By rosebell
Located between Valais in southwest Switzerland and Italy, the Simplon Tunnel’s renovation will be carried out over the next four years, as Swiss Federal Railways announced.
The indicated date in a joint statement of the Swiss Federal Railways and BLS for commencing the first construction stage is February and end by July this year.
As a Swiss railway company, BLS (Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway) operates regional and long-distance rail services in central and western Switzerland.
Although the car loading trains between Brig in Valais and Iselle in Italy are planned to run every two hours, instead of 1.5 hours, the majority of RegioExpress trains between Brig and Domodossola are due to run every two hours, as per the schedule.
Along with the eastern tube of the Simplon tunnel that requires renovation over the entire length, parts of the vault and drainage optimisation works.
The works are planned for every year between 2025 and 2028, coordinated with the work in other Swiss tunnels, allowing minimum passenger and freight trains through the Alps.
According to Swiss Federal Railways: “Travellers are kindly requested to consult the online timetable. Freight transport is affected by the construction work, as the important four-metre corridor in the Simplon Tunnel is severely limited.”
With the aim of benefiting transalpine freight traffic, the railway infrastructure in Italy, including the four-metre corridor between Domodossola and Milano, is being expanded.
The determined time duration for closing the railway line between Domodossola and Milan will be from 8 June to 27 July and from 31 August to 12 September.
“All EuroCity trains between Domodossola and Milan will be cancelled, and a replacement concept with buses is being developed,” said the Swiss Federal Railways.
Over all year long, only three will run between Basel-Bern-Milan and Geneva-Brig-Milan instead of four EuroCity trains in each direction.
Also, the ongoing maintenance works at the Simplon axis will further impact services, leading to a long-term reduction in capacity over several years.
