Photo: SBB
Last night, the first freight train – a RailCare unit – was able to pass through the eastern tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. A mail train from Härkingen to Cadenazzo followed later from the north. According to Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), starting today, almost 100 freight trains per day can again travel through the intact parallel tube.
Furthermore, three SBB double-decker trains were returned from Ticino to German-speaking Switzerland overnight. They had been blocked in Ticino since the disruption because the panoramic route is not suitable for double-decker trains.
In recent days, test runs were conducted on the parallel track to the tunnel where the accident occurred. The mobile gate, installed as a replacement for the severely damaged track-changing gate, has proven effective. This ensures the safe operation of freight traffic in the eastern tunnel and safe work at the accident site in the western tunnel. SBB declined to comment to LogisticsInnovation.org on whether the considerable tonnage of the derailed wagons in the western tunnel might have compromised the structural integrity of the concrete lining.
The currently implemented single-track concept involves four freight trains traveling through the base tunnel one after the other. Subsequently, four freight trains will travel through the eastern tunnel in the opposite direction. The maximum capacity via the Gotthard axis has thus been further increased compared to the last update and now amounts to 130 freight trains per day, including the mountain route, which continues to be used. In autumn 2022, an average of around 120 freight trains per day traveled through the base tunnel on weekdays. Diversions via the Lötschberg-Simplon axis will still be necessary.
Passenger trains will continue to be diverted via the panoramic route, adding an hour to their journey time. Cleanup operations at the accident site are underway. The majority of the 16 derailed wagons remain in the tunnel. Several wagons are so badly damaged that they must be dismantled in the tunnel before being removed. Parallel to the cleanup work, SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) is planning repairs to the railway infrastructure. It will take several months to repair the damage.
