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Gotthard railway
Map of the Gotthard railway
Overview
Status	hourly, each day
Owner	Swiss Federal Railways
Locale	Switzerland
Termini	Immensee,Schwyz Chiasso,Ticino
History
Opened	1 June 1882
Technical
Line length	216 km (134 mi) (Immensee-Chiasso)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV  16.7 Hz AC supplied byoverhead line (1922)
Highest elevation	1,151 m (3,776 ft)
Maximum incline	27 ‰[1]

TheGotthard railway (German:Gotthardbahn;Italian:Ferrovia del Gottardo), named after theSaint-Gotthard Massif which it crosses, is theSwiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to thecanton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between northern and southern Europe, especially on theRotterdam-Basel-Genoa corridor. TheGotthard Railway Company (German:Gotthardbahn-Gesellschaft) was the former private railway company that financed the construction of and originally operated that line.

The railway comprises an international main line through Switzerland fromBasel (French:Bâle) orZürich toImmensee toChiasso, together with branches, from Immensee toLucerne andRotkreuz, fromArth-Goldau toZug orPfäffikon SZ, and fromBellinzona to Chiasso viaLocarno andLuino. At Chiasso, the line connects to theMilan–Chiasso railway, which runs across theSwiss–Italian border. The main line,second highest standard railway in Switzerland, penetrates theAlps using theGotthard Tunnel at 1,151 metres (3,776 ft) above sea level. The line then descends as far as Bellinzona, at 241 metres (791 ft) above sea level, before climbing again to the pass ofMonte Ceneri, on the way toLugano and Chiasso. The extreme differences in altitude necessitate the use of long ramped approaches on each side, together with sevenspirals.

Construction of the line started in 1872, with some lowland sections opening by 1875. The full line opened in 1882, following the completion of the Gotthard Tunnel. The line was incorporated into theSwiss Federal Railways in 1909 and electrified in 1922. The line has 36 tunnels totaling 31,216 meters.^{[citation needed]}

The approaches to the existing tunnel continue to restrict speed and capacity on this important international route, and in 1992 it was decided to build a new lower level route on the Gotthard axis as part of theNRLA project. This route involves the construction of the newGotthard Base Tunnel andCeneri Base Tunnel. The Gotthard Base Tunnel has been completed and was integrated with the existing route in 2016, while the Ceneri Base Tunnel was opened in 2020.

By the early 1870s, northern Switzerland had a significant network of railways, with links to the adjoining railways of Germany and France. To the west,a line had reachedBrig, in the upperRhone valley, fromLausanne. In the central north, lines linkedOlten,Lucerne,Zug andZürich. However, no line had yet reached through the Alps to southern Switzerland or the border with Italy. All north-to-south rail traffic had to pass either to the west or east of Switzerland through theMont-Cenis,Semmering orBrenner railways.^[4]

A north-south route through Switzerland had been discussed as far back as 1848. An international conference inBern in 1869 had decided that the best route would be via the valleys of the riversReuss andTicino, linked by a tunnel under theGotthard Pass. The selected route was an ancient one that pilgrims and traders had used since at least the 13th century.^[4][5]

Treaties for the construction of the line were made with theKingdom of Italy, in 1869, and theGerman Empire, in 1871. The Gotthard Railway Company was incorporated inLucerne in 1871. To the overall costs ofCHF 238 million (in 1869/71) the Italian government eventually contributed CHF 58 million (£2.25 million),^[4] with Germany contributing CHF 30 million (£1.25 million).^[4][6]

Construction of the Gotthard railway started in 1872, and the first lowland sections fromBiasca toLocarno andLugano toChiasso were opened by 1874.

The whole line was inaugurated with festivities inLucerne and Chiasso from 21 May to 25 May 1882. Scheduled operations started on 1 June. At the time, the 15,003-metre-long (49,222 ft)Gotthard Rail Tunnel was the world's longest rail tunnel (seconded by theSimplon Tunnel in 1906). Soon after construction, the army secured the line with fortresses (for instance, above Airolo, and at Biasca) and ways to block the tunnel in case of an invasion (among others, an artificial landslide to block the southern tunnel entrance).

At the same time, theAargauische Südbahn completedthe section fromRotkreuz to Immensee,^{[citation needed]} which provided a rail link fromAarau. The additional feeder lines from Lucerne to Immensee, and fromZug toArth-Goldau were completed in 1887.

