Lötschberg Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Lötschberg Tunnel is a 14.6 km (9.1 mi) long railway tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
on the Lötschberg Line, which connects Spiez
Spiez
Spiez is a city in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Spiez has an area of . Of this area, 38.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.1% is forested...
and Brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
at the northern end of the Simplon Tunnel
Simplon Tunnel
The Simplon Tunnel is an Alpine railway tunnel that connects the Swiss town of Brig with Domodossola in Italy, though its relatively straight trajectory does not run under Simplon Pass itself. It actually consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 20 years apart...
cutting through the Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Its ends are at the towns of Kandersteg
Kandersteg
Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mountain scenery and sylvan alpine landscapes. Tourism is a...
in the Canton of Berne
Canton of Berne
The Canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south...
and Goppenstein in the Canton of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
.
Construction began in 1906 and suffered delays by several severe accidents. In February 1908, an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
destroyed a hotel the workers lived in, killing 13. In July of the same year, a section of the tunnel collapsed, killing 25. The section was beyond repair, so a new tunnel had to be blasted, bypassing the site of the disaster. Breakthrough was achieved in March 1911. Regular service through the Lötschberg Tunnel began in 1913.
The tunnel is 14.6 km (9.1 mi) long single bore twin track.
The Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon railway
Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon railway
The Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon railway, known since the merger of the "old" BLS with the Bern-Neuenburg-Bahn , the Gürbetal-Bern-Schwarzenburg-Bahn and the Simmentalbahn in 1997 as the BLS Lötschbergbahn, is a Swiss railway company. It is the largest standard gauge network on the Swiss Railway...
company offers a car transport service through the tunnel for accompanied vehicles. The journey time of approximately 20 minutes, passengers remain in their cars in open sided car transport vehicles. At peak times, the car transport service operates in each direction every 7½ minutes.
Lötschberg Base Tunnel
The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the BLS Lötschbergbahn's Lötschberg Line cutting through the Alps of Switzerland some below the existing Lötschberg Tunnel. It is currently the world's longest land tunnel and accommodates passenger and freight trains. It runs between Frutigen,...
, opened on June 15, 2007, has been constructed some 400 m (1,312.3 ft) below the level of the current Lötschberg Tunnel as part of the NRLA (New Railway Link through the Alps)
AlpTransit
AlpTransit, also known as New Railway Link through the Alps NRLA , is a Swiss federal project aimed to build faster north-south rail links across the Swiss Alps by constructing base tunnels several hundred metres below the level of the current tunnels...
project.