4 ms·

You can check a small animation[1] of the rail traffic from this upcoming weekend when the first passenger trains will pass through the tunnel http://maps.vasi

by vasile 10y ago

You can check a small animation[1] of the rail traffic from this upcoming weekend when the first passenger trains will pass through the tunnel http://maps.vasile.ch/transit-sbb/?hms=08:40:00&day=2016-06-04&x=8.7744&y=46.61882&time_multiply=100&zoom=10 http://maps.vasile.ch/transit-sbb/?hms=08:40:00&day=2016-06-... [1] http://imgur.com/cN3HKPp?v=2 http://imgur.com/cN3HKPp?v=2

harryf 10y ago
So how much time approximately will be saved vs the existing routes?
- MagnumOpus 10y ago
  It cuts the Zürich-Milan journey time for passenger trains by about an hour (from 173 to 111 minutes) accelerating train trips from Germany/Switzerland to Italy significantly.
  - planetjones 10y ago
    I don't get this. Zurich is in Switzerland. I don't think even with this tunnel opening we will be getting from Zurich to Milan in under 2 hours... Are your numbers wrong? Edit: we will be looking at journey times of about 170 minutes from Zurich to Milan AFTER the tunnel opens.
    - harryf 10y ago
      Yeah - I've done that journey and have in mind that it takes about 4 hours right now from Zürich to Milan by train (with various stops)
    - lmm 10y ago
      The TGV Paris-Lyon takes less than 2 hours to cover a substantially longer distance.
      - vasile 10y ago
        The terrain geography in Switzerland doesn't allow you to drive constantly with 300km/h, in France it's a different story
  - dalke 10y ago
    Could you double-check the Zürich-Milan journey time? The article says "... the journey time for travellers between Zurich and Milan will be reduced by an hour to two hours and 40 minutes." I cross-checked that with http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/switzerland-s-gotthard-train-tunnel-will-be-world-s-longest-n576096 http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/switzerland-s-gotthard-tra... ("reducing the journey times between Zurich, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy, from just over four hours to two-and-a-half hours") and http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2026369,00.html http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2026369... ("the journey time of three hours and 40 minutes from Zurich to Milan on the Cisalpino tilting train will be cut by an hour".) You can see these all give a time of over 150 minutes using the tunnel, not 111 minutes. They all agree it's a savings of about an hour.
  - piquadrat 10y ago
    I heard numbers of 45 minutes less for Zurich-Milan. Maybe your number already includes the Ceneri Base Tunnel[1], to be opened in 2020? [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceneri_Base_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceneri_Base_Tunnel
    - MagnumOpus 10y ago
      Indeed you are right - I got my number from 24heures.ch, and it is comparing the number before both tunnels vs. the time after both are open: http://www.24heures.ch/suisse/Le-tunnel-de-base-du-Gothard-revolutionnera-le-rail-dans-deux-ans/story/23248700 http://www.24heures.ch/suisse/Le-tunnel-de-base-du-Gothard-r...
  - chiph 10y ago
    But the real goal is to get trucks off their roads. Hopefully this happens.
  - MagnumOpus 10y ago
    Self-correction: It cuts the Zürich-Lugano journey time from 173 to 111 minutes rather than Zürich-Milan (which still takes longer). Though it does cut journey times for the latter by an hour too.
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- Analemma_ 10y ago
  In addition to the other replies, I want to point out that a major reason for the tunnel's existence isn't just to reduce travel times, but to provide an alternative way for freight to cross the mountains besides using trucks over the roads, which are dangerous and make a lot more pollution. Even if transit times for passengers don't decrease that much, this will be judged a success if it gets a lot of freight trucks off the road.
- vasile 10y ago
  MagnumOpus is right, GBT will save ~1hr of travel, check out this infographic where you can see the comparison of stage coach, train, car and new train via GBT: http://interactive.swissinfo.ch/infographic/Gotthard_Strecken/eng/index.html http://interactive.swissinfo.ch/infographic/Gotthard_Strecke...

by vasile 10y ago

harryf 10y ago

So how much time approximately will be saved vs the existing routes?

MagnumOpus 10y ago
It cuts the Zürich-Milan journey time for passenger trains by about an hour (from 173 to 111 minutes) accelerating train trips from Germany/Switzerland to Italy significantly.
- planetjones 10y ago
  I don't get this. Zurich is in Switzerland. I don't think even with this tunnel opening we will be getting from Zurich to Milan in under 2 hours... Are your numbers wrong? Edit: we will be looking at journey times of about 170 minutes from Zurich to Milan AFTER the tunnel opens.
  - harryf 10y ago
    Yeah - I've done that journey and have in mind that it takes about 4 hours right now from Zürich to Milan by train (with various stops)
  - lmm 10y ago
    The TGV Paris-Lyon takes less than 2 hours to cover a substantially longer distance.
    - vasile 10y ago
      The terrain geography in Switzerland doesn't allow you to drive constantly with 300km/h, in France it's a different story
- dalke 10y ago
  Could you double-check the Zürich-Milan journey time? The article says "... the journey time for travellers between Zurich and Milan will be reduced by an hour to two hours and 40 minutes." I cross-checked that with http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/switzerland-s-gotthard-train-tunnel-will-be-world-s-longest-n576096 http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/switzerland-s-gotthard-tra... ("reducing the journey times between Zurich, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy, from just over four hours to two-and-a-half hours") and http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2026369,00.html http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2026369... ("the journey time of three hours and 40 minutes from Zurich to Milan on the Cisalpino tilting train will be cut by an hour".) You can see these all give a time of over 150 minutes using the tunnel, not 111 minutes. They all agree it's a savings of about an hour.
- piquadrat 10y ago
  I heard numbers of 45 minutes less for Zurich-Milan. Maybe your number already includes the Ceneri Base Tunnel[1], to be opened in 2020? [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceneri_Base_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceneri_Base_Tunnel
  - MagnumOpus 10y ago
    Indeed you are right - I got my number from 24heures.ch, and it is comparing the number before both tunnels vs. the time after both are open: http://www.24heures.ch/suisse/Le-tunnel-de-base-du-Gothard-revolutionnera-le-rail-dans-deux-ans/story/23248700 http://www.24heures.ch/suisse/Le-tunnel-de-base-du-Gothard-r...
- chiph 10y ago
  But the real goal is to get trucks off their roads. Hopefully this happens.
- MagnumOpus 10y ago
  Self-correction: It cuts the Zürich-Lugano journey time from 173 to 111 minutes rather than Zürich-Milan (which still takes longer). Though it does cut journey times for the latter by an hour too.
deleted 10y ago
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- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
Analemma_ 10y ago
In addition to the other replies, I want to point out that a major reason for the tunnel's existence isn't just to reduce travel times, but to provide an alternative way for freight to cross the mountains besides using trucks over the roads, which are dangerous and make a lot more pollution. Even if transit times for passengers don't decrease that much, this will be judged a success if it gets a lot of freight trucks off the road.
vasile 10y ago
MagnumOpus is right, GBT will save ~1hr of travel, check out this infographic where you can see the comparison of stage coach, train, car and new train via GBT: http://interactive.swissinfo.ch/infographic/Gotthard_Strecken/eng/index.html http://interactive.swissinfo.ch/infographic/Gotthard_Strecke...