The Gotthard Railway graphic timetable contains a great variety of information with regards to material and especially operational aspects in the year 1899, 17 years after the inauguration of the Gotthard tunnel and completion of the railway. The map key and captions to each column are to be found at the top of the page. Leading from left to right information is given on the location of each station's elevation in relation to sea level, the longitudinal profile, signal lights, tunnels and their length, for each route section on southbound journeys the greatest gradient, distances, employed telegraphs and their networking, signal bells and their connection, telephones, block stations, track layout of the respective station and their equipment, total usable length of the remaining tracks, the longest side track, station names and distances between them, distance to point of origin and between main stations. Departure and arrival times are displayed within the graphic timetable.

Information can be drawn as to the tunnel's vertex which lies at 1154.5 meters above sea level and the fact that the tunnel does not run in a straight line but rather in a slope down from either side of its vertex. The tunnel was designed in such a way that inflowing water would be able to drain. From therailway station of Göschenen to the tunnel's vertex the train lines ascend at an angle of 6 ‰ and descend at 2 ‰ from vertex to the village ofAirolo. The tunnel's length is indicated to be 14,998 meters, its vertex being at kilometre 80. The old Gotthard railways' distances were measured from the town ofImmensee, as clearly indicated on the graphic timetable.

Electrical Telegraphs and signal bells are listed on the distance column's right and a detailed description thereof is to be found in the chaptersThe Gotthard railway Telegraph Network andThe Gotthard railway Signal Bells.

The track layout of each station shows that in 1899 the Gotthard railway ran on double-tracks from the villages ofFlüelen toGiubiasco. Facing north the picture on the right shows thewatchman's house at the Mondascia bridge depicts the double-tracks and advance signal to the entry signal beforeBiasca (at 132.5 km), mentioned in the timetable. The next picture on the right shows the Pianotondo viaduct and the Pianotono-spiral tunnel's upper gate with its watchman's house, which came into use during the days of the double-track steam service, roughly at the time of the graphic timetable's validity.

The graphic timetable sees two tracks running southwards fromGiubiasco station. One is signposted"Chiasso", the other "Luino/Locarno". From this point onwards the railway runs on single tracks. Giubiasco's neighbouring stations to the south,Rivera-Bironico andCadenazzo, are all on single tracks. At each underpass on theCeneri section it is clearly visible to this day that these were built at greatly different points in time. The Giubiasco-Al Sasso^[8] and Al Sasso-Rivera sections were equipped with double-tracks in 1922 and 1934 respectively.

The graphic timetable is a two-dimensional image of the train journeys. Time is displayed horizontally from midnight XII o'clock to midnight XII o'clock. The stations along the journey, fromZug andLucerne toChiasso,Locarno andLuino are displayed vertically. The first scheduled train, an express train with 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages, leaves Bellinzona at 03:17. The train with the number 55 is powered by asteam locomotive and, according to the timetable, does not make a scheduled stop at Giubiasco, Rivera-Bironico andTaverne. Arrival atLugano is scheduled at 04:09, from where it leaves again at 04:14. In 1899 the entire train journey fromBellinzona to Lugano was scheduled to be 52 minutes. Today (2017), the same journey on one of theEC trains takes 27 minutes. The illustrations shows that between Giubiasco and Rivera Bironico trains do not pass each other as in 1899 this was, as mentioned in the paragraph above, a single track line. This information can thus be drawn form both, the stations' track layout and the graphic timetable. Also visible on the graphic timetable is the fact that betweenOsogna andBiasca, trains however do pass each other along their journeys, it being a double-track line. Further, the Arth-Rigi-Bahn's trains (nowadaysRigi Railways), are also listed in the Gotthard railways' timetable. The timetable's scale is 15mm/hour horizontally and 1.75mm/km vertically.

To coordinate trains, the Gotthard railway used atelegraph-network, which linked up all railway stations on the entire line fromLuzern toChiasso,Locarno andLuino. This network is pointed out on the left hand side of thegraphic timetable dated 1899. The telegraphs for every railway station shown on the timetable are marked with a black dot. As adetailed section from the timetable shows, the Biasca station used four telegraphs at that time. One of those telegraphs linked all stations fromBiasca toBellinzona. Whatever message was tapped out on this telegraph (sent bymorse code), was transmitted to all stations up toBellinzona. A second telegraph linked all stations fromBiasca toGöschenen. What was tapped out on the third telegraph, reached only the railway stationsBellinzona,Faido,Airolo,Göschenen,Wassen andErstfeld. The fourth telegraph was for long distances. Messages transmitted from there reachedBellinzona,Airolo,Erstfeld,Goldau andLuzern. Thetelegraphs with theirMorse keys and thetelegraph-relays were produced byGustav Hasler [de] (Bern).

