Wikipedia Article Grüezi, ciao, and welcome to Switzerland. This is the Gotthard Base Rail Line. Connecting the northern and southern parts of Switzerland beneath the famous Gotthard Massif the route uses the longest railway tunnel in the world. Between technical marvel and stunning scenery this route would be a great addition for the small Swiss network we currently have in TSW. I can already hear your complaint, "Why would anyone want a route with a 57 km long tunnel?" The answer is simple: By cutting the mountain line, the TSW route can be much longer in length, therefore featuring more stunning scenery north and south of the tunnel and also feature more services, as most of the rail traffic uses the tunnel. In that sense, the route is very similar to KWG, but with the many separate tunnels combined into two long tunnels and more beautiful landscapes. I am also choosing Chiasso as a terminus, as Como in Italy uses different signals, safety systems, and catenary voltage, which is too much for this very short extension from Chiasso. Quick Facts: Length: ~200 km (~83 km in tunnels) Max. Speed: 250 km/h Track Gauge: 1435 mm Catenary Voltage: 15 kV 16,7 Hz Signaling System: L, N Safety Systems: ETCS L1 LS, ETCS L2 FS Route: Until 1:31:00 From 35:00 Luzern: We start our journey in Luzern, which we already know from LZN. Connecting the normal gauge national network with the meter gauge network of the Zentralbahn and the ferries on Lake Lucerne, it is the fourth busiest railway station in the country. Rotkreuz: After a long clockwise turn out of Luzern, we branch off in the direction of Rotkreuz. All stations until Rotkreuz are served by the S1 of the S-Bahn Zentralschweiz, so this section of the route serves as an extension of LZN. Rotkreuz is a busy junction with the lines from Luzern and Wohlen coming from the west and the lines from Zug and Arth-Goldau from the east. Except for the IR15 (Luzern - Konstanz), the station is only served by local services. Arth-Goldau: Running along Lake Zug, we drive through Immensee, the official start of the Gotthardbahn. Shortly after, we arrive at Arth-Goldau. In Arth-Goldau, we are joined by the line from Zug, which is used by services from Zürich. For most Intercity and Eurocity services on this route, this will be the northern terminus. Schwyz, Flüelen, and Altdorf: We now turn south and run along the eastern shore of Lake Lucerne towards the Gotthard Massif. Schwyz is the capital of the identically named canton. Whilst only having four non-stub tracks, the station is also important for local freight services. The famous Swiss Army Knife maker Victorinox is located in Schwyz, with its distribution center at the southern end of the station. After Brunnen, the two tracks are routed independently. Today's down line (descending from the mountain) was built first and was routed along the lake shore. When the second track was built after WWII, the track was built straighter with longer tunnels. Flüelen, at the southern shore of the lake, is another important interchange point to the ferries. Altdorf is the capital of canton Uri and was modernized between 2019-21. It is now the last Intercity station north of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Gotthard Base Tunnel: South of Altdorf, the line splits. The classic mountain line crosses over to the right and reaches Erstfeld, where the S2 of the S-Bahn Zentralschweiz terminates. The mountain line is today only used by Interregio services, as well as the Gotthard Panorama Express. Due to one of the tunnels currently being closed after an accident in 2023, all passenger services temporarily use the mountain line, but this will not be represented in the route. After 17 years of construction, the Gotthard Base Tunnel was opened in 2016. With 57 km in length and a maximum depth of 2450 m, it is the longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world. This shortened the travel time from Zürich to Lugano from 2 h to only 40 min. It also increased the maximum weight of freight trains from only 1400 t on the mountain line to 4000 t through the tunnel. Due to missing capacities on the German feeder lines, the Gotthard tunnel will not be operated at full capacity for at least the next decade. The tunnel consists of two independent tubes with changeovers located at roughly 1/3 and 2/3 of the length. These changeovers also include 450 m long emergency deboarding platforms, which are used if a train needs to be evacuated. The passengers can then cross over through a fireproof connection to the other tunnel and be transported out by the tunnel fire department. (Video about the safety concept in the GBT) At the southern exit, the mountain line from Bodio crosses over from the right and joins the line from the left after Biasca, the northern terminus of the S-Bahn Tessin. Bellinzona: Bellinzona is the capital of the Italian-speaking canton of Tessin. It is the first Intercity stop south of the tunnel. Ceneri Base Tunnel: Shortly after Bellinzona, we drive through Giubiasco and turn left towards the Ceneri Base Tunnel. This 15 km long tunnel was constructed between 2006-2020. With this tunnel, freight trains can pass the smaller Ceneri Pass. In the tunnel, we reach the maximum speed of the entire route. Lugano: Lugano is the largest city in Tessin. National Intercity services terminate here, whilst Eurocity services continue towards Milano. Mendrisio & Chiasso: After Lugano, we drive along the western shore of Lake Lugano. At Melide, we cross over the lake and continue on the eastern shore. In Mendrisio, the newly constructed S-Bahn line to Varese branches off. Shortly after, we arrive at the terminus station Chiasso. This is the border station to Italy, with parts of platform 1 even lying in Italian territory. The tracks here are equipped with voltage changers, allowing for both 15 kV AC and 3 kV DC trains to enter the station. The eastern exit signals are also already of the Italian type. Here we end our 200 km long journey through the Alps. Rolling Stock: SBB RABe 501 Giruno The Giruno is SBB's newest high-speed train, which entered service in 2019. They were specifically built for usage on the Gotthardbahn and meant to replace the Astoros on these services. The Giruno is also certified in Italy, Austria and Germany and has a maximum speed of 250km/h. TILO RABe 524 Flirt 1 TILO (Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia) is a local rail operator in Tessin and Lombardy. It is owned by SBB and Trennord. The 4 and 6 car units are very similar to the RABe 523, but feature Italian safety systems, a different train interior and two less doors per side. SBB Re 620 Re 6/6 The Re 620 was built form 1975-80 and are the six-axle variant of the Re 420. They were specially built for high-performance needs of the Gotthard mountain line. With the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, 60 of these locomotives were modernized and are now equipped with ETCS. SBB RABe 523 Flirt 1 (layer from LZN) The RABe 523 is used on the S-Bahn Zentralschweiz services between Luzern and Erstfeld. The train requires an update for propper ETCS operations, but can otherwise be directly layered. Optional Extras: Pendolino DLC: SBB RABe 503 Astoro The Astoros entered service in 2015 and replace the older and less reliable ETR 470. They will be fully replaced on the Gotthard line by the Giruno, once those are running the services into Germany. Treno Gottardo DLC: SOB RABe 526 Traverso The Treno Gottardo is the marketing name for the IR26 and IR46 between Basel via Luzern / Zürich and Locarno using the mountain line.
I love it! But I've heard from several TSC developers, that SBB is now very strict and not that friendly anymore regarding their license. So in near future i don't have any hope for that really good suggestion.
Sounds Super Interesting, the Astoro could also fit well with a Voralberg Route after 2021 from Lindau Reutin-Bregenz-St.Margrethen
