PalenQ

The new Lotschberg train tunnel in Switzerland, at about 21 miles and called the world's longest underdground (not water) tunnel, is finished and reports had a train going thru it for the first time.

But the report i saw was nebulous as to whether the tunnel is opening to full-fledged rail travel or the infrastructure is finally done and regular passenger trains will follow - if so when?

Anyone will any idea of if trains are already using the tunnel or when please enlighten me. thanks

and this is a sweet and sour development to me. Sweet in that Germany-Italy travel time will soon be under 2 hours but sour because instead of what is to me the most scenic mainline train ride in Europe - especially after the old Lotschberg Tunnel's south portal when the train rolls along a narrow ledge overlooking the Rhone River Valley thousands of feet below - kind of like levitating over the valley.

And before the north portal you could also get sweet views of the Kandersteg Valley

But now at Fruitingen you'll enter the tunnel and emerge in the Rhone Valley near Visp and then head right into the Simplon Tunnel to Italy - seeing very little of the awesome Alpine scenery you're tunneling under.

Trains will be speeded up by about an hour, however, making Milan and Italy all that closer.

I assume the classic old line will still have regional trains so if have the extra time take the high road - the old road.

altamiro

>But the report i saw was nebulous as to whether the tunnel is opening to full-fledged rail travel or the infrastructure is finally done and regular passenger trains will follow - if so when?

Only test trains now. Next official schedule change (mid-december) will introduce the new Lötschberg link into the general scheme of things.

>I assume the classic old line will still have regional trains so if have the extra time take the high road - the old road.

I wholeheartedly agree! "Flying" down into the Rhone valley is easily worth the detour.

bob_brown

"The first goods trains will be able to use the tunnel from June 16, 2007. A full passenger service will start from December 9, 2007."

The above quote from swissinfo.org can be found here:

http://tinyurl.com/yrbszt

I am still looking for information about the old tunnel that carried passenger vehicles through the mountains.

As slow as that train went I don't see how it could be used in the new tunnel.

altamiro

>As slow as that train went I don't see how it could be used in the new tunnel.

It won't - the car will be still shuttled by train between Kandersteg and Goppenstein. In this regard nothing will change.

PalenQ

high wall - that's surprising because i thought now they could ferry cars from Fruitigen to Domodossola - trucks of course are what they want to get off the roads.

I though when i saw the construction at Fruitigen two years ago they looked like car or truck carrying loading docks but must have been wrong so am shocked the Kandersteg-Goppenstein car train will be all. (There are no roads over the Lotschberg Pass so putting on a train is the only way or else about 100 mile detour i think.)

Bob - thanks about the goods trains using the new tunnel - that was what i saw coming out for the first train - a freight train.

a few years ago i hiked the BLS 'Train Teaching path' or whatever they call it between one town and the Kandersteg loading dock train ferry. I would not recommend this path at all as it's a series of ladders basically - very very strenuous and only glimpses of the line, where there are interpretative signs in German only.

bob_brown

So if the old tunnel is used to carry cars, then we still get the thrill of that highway descent to the Valley of the Rhone. I have done it both going down and coming up more than once. Fun trip.

There is a bakery in Gampel that has great Schneken. I hope I can find it again this summer.

(A Schneken is a curled or rolled up flat pastry that has all kind of goodies rolled up inside.)

altamiro

>high wall - that's surprising because i thought now they could ferry cars from Fruitigen to Domodossola - trucks of course are what they want to get off the roads

There are some issues with the trains of different speeds, since I think there is no place within the tunnel where a fast train would overtake the slow one. So I assume they will send freight trains through the tunnel in the night and mostly passenger trains during the day. There are also more and more tendencies to load trucks up on the railcars in Basel or Konstanz and unload them in Domodossola.

I am already really curious about the Gotthard base tunnel and Porta Alpina when it opens in 2016 (?)...