The Gotthardbahn employed signal bells within its stations and along the line to signal any approaching train. An alarm was triggered once a train had left a neighbouring station or block station. These signal bells were partly installed along the line and signalled any construction worker of an approaching train. In addition, any railway watchman's house and railroad crossing would be equipped with a signal bell. Southbound trains were signalled by 3 triple chimes, northbound trains by two double chimes. The signalling mechanism at each signal bell had to be manually wound up every day by station employees and railway watchmen. Part of the mechanism was a weight having to be raised by help of a pulley. The electric signal triggering the alarm operated a relay, activating the bell's hammer through force of the aforementioned weight. Each signal bell within the Gotthard railway's network is marked on the graphic timetable. The railway watchman's house number 159 (Casello 159) signal bell on theMonte Ceneri line between Giubiasco and Rivera-Bironico is shown as an example in thetimetable's excerpt. A southbound train departing Giubiasco for Rivera-Bironico would trigger alarms of eleven different signal bells on its 11 kilometres long journey. Around 1980 these signal bells were decommissioned.

In the Gotthard Railway's early daysultrasound was not available to examine the tracks. Fractures within these were far more common than today, when specialultrasound equipped trains are employed in the maintenance process. The railway watchman was especially important in ensuring the Gotthard railway's safe operation. A railway watchman was assigned to a special segment of tracks which he had to inspect every day. Fractures, deformations and the tracks' general condition were to be reported to the track master. Tending to loose screws and cutting down shrubs were also part of the watchman's job description. Also putting out small shrub fires, caused by the heavily employed brakes of downhill running cargo trains, were part of his duty. The railway watchman was equipped with a red flag to be able to stop trains in an emergency. The Gotthard railway's watchmen lived in specially providedwatchman houses along the line. In Italian these watchman's houses are calledCasello.^[9] Every day they had to inspect the tracks up to the next watchman's segment. The watchman houses were built along the entire Gotthard line with distances of up to 4 kilometres between them and were all numbered. From 1950 onward the track inspections did not require as many inspections as before. Between Giubiasco and Rivera the railway watchmen then only had to perform such an inspection every other day. Their former watchman houses now remained unmanned and were subsequently used as holiday homes or private dwellings. From 1995 onward theSwiss Federal Railways (SBB) turned to selling these watchman houses.

The Gotthard Railway Company worked the Gotthard railway until 1909, when it became part of theSwiss Federal Railways. This was seven years after the creation of that state owned railway, and the Gotthard railway was the last major railway to be absorbed. In 1922, the whole line was electrified byBrown, Boveri & Cie with15 kV  16.7 Hz AC supplied byoverhead line.^[4]

The approaches to the Gotthard Tunnel are susceptible torockfalls, regularly leading to closures of the railway line. In the worst such incident in recent times, the Gotthard line was closed to all traffic for almost one month following a rockfall nearGurtnellen on 5 June 2012, which killed one rail worker and injured two others. The closure caused massive disruption of both passenger and international freight traffic.^[10][11]

