Ceneri Base Tunnel

Gotthard and Ceneri Base Tunnel. The route through Luino follows the lake shores.

The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT) is a railway base tunnel under construction in Switzerland's Canton Ticino. It will pass under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano, and will bypass the current high-level rail route through the Monte Ceneri Tunnel. It is composed of two single-track tunnels, each of them having a length of 15.4 km (9.6 mi).[1] It is another part of the Swiss AlpTransit initiative NRLA. The final breakthroughs took place on 21 January 2016 (west tube) and 26 January 2016 (east tube) and the tunnel is expected to open in December 2020.[2]

On completion, the CBT will be an important feeder in the south for the Gotthard Base Tunnel as the existing, proportionally steep track over Monte Ceneri is not suitable for high-speed rail or heavy freight trains. Another feeder is the Luino link along Lake Maggiore which is about to be upgraded by Italy in prospect of the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Both links meet in the Magadino Flat in the future Camorino Node (Italian: Nodo di Camorino).

The CBT and Gotthard Base Tunnels are being built under contract from the Swiss Federal Government by Alptransit Gotthard AG. Construction of the two single-track bores started in March 2006. The official start was celebrated on 2 June 2006 with the laying of a foundation stone.

An exploration tunnel near Sigirino was excavated between 1999 and 2003 to gain geological data on the rock formations at the CBT's level. From the data gathered, it was decided that only a small part can be drilled using a tunnel boring machine; the rest will be excavated with traditional blasting methods.

The CBT will ease local train traffic, mainly between the two major cities Locarno and Lugano but also between Bellinzona and Lugano. Travel time on the S-Bahn from Locarno to Lugano should drop from 50 to 22 minutes.

Progress

In June 2009, the Board of Directors of AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd announced the construction contract for the tunnel had been awarded to the Consorzio Condotte Cossi consortium, at a value of 987 million Swiss francs. Boring work on the tunnels started in spring 2010. Excavation was completed January 26 2016. Railway infrastructure will start to be installed. Commercial usage of the Ceneri Base Tunnel through revenue train services is expected to start in late 2020.[3]

In March 2010, it was announced that blasting had begun on the main drives of the CBT. Tunneling reached full-speed by the end of 2010.

Breakthrough in the west tube between Sigirino and Vezia occurred on 17 March 2015 at 12pm local time. [4]

Breakthrough in the east tube between Sigirino and Vezia occurred on 30 March 2015 at 5pm local time.

Breakthrough in the west tube between Sigirino and Vigana occurred on 21 January 2016 at 12pm local time.

Breakthrough in the east tube between Sigirino and Vigana occurred on 26 January 2016

Year   Month   Total excavated
km mi %[nb 1]
2010 1 January 7.600 4.72 18.9
1 February 7.637 4.75 19.0
1 March 7.673 4.77 19.1
1 April 7.731 4.80 19.4
1 May 7.880 4.90 19.8
1 June 8.101 5.03 20.4
1 July 8.344 5.18 21.0
1 August 8.816 5.48 22.2
1 September 9.102 5.66 22.9
1 October 9.466 5.88 23.8
1 November 9.962 6.19 25.0
1 December 10.460 6.50 26.3
2011 1 January 10.820 6.72 27.2
1 February 11.360 7.06 28.6
1 March 11.890 7.39 29.9
1 April 12.345 7.67 31.0
1 May 12.660 7.87 31.8
1 June 13.140 8.16 33.0
1 July 13.580 8.44 34.2
1 August 13.960 8.67 35.1
1 September 14.240 8.85 35.8
1 October 14.780 9.18 37.2
1 November 15.550 9.66 39.1
1 December 16.270 10.11 40.9
2012 1 January 16.800 10.44 42.4
1 February 17.390 10.81 43.7
1 March 17.900 11.12 45.2
1 April 18.600 11.56 46.9
1 May 19.200 11.93 48.3
1 June 20.000 12.43 50.3
1 July 20.600 12.80 51.8
1 August 21.100 13.11 53.1
1 September 21.300 13.24 53.7
1 October 21.800 13.55 54.8
1 November 22.300 13.86 56.0
1 December 22.800 14.17 57.3
2013 1 January 23.000 14.29 57.9
1 February 23.500 14.60 59.0
1 March 24.000 14.91 60.5
1 April 24.600 15.29 61.8
1 May 25.160 15.63 63.2
1 June 25.670 15.95 64.5
1 July 26.120 16.23 65.6
1 August 26.400 16.40 66.5
1 September 26.800 16.65 67.4
1 October 27.300 16.96 68.6
1 November 27.850 17.31 70.0
1 December 28.500 17.71 71.7
2014 1 January 28.500 17.71 71.7
1 February 29.400 18.27 73.9
1 March 29.700 18.45 74.8
1 April 30.230 18.78 76.0
1 May 30.620 19.03 76.9
1 June 31.280 19.44 78.6
1 July 31.930 19.84 80.2
1 August 32.590 20.25 81.9
1 September 32.830 20.40 82.5
1 October 33.490 20.81 84.1
1 November 33.980 21.11 85.4
1 December 34.400 21.38 86.4
2015 1 January 34.750 21.59 87.3
1 February 35.350 21.97 88.8
1 March 35.910 22.31 90.2
1 April 36.330 22.57 91.3
1 May 36.810 22.87 92.5
1 June 37.350 23.21 93.8
1 July 37.680 23.41 94.7
1 August 38.090 23.67 95.7
1 September 38.280 23.79 96.2
1 October 38.660 24.02 97.2
1 November 38.970 24.21 97.9
1 December 39.430 24.50 99.1
2016 1 January 39.670 24.65 99.7
1 February 39.780 24.72 100
Note:
  1. ↑ percentage of 39.780 km (24.718 mi)

The monthly progress update graphic is available online.[5]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Ceneri Base Tunnel". AlpTransit. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ceneri Base Tunnel: Operational opening expected in December 2020". AlpTransit. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  3. ↑ "Ceneri Base Tunnel: Blast-driving the main tunnel from Sigirino begins". AlpTransit. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.

External links

Coordinates: 46°07′09″N 8°59′27″E / 46.11917°N 8.99083°E / 46.11917; 8.99083

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