“The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland expected to open on 2 June 2016. With a route length of 57 km (35.4 mi) and a total of 151.84 km (94.3 mi) of tunnels, shafts and passages, it will be the world's longest and deepest traffic tunnel[6] and the first flat low-level route through the Alps. The project consists of two single-track tunnels connecting Erstfeld (Uri) with Bodio (Ticino) and passing below Sedrun (Graubünden). It is part of the AlpTransit project, also known as the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA), which includes the Lötschberg Base Tunnel between the cantons of Bern and Valais and the under construction Ceneri Base Tunnel (scheduled to open late 2019) to the south. It bypasses the Gotthardbahn, a winding mountain route opened in 1882 across the Saint-Gotthard Massif, which is now operating at capacity, and establishes a direct route usable by high-speed rail and heavy freight trains. It is the third tunnel connecting the cantons of Uri and Ticino after the Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel. The main purpose of the Gotthard Base Tunnel is to increase total transport capacity across the Alps, especially for freight, notably on the Rotterdam-Basel-Genoa corridor, and more particularly to shift freight volumes from road to rail to reduce fatal accidents and environmental damage caused by ever-increasing numbers of heavy lorries. Another benefit will be to provide a faster connection between the canton of Ticino and the rest of Switzerland, as well as between northern and southern Europe, cutting the Zürich-Lugano-Milan journey time for passenger trains by about an hour and from Lucerne to Bellinzona to 1 hour 25 minutes”. – Wikipedia

Miners stand in front as the drill machine “Gaby” breaks through the rock at the section Erstfeld-Amsteg at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel June 16, 2009. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Visitors walk through the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel at the Erstfeld-Amsteg section October 5, 2010. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A worker and a visitor stand at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel at the Erstfeld-Amsteg section October 5, 2010. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Workers in the Gotthard Base Tunnel install steel to stabilize the tunnel walls, in Sedrun, Switzerland, July 26, 2007. (Photo by Siggi Bucher/Reuters)

Workers operate on a tunnel drilling machine inside the Gotthard base tunnel in Erstfeld, central Switzerland May 15, 2008. (Photo by Michael Buholzer/Reuters)

A miner holds a statue of St. Barbara, patron saint of miners, as he is welcomed by colleagues after the drill machine “Gaby” made it through the section Erstfeld-Amsteg at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel June 16, 2009. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A statue of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners, stands in a shrine at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel at the Erstfeld-Amsteg section October 5, 2010. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A worker stands at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel July 16, 2009. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Miners watch as the drill machine “Sissi” breaks through the rock at the final section Faido-Sedrun, at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel October 15, 2010. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Miners spray water as the drill machine “Sissi” breaks through the rock at the final section Faido-Sedrun, at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel October 15, 2010. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Miners watch as the drill machine “Sissi” breaks through the rock at the final section Faido-Sedrun construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel October 15, 2010. (Photo by Christian Hartmann/Reuters)

Workers cycle next to the railway tracks at the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Amsteg September 3, 2014. (Photo by Ruben Sprich/Reuters)

A worker carries material over the railway tracks in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Amsteg September 3, 2014. (Photo by Ruben Sprich/Reuters)

A miner climbs on excavated rocks after a giant drill machine broke through at the final section Sedrun-Faido, at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel March 23, 2011. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Workers have a break during the installation of the railway tracks in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Journalists walk through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. Crossing the Alps, the world's longest train tunnel should become operational at the end of 2016, consisting of two parallel single track tunnels, each of a length of 57 km (35 miles). (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Engine driver Josef Kowatsch steers a train into the northern gate of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Erstfeld August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Engine driver Josef Kowatsch (top L) steers a train through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Erstfeld August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A worker stands in a side tunnel of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Engine driver Josef Kowatsch steers a train through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Erstfeld August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Journalists walk at a multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A TV cameraman takes pictures of an emergency vent at a multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit, near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A TV camerawoman takes footages of an emergency exit at a multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Journalists stand at a multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A journalist walks through an an emergency tunnel at a multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Journalists listen to explanations as they stand in an emergency tunnel at a multifunction and emergency stop station of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A journalist walks past a sign showing the distance to the next emergency exit at the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A long exposure is taken from a train driving through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Sedrun August 24, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)