v t e Gotthard Railway
Legend
elevation (M) or length (m) km km elevation (M) or length (m) Thalwil–Arth-Goldau railway toZürich 0.0 Zug 425 M Zug Postplatz Zug tunnel 585 m Rotkreuz goods yard Zug Casino Zug Fridbach Rotkreuz 99.4 Zug Oberwil Rupperswil–Immensee railway line toBasel Lotenbach tunnel 36 m Olten–Lucerne Railway toOlten andBasel viaHauenstein line Walchwil Hörndli Bern–Wolhusen–Lucerne Railway toBern viaWolhusen Brünig railway Bühl tunnel 90 m 436 M Lucerne 0.0 199 m Schönheim tunnel 9.5 Walchwil 449 M 326 m Gütsch tunnel Rossplatten tunnel 48 m 2,107 m Musegg tunnel St. Adrian tunnel 65 m Lucerne Verkehrshaus (Swiss Museum of Transport) 166 m Schiltenneune tunnel Rufibach tunnel 40 m 113 m Seeburg tunnel Meggen Zentrum Kalkofen tunnel 69 m Meggen 10.7 Merlischachen Mühlefluh tunnel 192 m Küssnacht am Rigi Lucerne–Immensee railway toLucerne 107.2 0.0 Rupperswil–Immensee railway line Freight route toRotkreuz 460 M Immensee 19.2 0.0 465 M Brunnmatt 04.3 Thalwil–Arth-Goldau railway toZug andZürich 200 m Rindelfluh tunnel Arth–Rigi railway to Arth   Arth–Rigi railway line toRigi Kulm Arth-Goldau station forecourt 15.8   8.9 Arth-Goldau link toArth–Rigi railway line Pfäffikon–Arth-Goldau railway toBiberbrugg andRapperswil 13.9 Steinen 467 M 455 M Schwyz 17.0 Schwyz tramway Muota bridge 54 m Brunnen Stegstuden (planned) Mühlibähnli Schwyz tramway 20.5 Brunnen 438 M to Lake Brunnen Klosterbach bridge Brunnen 83 m Gütsch tunnel 558 m Morschach tunnel Morschach tunnel 1,372 m former route 1882–1948 Wasiwand tunnel Brunnen-Morschach railway to Brunnen │ to Axenstein 584 m Hochfluh tunnel 193 m Franziskus tunnel Frohalp tunnel 2,793 m 1,987 m Ölberg tunnel 26.0 Canton of Schwyz Canton of Uri 440 M 26.4 Sisikon 446 M 988 m Stutzeck tunnel 048 m Gumpischbach bridge 171 m Tellsplatte tunnel Stutzeck-Axenberg tunnel 3,375 m 1,128 m Axenberg tunnel 128 m Sulzeck tunnel 100 m Old Gruonbach gallery New Gruonbach gallery 98 m 30.9 Gruonbach gallery 440 M 436 M Flüelen 32.3 Altdorf–Flüelen tramway toAltdorf 35.3 Altdorf 447 M 38.5 Ried 460 M 38.7 Rynächt 456 M Gotthard Base Tunnel 57 km 41.6 Erstfeld 472 M tunnel construction site siding 46.5 Amsteg-Silenen 544 M Windgällen tunnel 183 m Chärstelenbach bridge 127 m Bristen tunnel 709 m Intschireuss bridge 121 m Intschi tunnel 88 m 50.0 Intschi 627 M 50.5 Zgraggental 643 M Zgraggental bridge 89 m Zgraggen tunnel 68 m Breiten tunnel 57 m Meitschlingen tunnel 74 m Säcken bridge 120 m Mörschlisbach gallery 25 m 54.4 Gurtnellen 738 M Häggeribach tunnel 92 m 0053 m Muhren tunnel 1,476 m Pfaffensprung spiral tunnel 58.4 Pfaffensprung 834 M 1,090 m Leggistein curved tunnel Mühle tunnel 88 m 0040 m Stahlloch tunnel Lower Meienreuss bridge 60 m 0054 m Upper Meienreuss bridge Kirchberg tunnel 300 m 0078 m Maienkreuz tunnel Middle Meienreuss bridge 122 m 0102 m Upper Entschigtal gallery Middle Entschigtal gallery 185 m 0070 m Kellerbach bridge 62.8 Wassen 928 M 1,019 M Eggwald 66.6 Rohrbach tunnel 230 m 0061 m Rohrbach bridge Wattingen curved tunnel 1,084 m 1,570 m Naxberg tunnel 70.4 Göschenen 1,106 M Gotthard Tunnel 15,003 m MGBline to Andermatt formerly FO/Schöllenenbahn Andermatt Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway formerlyFurka Oberalp Railway 75.4 Gotthard Nord 1,133 M summit 78.7 Maintenance station 1,151 M 80.9 Canton of Uri Canton of Ticino 75.3 Gotthard Nord 