Ceneri Base Tunnel

Not to be confused with Monte Ceneri Rail Tunnel or Monte Ceneri Road Tunnel.

Ceneri Base Tunnel
North portal in 2018
Overview
LineGotthard Line
LocationTicino, Switzerland
Coordinates46°07′09″N 8°59′27″E / 46.11917°N 8.99083°E / 46.11917; 8.99083
StatusOperational[1]
SystemSwiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS)
CrossesMonte Ceneri
StartCamorino in the Magadino Flat near Bellinzona, canton of Ticino
EndVezia near Lugano, canton of Ticino
Operation
Opened4 September 2020
OwnerSBB Infrastructure
OperatorSBB CFF FFS
TrafficRailway
CharacterPassenger and freight
Technical
Length15.4 km (9.6 mi)[2]
No. of tracks2 single-track tubes[2]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Electrified15 kV 16.7 Hz
Operating speed
  • Technical maximum speed: 250 km/h (160 mph)
  • Maximum authorized speed: 230 km/h (140 mph)
  • Operating speed (passenger): 200 km/h (124 mph) (normal) up to 230 km/h (143 mph) (if delay)[3]
  • Minimum speed (freight): 100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map

The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT, Italian: Galleria di base del Monte Ceneri) is a Swiss railway base tunnel in the canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano; it bypasses the former high-altitude rail route through the Monte Ceneri Tunnel. It is composed of two single-track tunnels, each 15.4 km (9.6 mi) long.[4] It is part of the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) project for faster north-south rail links across the Swiss Alps.

An exploration tunnel near Sigirino was excavated between 1999 and 2003 to gain geological data on the rock formations at the Ceneri Base Tunnel's level. Based on those data, it was decided to excavate most of the tunnel with traditional blasting methods and only drill a small part using a faster tunnel boring machine (TBM). Both the CBT and Gotthard Base Tunnels were built under contract from the Swiss Federal Government by Alptransit Gotthard AG. Construction of the two single-track bores started during March 2006. The official start of the CBT's construction phase was celebrated on 2 June 2006 with the laying of a foundation stone. The final breakthroughs took place on 21 January 2016 (west tube) and 26 January 2016 (east tube). Rail service started on 4 September 2020 and was operationalised for freight in December 2020.[5][6]

On opening, the Ceneri Base Tunnel has become an important southern feeder for the Gotthard Base Tunnel as the existing, proportionally steep and curvy track over Monte Ceneri is not suitable for high speeds or heavy freight trains. Another feeder is the Luino link along Lake Maggiore which is about to be upgraded by Italy in prospect of the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Both links meet in the Magadino Flat in the future Camorino Node (Italian: Nodo di Camorino). The CBT will ease local train traffic, mainly between the two major cities Locarno and Lugano but also between Bellinzona and Lugano. Travel time on the TILO, an S-Bahn, from Locarno to Lugano dropped from 50 to 22 minutes.

  1. ^ "Ceneri Base Tunnel Officially Open Completing the NRLA". 14 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Project data – raw construction Gotthard Base Tunnel" (PDF). Lucerne, Switzerland: AlpTransit Gotthard AG. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  3. ^ Axe nord-sud du Saint-Gothard (SBB/CFF website).
  4. ^ "Ceneri Base Tunnel". AlpTransit AG. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Sommaruga zur Eröffnung des Ceneri-Basistunnels: "Der Tunnel bringt die Schweiz näher zusammen" | NZZ".
  6. ^ "Ceneri Base Tunnel Officially Open Completing the NRLA". Railway-News. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.