AN IMPRESSIVE ENGINEERING WORK.
SAINT GOTHARD RAIL TUNNEL – SWITZERLAND
In the last 25 years, the segment between Lugano and Zurich, the
traffic of trucks has increased 12 times. For the purpose of streamlining
transport and for the expansion of the Swiss rail network, because each year
through the tunnel will pass 6 million passengers and 50 million tons of cargo,
after 10 years of studies and 15 years of construction, materialized construction
of Saint-Gothard tunnel.
What is Saint Gothard?
1. Mountain range in the Alps Lepontine (Switzerland, max. 3,192 m),
consisting of crystalline, Granites South and streets. 2. Pass from long, 26 km,
located at 2,108 m altitude, on the border with Switzerland and Italy, which
provide the link between the two countries in the area of Reuss and Ticino
valleys. 3. Rail Tunnel, located 1,154 m high, built in the years 1872-1882,
between the villages of Airolo (Italy) and Andermatt (Switzerland), assigned for
a distance of 15 km from the Saint-Gothard. 4. Road tunnel, 16.3 km long,
opened to traffic in 1980, ensuring links between the settlements of Airolo (Italy)
and Andermatt (Switzerland). 5. The longest rail tunnel in the world, which
should enter into service in the year 2017, the core piece of the expansion of
the Swiss rail network.
Keywords: mountain range, passing the railway tunnel, the transalpine
road tunnel, the Swiss rail network expansion
Cuvinte cheie: masiv muntos, trecătoare transalpină, tunel feroviar,
tunel rutier, extindere rețea feroviară elvețiană
25-8