1,150 M Gotthard Tunnel 15,003 m 86.2 Airolo 1,141 M Dragoner tunnel 9 m Stalvedro bridge 83 m Stalvedro tunnel 196 m 89.7 Sordo 1,063 M 93.0 Ambri-Piotta 1,062 M 97.8 Rodi-Fiesso 988 M 353 m Dazio tunnel Freggio spiral tunnel 1,568 m Artoito tunnel 74 m 147 m Monte Piottino tunnel 101.9 Pardorea 851 M 1,560 m Prato spiral tunnel Pardorea tunnel 276 m Broscerina tunnel 43 m Polmengo bridge overTicino 103 m Polmengo tunnel 304 m 106.0 Faido 755 M 109.4 Chiggiogna 674 M 112.6 Lavorgo 615 M 466 m Lume tunnel Pianotondo spiral tunnel 1,508 m Piantondo bridge 111 m 072 m Toumiquet tunnel Travi spiral tunnel 1,547 m 121.1 Giornico 410 M 121.7 Giornico 448 M LowerTicino bridge 120 m AlpTransit Gotthard siding (tunnel construction site) Gotthard Base Tunnel 57 km 125.5 Bodio 331 M Pozzo Negro 128.9 Pollegio 305 M 129.7 Pasquerio link 298 M 107 m Moesa River Moesa River 68 m Biasca–Acquarossa railway 131.8 Biasca 293 M Crocetto tunnel 275 m Giustizia tunnel 64 m Gotthard South new line 129.7 135.2 Giustizia 272 M 138.0 Osogna-Cresciano 264 M 143.5 Claro 250 M Bellinzona–Mesocco railway toCama 147.3 Castione-Arbedo 241 M Moesa 85 m 149.8 Bellinzona S. Paolo Marshalling yard 241 M 150.9 Bellinzona 241 M Montebello tunnel 290 m Dragonata tunnel 30 m 154.0 Giubiasco 230 M Camorino 060 m A2 motorway 15,288 m 15,465 m Ceneri Base Tunnel 0,000 m to Giubiasco–Locarno Ry &Cadenazzo–Luino Ry 000.0 000.0 0,000 m 212 M Sant'Antonino 156.8 0,000 m 208 M Cadenazzo 159.5 203 M Cadenazzo Ovest 161.0 Giubiasco–Locarno railway Cadenazzo–Luino railway 256 m Ticino Riazzino 163.9 Quartino 201 M Riazzino-Cugnasco 163.9 166.9 Magadino-Vira 215 M 202 M Riazzino 164.8 170.5 San Nazzaro 211 M Gordola 166.6 172.8 Gerra 101 m Verzasca 173.7 Ranzo-Sant'Abbondio 220 M 203 M Tenero 167.8 175.9 Switzerland Italy border 067 m Mappo Oleggio–Pino railway toPino,Luino andOleggio 764 m Rocca Bella 205 M Locarno 171.9 Domodossola–Locarno railway toDomodossola 158.0 Vigana Costa tunnel 68 m 097 m Piantorino bridge (west) Piantorino bridge (east) 63 m 402 m Precassino tunnel Precassino-Maggiagra tunnel 713 m 102 m Maggiagra tunnel Robasacco bridge 48 m 161.4 Al Motto 353 M 1,692 m Monte Ceneri II Tunnel Monte Ceneri I Tunnel 1,675 m 165.2 Rivera-Bironico 472 M 168.9 Mezzovico 416 M 170.0 Mezzovico 399 M Molinero tunnel 75 m 171.3 Mezzovico-Sigirino 378 M 175.0 Taverne-Torricella 334 M Freight line (opened 1977) 134 m A2 motorway 176.1 Lamone-Cadempino 319 M 291 M Lugano Vedeggio freight yard 178.5 177.9 Lamone 319 M Ceneri Base Tunnel 943 m Massagno tunnel Lugano–Tesserete railway and Lugano–Cadro–Dino railway 180.4 Lugano 335 M Lugano–Ponte Tresa Railway toPonte Tresa Tassino bridge 40 m Brentino bridge 69 m 182.8 Lugano-Paradiso 303 M Paradiso 757 m S. Martino-Tunnel 53 m 186.1 siding 278 M 187.2 Melide 274 M Melide causeway acrossLake Lugano Melide bridge 81 m Bissone bridge 181 m Maroggia tunnel 569 m 191.0 Maroggia-Melano 279 M Mendrisio electric tramway Molino tunnel 7 m 194.6 Capolago-Riva San Vitale 274 M Monte Generoso railway toMonte Generoso Mendrisio San Martino 198.7 Mendrisio 328 M Mendrisio–Stabio railway toStabio Coldrerio tunnel 96 m 274 M Balerna Junction 269 M Balerna 203.5 616 m Balerna tunnel Chiasso SM 244 M Chiasso SM Marshalling yard 205.3 50.8 206.2 Chiasso 237 M Switzerland Italy border Milan–Chiasso railway toMilan Milan–Chiasso railway toComo

