By lyndamyer
Swiss Federal Railways has reintroduced a limited passenger service via the 57 km trans-Alpine Gotthard Base Tunnel.
The world’s longest railway tunnel was critically damaged when a freight train derailed on August 10, involving 8 km of one of the two running bores and one of the crossover caverns that connect the two running lines.
SBB declares that it finished the removal of the last debris from the accident on September 24. This removal paves the way for the repair work to begin in the accident zone; a precise schedule is anticipated to be agreed upon before the end of October, with the repairs themselves envisioned to last several months. Meanwhile, freight trains are utilizing the single available eastern running tube to bypass the worksite.
From September 29, SBB started running a single passenger train via the Gotthard Base tunnel in each direction; a handful more inter-city trains will be added to the working timetable over the coming weeks. These will all operate at weekends, exploiting the enriched need of passengers and a commensurate weakening of demand for freight paths. However, the passenger trains are said to be formed of double-deck rolling stock with a capacity for up to 900 people.
In addition, the federal railway office BAV and SBB have studied the safety and evacuation procedures for the tunnel before permitting passenger traffic to restart.
SBB also mentioned that passengers are expected to reserve seats on the Gotthard route to prevent the risk of overcrowded trains passing via the tunnel.
