Rail conquers the Alps

Railway Gazette International | August 2015 49
21995 2 750
900
2 700
The timetable is based on the number
of paths through the base tunnel: there
will be six freight and two passenger
paths per hour in each direction, with
passenger trains timed at 200 km/h. All
trains will be monitored from an operations
control centre located in Pollegio;
this was formally opened in May 2014.
A 3 h Zürich – Milano timing will be
possible in 2020-21, with hourly departures
planned. Domestic inter-city trains
via the Gotthard will run at half-hourly
intervals, with Zurich – Lugano timings
cut to 1 h 50 min. Basel – Milano trains
will be timed at around 4 h via the Gotthard
or Lötschberg routes.
For domestic passengers there will be
no direct trains from Zürich to Locarno,
but Tilo S-Bahn services to the resort
will connect at Bellinzona with all
EuroCity and domestic inter-city trains
every 30 min. The Lugano – Locarno
1 200
940
trip will take about 30 min.
SBB had originally planned to cut the
Zürich – Milano timing to 2 h 40 min,
but this appears unlikely for the foreseeable
future. This timing assumed that
tilting trains would be used, but it would
also require a second Zimmerberg tunnel
to be built. Even then, pathing constraints
on the approach to Milano would
limit the options for shorter timings.
At the moment SBB carries around
9 000 passengers a day on its Gotthard
services. The faster and more frequent
service from December 2016 is expected
to attract more business, with traffic
rising to 15 000 passengers a day by
2020 and doubling by 2025.
Over the top
Passenger services over the highlevel
route through the original Gotthard
pass after the base tunnel opens
Freight targets may not be met
17 500
16 700
920ø
Gotthard ALPINE CORRIDORS
4 255
2 900
16 990
© Railway Gazette 2015
Fig 1. SBB’s 11-car
Giruno trainsets will
have seats for over
400 passengers.
15 000
passengers
ARE EXPECTED TO
BE CARRIED ON
SBB’S GOTTHARD
SERVICES EACH DAY
BY 2020
have been the topic of much discussion.
The route gives access to several
popular mountain resorts, and SBB is
required to continue providing a service.
In early 2014 Südostbahn submitted
a plan to run hourly services
between Arth-Goldau and Lugano in
competition with SBB, but the transport
ministry rejected the proposal
later that year.
Under the current concession that
SBB holds to operate national longdistance
services an hourly train over
the old Gotthard route is envisaged
when the base tunnel opens. However,
the concession falls due for renewal in
2017, and the federal transport ministry
is expected to determine if the Gotthard
pass service will be designated as
a regional operation that qualifies for
subsidy.
From the December 2016 timetable
change SBB will run an hourly
Regional Express train from Lugano
or Bellinzona to Erstfeld. From the
northern end passengers can expect InterRegio
trains from Basel and Zürich
to Erstfeld, with ‘Sprinter’ trains from
Erstfeld for commuters in the morning
and evening to Zug and Zürich.
At weekends and peak holiday periods
some trains from Zürich or Basel will be
extended to Göschenen to connect with
the metre gauge Matterhorn-Gotthard
Bahn to Andermatt.
Discussions are in progress between
SBB, the ministry, and the cantons of
Uri and Ticino to decide on an economic
but attractive service pattern
from 2017 onwards. n
The main rationale behind
construction of the Gotthard
base tunnel — and its sister
Lötschberg base tunnel —
rests largely on the Swiss government’s
commitment to switch transit freight
from road to rail. SBB will have 260
freight train paths a day available compared
with a maximum of 180 over the
Gotthard pass.
No longer will trains have to halt
to attach additional locomotives for
the 2·6% grades that take trains up to
1150 m above sea level. The new route
lies just 550 m above sea level, with
grades reduced to 1·25%. Not only that,
but the route will be 30 km shorter.
Whereas trains are currently limited to
1600 tonnes, in future the drawbar limit
will rise to 2000 tonnes, with normal
train length set at a maximum of 750 m.
Journey time from Basel to Chiasso
will be cut by 25 min from December
2016 to an even 5 h, with 4 h 35 min
attained in 2020. The Basel – Luino trip
will come down to 4 h 45 min by the
same date.
All of this should translate into lower
operating costs that can be set against
the SFr12·2bn price of the Gotthard
base tunnel.
Formal goals have been set by the
Swiss government for transfer of transit
freight from road to rail, but the number
of lorries transiting Switzerland in
2014 was 1·03 million, 1·6% less than
in 2013 but still 383 000 more than the
target set for 2018. Whether the advent
of the base tunnels will suffice to
attract sufficient lorry freight to rail for
the target to be met is open to question,
and the Swiss government is reportedly
considering what other measures may
be needed.
On the other hand, the volume of
transit rail freight in 2014 rose by 3·5%
to more than 26 million tonnes, with
increases in wagonload and unaccompanied
intermodal traffic; rolling motorway
traffic was almost unchanged
over 2013 with 109 000 lorries carried.
Of particular interest was the share of
freight handled by SBB Cargo and SBB
Cargo International. Measured in net
tonnes, this rose to 58% following DB
Schenker Rail’s 2013 decision to switch
its Gotthard transit freight contract
from BLS Cargo to SBB Cargo. BLS
Cargo continues to use the route, along
with Crossrail, Transalpin, DB Schenker
CH, Railcare and TX Logistik. n
Although rail freight
passing through
Switzerland on the
north-south corridors
rose by 3∙5% in 2014,
the government
target for transfer
of traffic from road
to rail may not be
met, even after the
Gotthard Base Tunnel
opens.