Tunnels Through The Pass
Several tunnels provide access through the pass. The 15 km Gotthard Rail Tunnel was the first and opened in 1882 for railway traffic at a cost of around 200 workers' lives (there is uncertainty as to the exact toll). It replaced the pass road, connecting Göschenen with Airolo.
A 17 km motorway tunnel, the Gotthard Road Tunnel opened in 1980. It was closed for two months in 2001 following a fatal fire.
A second rail tunnel through the pass, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, is currently under construction. When completed, it will be the longest rail tunnel in the world at 57 km. This tunnel, combined with two shorter tunnels planned near Zürich and Lugano as part of the AlpTransit initiative, will reduce the 3 hour 40 min rail journey from Zürich to Milan by one hour, while increasing the size and number of trains that can operate along the route because the line is nearly level, compared with the spirals of the older tunnel.
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Famous quotes containing the word pass:
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—Andrew Barton Peterson (1864–1941)