Ceneri Base Tunnel

The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT ) is a railway tunnel under construction in the Swiss canton of Ticino. It will be created in the wake of the Swiss project of the century New Rail Link through the Alps and will serve as the southern feeder for the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The official " groundbreaking ceremony " was held in 2006, with opening scheduled for 2019.

Purpose

This 15.4 km long tunnel a new connection between the alpine dominated northern Ticino formed ( Sopraceneri ), or more precisely, between the deep above the Lago Maggiore in the surrounding mountain world Magadinoebene and very hilly and already Lombard -style southern part of the canton ( Sottoceneri ). The new puncture the Gotthard railway line to the target state of a flat web approaches crucially (highest point: 550 m above sea level) to what brings operational and economic benefits. So, thanks to the base tunnel Gotthard and Ceneri, the maximum slopes of about seven parts per thousand have ( and despite any remaining shorter sections with slopes up to 21 parts per thousand ), heavy freight trains ( with tow loads up to 4000 kg) which Switzerland can happen without traction enhancement.

In passenger traffic results in a gain of time of ten minutes ( the tunnel is 250 km / h designed ), but at the price of the spectacular views, to the traveler on the existing north ramp offers. Furthermore, the Ceneri base tunnel helps the Ticino a more attractive suburban railway network between the metropolitan centers Bellinzona and Locarno and Lugano and Chiasso Sopraceneri Sottoceneri and Varese in Lombardy. Thanks to new direct connections can be the travel times between Lugano and Locarno today 50 to 22 minutes shorter. However, the booming Lugano industry and service zone Val Vedeggio not be served by fast transport via Ceneri Base Tunnel, and also the local Intermodal transport terminal is suspended from the future transit axis. Critical is also noted that excess capacity will be created in the area Ceneri while partially persist drastic shortages of Bellinzona and on the single-track branch line direction Luino ( Genoa ).

Construction

Planning

1999 were approved by the Swiss Federal Council the preliminary project for the creation of the base tunnel through the Monte Ceneri and commissioned as the Gotthard Base Tunnel project, the Alp Transit Gotthard AG ( ATG), a 100 percent subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways ( SBB), with the construction. Then a 3 km long exploratory and exploratory tunnel was broken out to clarify the geology tunnel level at Sigirino. In December 2003 agreed to the Senate, in June 2004, the National Council of lending to.

On multifunction stations, as they are built for the Gotthard at a distance of about 20 km, can be omitted due to the tunnel length of 15.4 km. In contrast, the originally planned tunnel concept of a double -track tunnel proved later than the required mixed traffic (simultaneous freight and passenger transport) suitable: For security had to be gone over, which are connected by cross passages every 300 meters to the much more expensive design with two single-track tunnels. Parliamentarians from different camps, however, made ​​a reservation in respect to this solution.

Similar to the Gotthard Base Tunnel, an intermediate attack is ascended via a new 2.5 km long access tunnel at Sigirino. This allows the main tunnel at four sites will be excavated at the same time, which contributes significantly to limiting the construction period. But in the following two of these four attack points, namely at the two portals, only relatively brief comparison of tunneling to be deployed to protect the residents from excessive harassment. The main excavation work will therefore take place in Sigirino, where it is broken due to expected fault zones primarily in Bohr-/Sprengvortrieb. Then is to be used a tunnel boring machine for the final piece to the south. The north is exclusively planned drilling and blasting. The tailings will be deposited in Sigirino site.

The north portal of the Ceneri Base Tunnel is located in Room Vigana - Camorino, the south portal at Vezia. 2.5 km in front of the south portal of the underground branch of Sarè is built, which should allow a future continuation of the tunnel to the south. Such plans are, however, before only in summary form and should be associated with great execution and financing problems. Also, could so far not reached yet an agreement with Italy on the lines of such continuation. Novara - - For Italy, a most rapid expansion of the connection direction is Maggiore Genoa in the foreground while the Ticino primarily on removing the axle Lugano - Chiasso is interested.

In the area of the two northern portals created in the tunnel so-called branching caverns that allow the change from one to the other tube. The eastern tunnel is running in the portal area doppelspurig, wherein the additional, third track of making a direct connection between Lugano and Locarno is used.

Realization

End of March 2006 was started in Sigirino with preparatory work for the construction site installations. On 2 June 2006, the cornerstone ceremony took place at the north portal, which took advantage of the then Swiss Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger for an unusually sharp attack against the critics of the project.

In February 2008, the hole for the access tunnel Sigirino began ( parallel to the existing exploratory ) with a tunnel boring machine. Furthermore, in 2008 and 2009 preparatory work such as setting up the installation places on the portals and the construction of tracks and construction of a temporary bridge at Camorino were made. With the largest contract section, the outbreak of the two tunnels from intermediate tap Sigirino, 2009, an Italian working group was commissioned. The tunneling was started in the spring of 2010; the tunneling works are in accordance with the performance and scheduling in the north as early as 2014, only 2016Vorlage in the South: his future / completed in 2 years.

On September 22, 2010 came the first time, a worker at the tunnel construction work lives.

Node of Camorino

The node of Camorino (Italian Nodo di Camorino ) is situated just next to the northern portal, namely where the new crossing with the existing railway line. In this area, numerous bridges need to be rebuilt. The existing two-track bridge over the A2 motorway is replaced by a four-track. Two additional bridges across the main road for the supply and Wegfahrten from north portal towards Bellinzona / Gotthard and in the direction Locarno / Luino must also be re-created. In addition, a temporary bridge over the main road will be built for the site.

The node could become even more important, later on when the ring-road Bellinzona should be built (which it, however, due to premature exhaustion of available funds would be unlikely in the foreseeable future ). These for the most part again in the tunnel running on the opposite side of the valley would bypass at Sementina have their southern portal and the crossing of the Magadinoebene connect the two tunnels. At the crossroads with the old railway line, the node of Camorino, a new station would then arise, the Stazione Ticino. The name suggests that most of the fast trains, then reach over the new high speed line south Ticino, just keep still there and drive past the Ticino Lugano economic metropolis would. In May 2007, the SBB, however, distanced themselves from the idea of ​​Stazione Ticino and made it clear that the express trains in the future than in the past does not hold, namely in urban centers elsewhere.

Costs

For the Ceneri Base Tunnel originally costs have been estimated of about CHF 1.2 billion, which increased after the transition to two -tube construction to CHF 2.050 billion. Already at the start of construction is expected but at a cost of over gradient of at least 10 %.