TheLucerne branch of the Gotthard railway commences inLucerne station, facing the south shore ofLake Lucerne. From here it undertakes a 270 degree turn, heading first south, then west, north and east, as well as crossing the riverReuss, to reach the north shore of the lake. From here it continues along the west shore of theKüssnacht arm of the lake to reachImmensee station. Here it meets theRotkreuz branch, which runs fromRotkreuz to the north.^[14]

Immensee station is considered the starting point of the main line of the Gotthard railway, and official distances to all points south are measured from here. From Immensee, the line follows theLake of Zug toArth-Goldau station, at an altitude of 510 metres (1,670 ft). Here it joined by the Zug branch of the Gotthard railways, and there is a junction with theSüdostbahn route toRapperswil andRomanshorn. Connection is also made with theArth-Rigi-Bahn, arack railway climbing the mountainRigi.^[14]

TheZug branch of the Gotthard railway commences in the city ofZug. It makes a junction, inZug station, with theline to Zürich via Thalwil. The line then follows the east shore of the Lake of Zug to reach Arth-Goldau.^[14]

From Arth-Goldau, the line then follows theLauerzer See and passesSchwyz, the capital of thecanton of Schwyz, at an altitude of 455 metres (1,493 ft). FromBrunnen toFlüelen, the line follows theLake Lucerne (that part of it is also referred to asUrnersee). In that section, theAxen, the two tracks follow two different routes mainly in tunnel because the second track was built later (up to 1943) and on a straighter route through longer tunnels.^[14]

AtFlüelen station, the railway makes a connection with the steamer services on Lake Lucerne. Steamers operate a shorter, in distance, but longer, in time, service to the city ofLucerne, serving many other towns and villages along the lake shore. TheGotthard Panorama Express uses this interchange to provide its tourist oriented boat and rail service between Lucerne andLugano.^[5]

Erstfeld, at an altitude of 472 metres (1,549 ft), is reached viaAltdorf. The depot atErstfeld station houses rolling stock needed for the Gotthard route, i.e. forbanking service. ACe 6/8 "crocodile" serves as a memorial for the legendary Gotthard locomotives.^[15]

For the whole of the northern ramp from Erstfeld to Göschenen, the line follows the valley of theReuss. The track now gets steeper with agradient of up to 27 ‰.^[1] AfterAmsteg the line passes the Chärstelenbach Bridge and changes the side of the valley over the Intschireuss Bridge, which is, with its 77 metres (253 ft), the highest bridge in the SBB network.^[15]

AfterGurtnellen, at an altitude of 738 metres (2,421 ft), the first of several tunneledrailway spirals is encountered; their purpose is mainly to gain height where no space is available. Two of them form the double loop ofWassen, at an altitude of 928 metres (3,045 ft), which allows the famous church of Wassen to be seen three times from different perspectives, first from below and the last time from 200 metres (660 ft) above. The line passes over the Reuss twice, and the Meienreuss three times in this section.^[15]

After a 1,570-metre-long (5,150 ft) tunnel, the line reachesGöschenen station, at an altitude of 1,106 metres (3,629 ft). Here the Gotthard line meets theSchöllenenbahn, ametre gaugerack operated branch of theMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn that ascends toAndermatt, where connections can be made over theOberalppass toChur or through theFurka Base Tunnel toBrig.^[15]

Immediately after Göschenen station, the Gotthard railway enters the Gotthard Tunnel, a 15,003-metre-long (49,222 ft), double-track tunnel, built as one tube. The highest point of the Gotthard line is within this tunnel, 1,151 metres (3,776 ft) above sea level, which makes it thesecond highest standard railway in Switzerland, after theLötschberg railway line, the other main north-south axis in the country. Here the tunnel crosses the border between thecanton of Uri and thecanton of Ticino, and line passes from theGerman-speaking part of Switzerland to theItalian-speaking part.^[15]

The line exits the tunnel atAirolo, at an altitude of 1,142 metres (3,747 ft) in the valley of the riverTicino, which it follows as far asBellinzona.^[16] Both north and south portals are within a few hundreds metres from those of theGotthard Road Tunnel.

