The last link in the high-speed flat rail route under the Swiss Alps took a big step closer last week, as the last concrete block was placed in the Monte Ceneri tunnel.
Together with the 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel opened a few months ago and the Lötschberg Tunnel opened in 2007, the 15.4 km Ceneri tunnel will complete the NRLA (New Rail Link through Alps) project that should speed freight and passengers under the mountains much faster and more efficiently than the old route over the mountains.
Together, the Gotthard and Ceneri tunnels cut the time between Zurich and Milan nearly in half. In addition, by eliminating the steep grades of the old route, the new link enables much longer and heavier freight trains to serve the route.
Before the final link opens, though, there's still work to be done, including finishing work on the tunnel itself, and then, starting this summer, building the railroad through the tunnel. Opening is expected in early 2020.
Photo above: workers celebrate the breakthrough of the Ceneri tunnel in early 2016.
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