As the train progresses, the valley steepens, compelling the locomotive to execute a series of graceful maneuvers, reminiscent of a ballet performance.
Just beyond Gurtnellen, the train seemingly disappears into the heart of the mountain, seamlessly executing an underground pirouette before resurfacing at a higher altitude. And near Wassen, it astoundingly spirals into the core of the mountain, only to resurface pointing in the opposite direction, tracing an elegant zag through the valley. This mesmerizing repetition of movements, akin to a synchronized dance, further accentuates the breathtaking beauty and engineering marvel of the mountainside.
From our family Caravette, I would watch the trains as they played hide-and-seek with us. Now, from the vantage point of my train seat, I felt as though the whole outdoor train set were laying on a show. Three times the whitewashed, onion-domed church of Wassen glided past on its craggy outcrop: once high above, then level with us, heading in the opposite direction, and a third time far below. It was as if the scenery were giving encores – including once backwards, just to show off.
The train finished its climb at Göschenen, where I alighted, before watching it vanish into the funereal gloom of the first Gotthard railway tunnel. This, too, was a pioneering feat of engineering in its time: drilled, dynamited and dug between 1872 and 1882, the nine-mile tunnel provided the first modern link between northern and southern Europe – and cost the lives of 199 labourers.
To continue my climb on to the massif, I switched platform and boarded a train of the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway. The narrow-gauge cog train grinds up the wild and rocky Schöllenen Gorge, passing the giddying stone “Devil’s Bridge” atmospherically painted by JMW Turner 200 years ago. It was the construction of the first bridge here eight centuries ago that first made the Gotthard into an important Alpine crossing.
Suddenly the walls of the gorge recede, and you emerge in a long, wide valley lined with high peaks, popular with hikers and cross-country skiers: the Urseren valley. Seconds later you pull into a small station, Andermatt, at the junction with another line running east-west.
This charming town, characterized by its picturesque shingled houses and renovated coaching inns, serves as an ideal starting point to familiarize oneself with the area. Andermatt is surrounded by four majestic river valleys, which bear resemblance to the iconic Swiss flag's cross. Traverse the Rhône towards the west, and you will eventually find yourself in Marseille, gazing out at the glistening Mediterranean; venture eastwards to discover the source of the Rhine, and follow its meandering path downstream to reach the bustling port city of Rotterdam.
If you head northwards, the captivating Reuss Valley awaits, leading you to its convergence with the Rhine. Alternatively, embark on a journey southwards, following the enchanting Ticino River - famously lending its name to the sole Italian-speaking canton in Switzerland - until it gracefully merges with the Po River, ultimately emptying into the mesmerizing Adriatic Sea.
In each valley, a different language predominates. The Swiss to the west speak French, those to the south, Italian, and those to the north, German; while to the east live the 35,000-odd souls for whom Romansh, Switzerland’s fourth national language, is their first.
The Gotthard massif is not just a barrier and a junction, then, but a watershed, physical and linguistic, at the heart of Europe: a manifestation in rock of the divisions that lie at the core of this continent, as well as a meeting-point of peoples, and the centre of gravity of this curious little country of four languages and cultures.
It is also an intriguingly three-dimensional crossroads. Lowest of all is the new railway tunnel, at an altitude of about 1,800ft above sea level. The existing rail link is about 2,000ft higher – roughly level with the 10.5-mile motorway tunnel which, when it opened in 1980, was the longest road tunnel in the world.
Another 1,000ft up floats the town of Andermatt, while the original road over the St. Gotthard Pass lies another 2,000ft higher still: a millennium of transport routes, laid under, through and over roughly a vertical mile of mountain that is as perforated as an Emmental cheese.
Some of the tunnels in the massif were excavated by Switzerland’s army, for whom this was both a stronghold and line of defence. A former subterranean fortress has been restored and reopened last summer – home to the new Sasso San Gottardo exhibition, devoted to environmental, strategic and other themes relating to the Gotthard.
My railway journey, by contrast, took me west up the Urseren Valley to Realp. A tunnel leading from here to the Rhone valley opened in 1981, providing the first year-round link between the two valleys. However, its opening spelt the death of the Furka line that from June to October every year carried passengers over the pass, 2,000 vertical feet higher up.