After passing throughAirolo station, the line crosses theTicino and descends through its valley in theLeventina. Between Airolo andBiasca the line falls by no less than 849 metres (2,785 ft) in 46 kilometres (29 mi).^[16]

AtPiotta, theFunicolare del Ritom ascends to theRitom dam. BeyondRodi-Fiesso, at an altitude of 942 metres (3,091 ft), the most impressive section of the southern ramp begins. The valley narrows to the Piotta canyon, and the line passes two spirals ("Piottino-Loops") to lose 200 metres (660 ft) in height before reachingFaido. Two more spirals, known as the "Biaschina-Loops", lead the line down to Giornico, at an altitude of 391 metres (1,283 ft).^[16]

By the time the line has arrived atBiasca, at an altitude of 293 metres (961 ft), the valley has widened, and the gradient reduced. FromBiasca station the line continues to follow the Ticino as far asBellinzona, at an altitude of 241 metres (791 ft) and the capital of the canton of Ticino.^[16]

Just beyondBellinzona station, a major junction is reached atGiubiasco. Here theoriginal main line branches off what is now considered the main Gotthard line to Lugano and Chiasso.^[16][17]

What was originally considered the main line continues down the valley of the Ticino, crossing the Italian border and continuing to meet the Italian railway system atPino on the eastern shore ofLake Maggiore. The line beyond Pino to the Italian town ofLuino, although Italian-owned, has always been operated as part of the Swiss system.^[18]

AtCadenazzo on the line to Pino, a further branch crosses theTicino and runs a short distance down the western shore of Lago Maggiore to a terminus at the Swiss resort town ofLocarno. Transfer can be made atLocarno station to the internationalmetre gaugeDomodossola–Locarno railway.^[18]

AtGiubiasco, the line from Immensee to Chiasso reaches its lowest point of 230 metres (750 ft) above sea level. From here the line rises again toMonte Ceneri, the pass between theSopraceneri and theSottoceneri, and then passes through the two parallel, single-trackMonte Ceneri Tunnels. It reaches the highest point on this part of the line, atRivera-Bironico station, at an altitude of 472 metres (1,549 ft), before descending toLugano, at an altitude of 335 metres (1,099 ft).^[17]

AtLugano station interchange is made with theLugano–Ponte Tresa railway, ametre gauge railway to the town ofPonte Tresa. Following the western waterside ofLake Lugano, the line crosses Lake Lugano at theMelide causeway, a 817-metre-long (2,680 ft) causeway and bridge.^[17]

The track follows the eastern waterside from the Melide causeway toCapolago-Riva San Vitale station. Here interchange is made with theMonte Generoso railway, arack railway to the summit ofMonte Generoso. The Gotthard line then continues toMendrisio andChiasso.Chiasso station houses the border controls and has a large internationalmarshalling yard. Conventional trains change locomotives here due to different traction voltages andtrain protection systems in Italy.^[17]

The Gotthard line carries a mixture of freight and long distance passenger trains over the full length of the line. The long distance passenger trains includeEuroCity (EC) trains betweenZürich andMilan, andICN andIR trains between a number of cities in northern Switzerland and various points inTicino. Passenger trains using the Gotthard line in the past included theTrans Europ Express trainsGottardo,Roland, andTicino.

Regionalcommuter rail services also operate on the northern and southern sections of the Gotthard line. To the north, line S2 of theZug Stadtbahn operates hourly betweenZug,Arth-Goldau andErstfeld, whilst line S3 of theS-Bahn Luzern operates hourly betweenLuzern, Arth-Goldau andBrunnen.

To the south, the Gotthard line is served by trains on lineS10 of theTreni Regionali Ticino Lombardia (TILO), which operate every half-hour betweenBellinzona,Lugano andChiasso, with some trains extending northwards toAirolo and southwards toMilan. The same operator's linesS20 andS30 also operate over the Gotthard railway in the Bellinzona area, before proceeding down the branches toLocarno andLuino respectively, with some S30 trains extended toMilan Malpensa Airport.

Besides trains operated by theSwiss Federal Railways, other railway companies have also been able to run trains on the Gotthard route since the introduction of open access in 2001. Companies that have taken advantage of this includeDeutsche Bahn AG, who operate through freight trains from Germany to Italy.

Most of the Swiss locomotives were originally constructed for the Gotthard line, so many of them were called "Gotthardlokomotiven", for instanceC 5/6 "Elephant",Ce 6/8 and Be 6/8 "Krokodil",Ae 8/14 "Landilok",Ae 6/6,Re 620. Famous trainsets on the Gotthard route are theTrans Europ Express and theRoter Pfeil, as well as thetilting train,Cisalpino Pendolino.

