Blocked rail tunnel in Switzerland raises concerns about pan-European trade routes

Take the Channel Tunnel, replace the briny seawater with flinty Alpine granite and you have an idea of the Gotthard Base tunnel. At 57km this marvel of Swiss engineering is the longest rail tunnel in the world. Trains race into the northern portal near Lucerne and pop out 20 minutes later in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.

The tunnel doesn’t just connect Switzerland’s diverse regions: since opening in 2016, 17 years after drilling began, it has become a crucial route for private travellers and freight between northern Europe and Italy.

Every day 10,000 passengers and 260 cargo trains use the tunnel, the latter transporting 40 million tonnes of freight annually. Which is why alarm bells are ringing all over the Continent, a week after a cargo train crash left one of the Gotthard Base tunnels blocked.

The crash happened early on August 10th when a 32-wagon freight train travelling at 100km/h in the western tunnel jumped the rails and tore its way through a security door connecting to the eastern tunnel. Images from inside the tunnel show ragged ruins of derailed carriages and random cargo scattered over mangled tracks.

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“It’s an expanse of rubble in there,” said Mr Vincent Ducrot, chief executive of Swiss state railways (SBB).

A week on he has conceded it will be months – not days, as previously claimed – before the crucial rail artery is back operating at full capacity.

Until further notice all passenger traffic will be rerouted via the old, so-called “panorama route” over the Alps and the old Gotthard tunnel. That will add at least an hour to north-south trips heading to Milan.

Explaining the decision, SBB said it “cannot yet guarantee a full, safe evacuation of the trains” given that the parallel, western tunnel is blocked.

Damage there is far worse than previously suggested. Of the 23 freight cars derailed in the crash, 16 – including cargo – are still inside the tunnel.

Even when the wreckage is removed, SBB said 8km of track – and 20,000 concrete sleepers – have to be replaced. Given average temperatures of 40 degrees it will be challenging repair work in the tunnel, 2.5km beneath the Alpine peaks.

The SBB chief said he was shocked by the crash but, with no injuries or loss of life, he said the Gotthard Base tunnel remains one of the safest in the world.

“The fact that such an accident could still happen hits us hard,” said Mr Ducrot. “Our prognosis, for material deliveries and the renewal work, is for full capacity by the start of 2024 but there is considerable uncertainty as far as that goes.”

While the SBB executive remained tight-lipped about the cause of the accident, given huge insurance claims looming, a preliminary investigation has suggested a broken wheel tread triggered the crash.

The eastern tunnel will be reopened for cargo traffic from next week but with considerable delays given the reduced capacity. That could have knock-on effects on pan-European trade given that half of the 38 million tonnes of goods previously shipped across the Swiss Alps now can go under the mountain range.

While Swiss cargo companies say they have backup plans for national supplies, nearly 70 per cent of rail freight for German and Italian companies goes through the tunnel.

Already the train waiting facilities at both ends of the tunnel are full, with growing freight train backlogs reported in the entire region.

“Supply chains are still just delayed and not interrupted, because Italian industry is on holiday,” said Nicolas Legler of Swiss transport company Schöni to the Blick tabloid. “But we are already noticing that traffic on the road routes is already picking up.”

Affected Irish exporters, contacted by The Irish Times through the Irish Transport Association, said they were aware of the difficulties and had already made alternative arrangements.

[ Swiss open world’s longest and deepest rail tunnel ]

For some in Switzerland the incident has revived unhappy memories of the October 2001 crash in the nearby Gotthard road tunnel. Two trucks collided near the south portal, sparking a 1,200 degree fire killing 11 people.

The Gotthard Base rail tunnel was first mooted in 1947. Seven decades, 12.2 billion francs (€12.76 billion) and 28 million tonnes of granite later, the dual tunnel opened in 2016 with a lavish party and show attended by French, German and Italian leaders.

Italian transport minister Matteo Salvini, fearing an autumn freight squeeze, said he is “following the matter with the utmost attention” and has offered Switzerland technical assistance.

As the Gotthard tunnel clear-up begins, Swiss rail experts say the crash could see authorities step up security measures on transiting freight trains.

“Passenger trains have systems that can pick up derailment vibrations and trigger the brakes,” said Rüdi Beutler to Swiss broadcaster SRF. “On freight trains ... to save money it’s likely they decided to do without such detectors.”