The construction of the Gotthard Base train tunnel, which opened just two years ago, has sparked the formation of an association dedicated to reviving the summit line. After nine years of diligent work, the association successfully reopened the first portion of the line. Another 18 years of laborious efforts followed, leading to the completion of the final link in August 2010. This significant milestone allowed trains to traverse the entire 11-mile route for the first time in 25 years.
During my visit to Realp, I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Güdel, a retired owner of an electrical goods business in Lucerne, who is among the thousands of volunteers involved in restoring the line. Mr. Güdel graciously escorted me through the railway's workshops, where I witnessed the meticulous craftsmanship involved in the restoration process. I was particularly fascinated by the sight of two esteemed steam locomotives, both constructed in 1913 and eventually sold to Vietnam in 1947 when the line was electrified. After being rediscovered in a jungle depot where they had languished since 1975, these locomotives were repatriated in 1990 and painstakingly restored to their former glory.
We boarded a waiting train and within seconds were puffing up towards the pass. As we climbed, Paul told me about some of the challenges the restoration team had faced. We soon reached one of them: the Steffenbach Bridge, which spans a ravine scoured every winter by avalanches powerful enough to sweep away everything in their path.
The solution devised by the engineers who created the line was ingenious, and remains unique worldwide: a folding bridge that can be dismantled every autumn. The restorers retained the original design – but whereas in former days a team of 20 men needed eight hours to erect or fold away the 32-ton bridge, now a team of 10 can do the job in six hours, with the help of hydraulic winches.
After about 45 minutes of climbing through the thin Alpine air, the wheezing loco had reached the highest point of the line: the Furka station, 7,100ft above sea level. We shut the windows for the smoky ride through the one-mile summit tunnel, before a long glide down into the Rhone valley – starting with a glimpse of the glacier that is the river’s source.
At the village of Gletsch we embarked on the last sector to be reopened, with a renovated spiral tunnel through the rock and a steep descent through fragrant glades of pine. Just before we pulled in to the little station of Oberwald, where the old and new lines rejoin, Paul pointed out the ingenious new level crossing – automated so that the toothed rack disappears below the tarmac as soon as the train has passed.
Not for the first time on this trip I had the impression that there’s nothing the Swiss like better than solving a challenge – especially if it involves mountains and trains. This seems equally true whether they are working with steam locos designed to crawl up mountains at 15mph or their electrically driven descendants hurtling underneath the Alps 10 times faster.
I wondered what my great-grandfather would have made of all this. He, too, was a railway man, who helped build a branch running from the main Gotthard line to Locarno. He used to tell how the construction workers, when they were laying track through the marshes north of Lake Maggiore, would receive a daily tot of rum to ward off malaria.
Switzerland's Gotthard Base train tunnel is revolutionizing Europe once more, as the country's current leaders reshape its identity. By constructing a tunnel that traverses beneath the majestic barrier at the heart of Europe, some may argue that Switzerland is losing touch with its essence. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly embrace the idea of travelers whizzing beneath the mountains, bypassing the breathtaking landscapes that captivate visitors in this mesmerizing corner of the world.
Moreover, this remarkable railway line will alleviate the burden of transporting goods through the higher altitudes of the Alps, consequently reducing pollution levels, which was the primary motivation behind its construction.
Swiss Railway Excursions You Can't Miss
Switzerland's picturesque landscapes and seamless railway system combine to offer unparalleled train journeys at every turn. Allow me to share a few journeys that continue to captivate me:
All relevant timetable data and ticket prices, including details on how to navigate onward journeys onto buses, boats, or cog railways, are comprehensively detailed at www.sbb.ch. Mentioned prices are indicative of second class tickets.
Journey from Lausanne to Martigny
This scenic ride from Geneva airport en route to the mountainous retreats of Valais never fails to stir excitement within me. What steals the show, however, is the picturesque journey from Lausanne as it winds through the terraced vineyards of the Lavaux region, dotted with quaint villages steeped in viticulture traditions. It's no wonder this area holds a World Heritage Site recognition.
You'll then admire Château de Chillon, a medieval edifice situated along the Lake Geneva shoreline before heading towards the breathtaking Rhone valley, accompanied by increasingly spectacular Alpine vistas at every bend. A single journey costs CHF 24 and is an approximately 50-minute adventure.
