Simplon Tunnel

Simplon Tunnel
Passing loop
Overview
Official nameGerman: Simplontunnel, Italian: Galleria del Sempione
LineSimplon line, (Lötschberg railway line)
LocationTraversing the Lepontine Alps between Switzerland and Italy
Coordinates46°19′26″N 8°00′25″E / 46.324°N 8.007°E / 46.324; 8.007 (Simplon Tunnel, northern portal)46°12′25″N 8°12′04″E / 46.207°N 8.201°E / 46.207; 8.201 (Simplon Tunnel, southern portal)
SystemSwiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS)
CrossesLepontine Alps (Wasenhorn massif)
StartBrig, canton of Valais, Switzerland 683 m (2,241 ft)
EndIselle di Trasquera, Piedmont, Italy 633 m (2,077 ft)
Operation
Work begun22 November 1898 (east tunnel), 1912 (west tunnel)
Opened19 May 1906 (east tunnel), 1921 (west tunnel)
OwnerSBB CFF FFS
OperatorSBB CFF FFS
TrafficRailway
CharacterPassenger, Freight, Car Transport
Vehicles per dayPassenger: 70, Freight: unknown
Technical
Length19.803 km (12.305 mi) (east tunnel), 19.823 km (12.317 mi) (west tunnel)
No. of tracksTwo single-track tubes
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrifiedsince 1 June 1906, 15 kV 16.7 Hz since 2 March 1930
Operating speed160 km/h (Passenger trains) 120 km/h (Car shuttles)
Highest elevation705 m (2,313 ft)
Lowest elevation633 m (2,077 ft) (south portal)
Grade2–7 
Route map
length
in m
Visp
(MGBSBB)
Brig
(MGBSBB)
19,803
Iselle tunnel
628
Iselle di Trasquera
Trasquera tunnel
1,712
2,966
Varzo
Varzo tunnel
81
Mognatta tunnel
422
Gabbio Mollo tunnel
568
San Giovanni tunnel
425
Rio Confinale tunnel
51
Rio Rido–Preglia tunnel
2,266
Preglia
Domodossola
length
in m

The Simplon Tunnel (Simplontunnel, Traforo del Sempione or Galleria del Sempione) is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shortcut under the Simplon Pass route. It is straight except for short curves at either end.[1] It consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 15 years apart. The first to be opened is 19,803 m (64,970 ft) long; the second is 19,824 m (65,039 ft) long, making it the longest railway tunnel in the world for most of the twentieth century, from 1906 until 1982, when the Daishimizu Tunnel opened.

Culminating at a height of only 705 m (2,313 ft) above sea level, the Simplon Tunnel was also the lowest direct Alpine crossing for 110 years, until the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016. The tunnel has a maximum rock overlay of approximately 2,150 m (7,050 ft),[2] also a world record at the time. Temperatures up to 56 °C (133 °F) have been measured inside the tunnel.[3]

Work on the first tube of the Simplon Tunnel commenced in 1898. The Italian king Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the president of the Swiss Confederation (presiding the Federal Council of Switzerland for that year) Ludwig Forrer opened the tunnel at Brig on 19 May 1906.[4] The builders of the tunnel were Hermann Häustler and Hugo von Kager. Work on the second tube of the tunnel started in 1912 and it was opened in 1921.

  1. ^ "The Simplon Tunnel". The Capricornian. Rockhampton, Qld: National Library of Australia. 15 October 1904. p. 21. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  2. ^ The highest point above the tunnel lies near the Tunnelspitz, at approximately 2,855 m (9,367 ft) above sea level (estimated from the Swisstopo topographic map [1]).
  3. ^ Andreas Henke, Tunnelling in Switzerland, pp. 2-3.
  4. ^ "Inaugurato il tunnel del Sempione" su accaddeoggi.it