Nowadays passenger trains are mostly pulled byRe 4/4^II (up to two for long trains) and sometimes byRe 460,^{[citation needed]} freight trains byRe 6/6 andRe 4/4^III. Up to 1300 tons may be pulled by an Re 6/6 with an Re 4/4^III. This combination is sometimes called a Re 10/10. If the trains are heavier, then any additional locomotives must be used asbanking locomotives at the rear of the train, because the tractive effort of more power at the front of the train would exceed the capacity of the couplers within the train.

The Gotthardbahn and its branchlines pass over a total of 1234bridges and open passages which span a total of 6,471 metres (21,230 ft).Arch bridges from stone were only constructed up to a clear width of 12 metres (39 ft), bridging larger distances with ironsuperstructures, which therefore became a frequent sight on the original Gotthard line, their iron representing a weight of 17723 tons. The construction of each bridge represented its own individual challenge, depending on the surroundinggeography andgeology.^[20]

With the exception of three arch bridges all steel bridges consisted of very simple, straight, single beamtruss constructions. These had to be reinforced already before 1914 still duringsteam operation of the Gotthardbahn due to quickly increasing traffic and load. Fish-bellytruss structures were attached to the bridges from below where possible and an arch truss structure was added from the top, where a short clear height made this necessary, besides other measures. Eventually all original iron bridges had to be replaced with modern bridges because they had been built and were repeatedly reinforced to specifications that again and again were surpassed by increasing traffic, velocity and load.^[20][22]

Notable originally single beam truss bridges on the Gotthardbahn are:^[20]

• TheChärstelenbach Bridge has two passage ways with clear widths of 50 metres (160 ft) each and rails at 53 metres (174 ft) above low water. The bridge was reinforced with a fish-belly structure. The modern replacement still uses the centre column and the stone archabutments of the original.
• TheIntschireuss Bridge spans the widest clear width of 75 metres (246 ft), with rails at 76 metres (249 ft) above low water. The bridge was reinforced with a "fish-belly" before the iron structure was replaced.
• TheMiddle Meienreuss Bridge spans 65 metres (213 ft) with rails 72 metres (236 ft) above the river bottom. The original iron construction has been replaced.

The historical route, with its long climbs and spiral routings, restricts speed and capacity on this important international route. As a result, a largely new lower level route was constructed as the Gotthard axis of theNRLA project.

TheGotthard Base Tunnel, running from a point nearErstfeld to a point nearBiasca, opened to traffic on 1 June 2016, with full service starting in December of that year. With a route length of 57.1 km (35.5 mi), this is theworld's longest railway tunnel, surpassing theSeikan Tunnel in Japan. Its maximum altitude of 550 metres (1,800 ft) is less than half the altitude of the currentGotthard Tunnel, and obviates the need to haul trains up long approach grades. Although given its name, because it bypasses the Gotthard Tunnel, the base tunnel's route is actually some 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) to the east, passing underSedrun, rather than theGotthard Pass, but still below theSaint-Gotthard Massif.^[1][23] This redundancy helped relieve some of the new tunnel's traffic after atrain accident on 10 August 2023 severely reduced capacity.^[24]

TheCeneri Base Tunnel, fromCamorino to the south of Bellinzona, andVezia to the north ofLugano, opened in 2020. This tunnel has a route length of 15.4 kilometres (9.6 mi) and allows trains to bypass the steep grades ofMonte Ceneri.^[1][25]

The Gotthard Base Tunnel opened in 2016, and the Ceneri Base Tunnel in 2020. Now that they have opened, all rail traffic still needs to use the existing route north of Erstfeld, between Biasca and Bellinzona, and south of Lugano. The bypassed sections of the existing route are being retained for local passenger services, for general capacity and as a diversionary route.^[25][26]

Further bypasses have been planned as part of the Gotthard axis of the NRLA project, including a new largely tunnelled route fromArth-Goldau to Erstfeld, and an extension of the existingZimmerberg Base Tunnel on the route betweenZürich andZug. No commitment to construct these sections of line has yet been made.^[25]

Operator Sudostbahn has announced, as of 13 December 2020, it will run a new service from Basel and Zurich via the original Gotthard line, usingStadler Flirt units which are also used on the Voralpen express.

• NRLA and theLötschberg railway, Switzerland's other major Alpine freight corridor.
• Saint-Gotthard Massif
• Gotthard Pass
• Gotthard Base Tunnel

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSelected photographs along Gotthard railway line.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toGotthardbahn.

• Detailed description by Bruno Lämmli (in German)
• Gotthardbahn-website by Waldis Carl (in German)
• Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936),"The great St Gothard",Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 139–146 illustrated description of the route

• Gotthard railway
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