Gotthard Base Tunnel fully reopens 13 months after derailment

The Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland has fully reopened for rail operations more than a year after it was closed for repairs following the derailment of a freight train in August 2023.

The country’s national rail company SBB revealed the tunnel had been fully reopened for passenger and freight trains on 2 September, in line with a schedule released in November 2023 after an assessment of repair works pushed back the original expected completion date.

SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot said thanked travellers for their patience and said: “We are delighted that our customers can travel more quickly between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino again and benefit from an even more frequent service.”

While some freight trains had been able to run through parts of the multi-track tunnel system as soon as 12 days after the derailment on 10 August, with passenger trains following less than two months later, SBB had been forced to limit full services until now. 

The company had been gradually adding services to its operations through the tunnel and has now reintroduced its full timetable on the railway, including all direct connections to Italy and the tri-national connection from Frankfurt, Germany to Milan, Italy, via Zurich, Switzerland. 

The 57km Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in the world and opened in 2016 to improve traffic through the Alps before 16 wagons on a 30-car freight train derailed near Faldo last year, causing “major damage” to the track infrastructure.