Today the railway gallery of base of Saint Gottardo, the infrastructural work is inaugurated more important of the Rotterdam-Genoa Corridor



Today it comes officially inaugurated the railway gallery of base of the Saint Gottardo that, with its 57 kilometers of length, the absence of slopes and the 2,300 meters of cliff that they separate in some points the tunnel from the terrestrial surface, is the longer and deeper railway gallery to the world and is the more meaningful work of the development plan of infrastructures of Switzerland inserted in the project for the construction of New Transalpine Railroad (NFTA). The new infrastructural gallery constitutes also one of the work more important in the picture of the connections between the north and the south of Europe.

The new work, whose put in service 11 will happen next December, is realized in 17 years with an investment total of 12,2 billion franchi Swiss (11 billion euros) on total 23 billion franchi Swiss for the realization of the entire New Transalpine Railroad that, besides the gallery of 34,6 kilometers of the Lötschberg inaugurated in 2007 and to the tunnel of the Gottardo, it includes also the construction of the gallery of 15,4 kilometers of the Monte Ceneri whose opening is previewed in 2020.

The today's inauguration on board previews the transit through the gallery of base of the Saint Gottardo of a convoy with thousand representatives of the Helvetic population extracted randomly and a festivity to which heads of state and of government participate, between which those of Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein, let alone the European commissioner to the Transports, Violeta Bulc. Tomorrow a festivity for all will hold the people involved in the project; friday will take place the first race of a freight train through the new tunnel and at last saturday and Sunday a festivity for all will hold the organized population from railway group Helvetic SBB CFF FFS.

In occasion of the inauguration of the Swiss infrastructural work the Italian minister of Infrastructures and the Transports, Graziano Delrio, has remembered that "for the Renzi government the potenziamento of the rail shipment of the goods, regarding that on the road, is a central objective: he wants to say sustainability and efficiency. We are investing a lot for the Italian net and the connections with the four European Corridors - Delrio has remembered - because Italy can be the port to South of Europe, in the Mediterranean, as speaks his mind geographic position. We want to arrive, for 2021, to double the values of 2015 of the goods that travel on iron in Italy and are strengthening the harbour systems. Our Country needs "cure of the iron" and "it cures of the water"".

The minister has evidenced that "the new gallery of Saint Gottardo is fundamental work of the European Corridor TRIES the Rhine-Alps between Rotterdam and Genoa: he means - he has added - smaller times of travel, the more quality, more safety and more trains". Delrio has confirmed that from Italian part all the necessary one is being made in order to upgrade the railway connections north-south and in sight of the opening of the tunnel Ashes in 2020: "Italy - it has emphasized - perfectly is aligned".

In particular, it is rimarcato that Italy has a priority interest in the development of railway infrastructures comprised in the Rhine-Alps corridor, and to the European Corridors in general terms, for the strategic contribution that they offer to the competitiveness and to the economic and occupational increase. Therefore Italian Railway Net (RFI) of the group is remembered that on the Italian depositor of the tunnel of the Gottardo they are on, through the society FS Italian, participations of infrastructural and technological potenziamento on the railway lines of the European Corridor TRY the Rhine-Alps that will already allow to have use of the benefits of the realized works and that such work will be completed in 2020 together with the Swisses. Therefore in 2020, the participations concluded all are Italy side are Switzerland side, will be guaranteed an ability to traffic of 390 trains/day, against the 290 today, of which 170 to the Pass of Uproar, 90 to the Pass of Luino and 130 to the Pass of Domodossola.