The Fastest Route Across Central Europe Since The Dinosaurs
For centuries, Northern and Southern Europe have been divided by the Alps, a natural mountain barrier which neatly dissects the central part of the continent, running from Austria, across Switzerland and into France. However, all is set to change with the construction of the world’s longest tunnel, allowing direct travel through the alps for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
In modern times, trade between North and South has seen an increasing volume of trucks making the long, slow journey through narrow valleys, high passes, and long tunnels, many of which twist and spiral their way through the rugged mountain terrain. At the beginning of school holidays, tailbacks at the entrance to the 15 mile Gotthard road tunnel can reach 30 kilometres as droves of Northern Europeans migrate South for the food, wine and sunshine of Italy.
Concerned by the consequent increase in pollution (amplified as the narrow valleys trap particulate emissions from cars and trucks, which threatens the balance of delicate alpine eco-systems), the Swiss voted in 1994 to limit trans-alpine freight transport to 650,000 trucks per year. Achieving this will involve a massive engineering project, with 2,000 people working on the new Gotthard Base Tunnel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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A Massive Engineering Project
Deep beneath the Alps, the new tunnel will be the world’s longest at 35 miles. Built at an altitude of 1,540ft above sea level, the tunnel will be buried by up to 2 kilometres of rock in places and has the unique feature of remaining level throughout it’s length. This will allow trains to reach speeds of 145mph through the tunnel, reducing journey time from Zürich to Milan to a mere 2.5 hours and significantly reducing road freight pollution by allowing trucks to be driven directly onto special rail cars.
Building the tunnel, which is expected to cost at least $8 billion, has required the use of the world’s largest tunnel boring machines, which will excavate over 24 million tons of rock - enough to build 5 Gizeh-pyramids. Other world firsts have been achieved, such as a vertical 1 kilometre elevator shaft which provides workers with access to parts of the tunnel.
Unfortunately, not everybody is happy with the rate of progress. The original act of parliament called for reductions in road freight to be achieved by 2009, but with the tunnel not due for completion until 2015 these targets will be missed - “We have to accept that the government is far behind schedule,” said Kaspar Schuler, director of Greenpeace Switzerland.
Until then, trans-alpine travelers can continue to enjoy the magnificent views afforded whilst driving across the Swiss Alps, knowing that grand designs below will assure the long term future of the local environment.
Further Reading: BBC, Wikipedia, Swissinfo
Photos Courtesy of Wikipedia and Flickr