Explore Switzerland's Stunning Scenery on Two Iconic Train Routes
Climb aboard the Golden Pass Line and prepare to be captivated by the breathtaking beauty of Switzerland. This unforgettable train journey begins in Montreux, where you'll be treated to picturesque views of Lake Geneva. As the train ascends towards the charming mountain resorts of Chateau d'Oex and Gstaad, you'll find yourself surrounded by lush landscapes and soaring peaks.
Embark on the Bernina Express for another extraordinary adventure through the Swiss Alps. Departing from St. Moritz, this scenic route leads you to Tirano, passing through the highest railway crossing in the region, at the base of the awe-inspiring Bernina massif's glaciers. The Albula Line from Chur to St. Moritz, with its impressive viaducts and winding tunnels, has earned the prestigious designation of a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Whether you choose to experience the Golden Pass Line or the Bernina Express, these train journeys promise an unparalleled blend of natural wonders and cultural treasures. So sit back, relax, and let the Swiss scenery mesmerize you.
CHF 73 for a single ticket on the Golden Pass Line, with a travel time of approximately 5 hours and 20 minutes. For the Bernina Express, a single ticket costs CHF 30 and the journey takes around 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Discover the Pilatus cog railway experience
Embark on a remarkable journey aboard the Pilatus cog railway, renowned as the steepest rack railway in the world. This extraordinary train ride transports you from the enchanting shores of Lake Lucerne to the awe-inspiring summit of Mt. Pilatus, offering breathtaking panoramic views along the way. In just 30 minutes, you will ascend a vertical mile, reaching heights that will leave you utterly captivated.
However, to truly immerse yourself in the magic of this experience, it is recommended to allocate half a day for this adventure. As you descend from the mountain, consider taking an alternative route via a cable car and then a gondola, allowing you to relish in additional vistas and fully appreciate the allure of this majestic landscape.
For CHF 68, you can partake in a round-trip journey, ensuring you have enough time to savor every moment of this remarkable expedition. Alternatively, for CHF 97.20, opt for the "Golden Round Trip," which encompasses the complete circuit, including a delightful boat ride on the translucent waters of Lake Lucerne.
Discover Switzerland's Extensive Rail Passes
Experience the freedom to explore Switzerland's breathtaking landscapes with a range of rail passes exclusively available for non-residents. The Swiss Pass offers unparalleled access to 12,500 miles of rail, boat, and bus routes, allowing you to embark on an unforgettable adventure. Immerse yourself in the culture with complimentary admission to 400 museums, making it the perfect choice for history and art enthusiasts alike. Prices start at £194 for four days, rising to £434 for one month, offering excellent value for money.
If you prefer flexibility, the Swiss Flexi Pass grants you the same benefits on the days of your choosing within a calendar month. Embark on three-day journeys for just £186, or extend your exploration to six days for £296. Plus, when traveling with a companion(s), you'll enjoy a 15% discount on all passes. Families with children under 16 can rejoice - kids travel for free when accompanied by at least one parent.
Make the most of your Swiss adventure by choosing from an array of exceptional hotels that cater to various preferences and budgets.
The Exquisite HUUS Gstaad
Nestled in the heart of Gstaad, Switzerland
The delightful blend of traditional Alpine cabin and modern luxury design is beautifully exemplified by HUUS Gstaad. This unique haven provides unparalleled tranquility.. Starting from £ 242 every night Verify Availability Pricing details as provided by Booking.com
For exclusive experience look for hotel deals in Switzerland at top-hotels-switzerland.com. Immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Swiss hospitality and discover the charm of HUUS Gstaad hotel. Unwind in luxurious Alpine accommodations while enjoying the serene surroundings of Gstaad.
The Exquisite Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa
Nestled in the charming city of Interlaken, Switzerland
The iconic Victoria-Jungfrau proudly overlooks the majestic Jungfrau. Located in the heart of Interlaken, this 19th-century masterpiece is an epitome of Belle Époque architecture. Beyond its stony allure, the hotel houses a premier world-class Spa Nescens and an array of five exquisite restaurants. Nostalgia rekindled each moment in this iconic space adds zest to the grandeur persona of this hotel.
Prices start at £ 470 per night Draw Timeline Rates as per Booking.com assertion.
Glacier Boutique Hotel
Located in Grindelwald, Switzerland
The Glacier Boutique Hotel has significantly elevated the expectations in Grindelwald through its ingenious interior design... The starting price is £ 259 each night Verify Availability Prices are supplied by Booking.com