Furka Base Tunnel

The Furka Base Tunnel is a Swiss railway base tunnel on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's Furka–Oberalp line, a west-east railway connecting the cantons of Valais and Uri. Its west portal lies east of Oberwald (VS), at 1,390 m (4,560 ft) above sea level and its east portal lies south of Realp (UR), at 1,550 m (5,090 ft). The base tunnel is 15,407 m (50,548 ft) in length, and replaced the previous track that climbed to an apex of 2,160 m (7,090 ft) above sea level, thus allowing year-round service through service on the Furka–Oberalp line. The old line has been reopened by the Furka Heritage Railway for tourist trains which pass the Furka Pass via the 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long Furka Summit Tunnel.[1]

Furka Base Tunnel

Tunnel near the Realp portal
Overview
Line	Furka Oberalp Bahn
Location	Valais / Uri, Switzerland
Coordinates	46°32′7″N 8°27′12″E
Status	Open
System	Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
Start	Oberwald, Valais, Switzerland
End	Realp, Uri, Switzerland
Operation
Opened	25 June 1982 (1982-06-25)
Owner	Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
Operator	Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
Traffic	Train
Character	Passenger and freight
Technical
Length	15.4 km (9.6 mi)
Line length	15.4 km (9.6 mi)
No. of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrified	Overhead catenary, 11 kV AC 16 2/3 Hz
Highest elevation	1,564 m (5,131 ft) above the Sea
Lowest elevation	1,390 m (4,560 ft)
Route map
41.3 Oberwald to Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway Oberwald deviation tunnel Rhonebrücke 59 m Goneribrug 60 m Furka Base Tunnel entrance 47.2 Geren (crossing loop) Furka Base Tunnel 15,442 m << Bedretto ventilation tunnel 53.0 Rotondo (crossing loop) Furka Base Tunnel exit to Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway 59.4 Realp

In the middle of the base tunnel, is a 5,221 meter long access tunnel to Bedretto in the canton of Ticino (1,480 m (4,860 ft));[2] some proponents of the project hoped to eventually build a Y-shaped tunnel connecting all 3 locations.

The Furka Base Tunnel is completed by a bypass tunnel around Oberwald.

History

Prior to the opening of the base tunnel, the high-level route closed during the winter months because of heavy snowfall, and large sections of the overhead electrical lines had to be dismantled. In 1976, the Parliament of Switzerland passed a bill for its construction, sponsored by Roger Bonvin, following an initial cost estimate of 76 million francs despite difficult geology.

The construction costs, however, had been deliberately lowballed to procure parliamentary support,[3] and quickly rose to exceed 300 million Francs. The political fighting surrounding the cost overruns are said to have contributed to Roger Bonvin's ill health toward the end of the project and he died just before its opening in 1982. A plaque commemorating Roger Bonvin is installed as the base tunnel's entrance in Oberwald.

In its initial year of operation, the base tunnel was used to transport more than 75,000 passenger cars, trucks and buses. Currently, it also serves both an hourly regional train and ten daily Glacier Express trains between Zermatt and the ski resort town of St. Moritz. During the winter skiing season, traffic in the tunnel consistently approaches maximum capacity.

Oberwald bypass tunnel (1366 m a.s.l.)

West portal (1390 m a.s.l.)

East portal (1550 m a.s.l.)

Bedretto window (1480 m a.s.l.)

References

1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. p. 34. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
2. Die Furka-Basislinie Oberwald-Realp, Schweizer Ingenieur und Architekt
3. Wyss, Max (5 March 2019). Comment on Levy, Alon (3 March 2019). "Why American Costs are So High (Work-in-Progress)". Pedestrian Observations. "Switzerland had its famous example: the Furka base tunnel (part of the Glacier Express route). Its costs were deliberately downplayed, because otherwise, the project would not have passed parliament."

External links

• Media related to Furka Base Tunnel at Wikimedia Commons