Furka Base Tunnel

Geschichte

The Furka Base Tunnel is a Swiss railway base tunnel on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's Furka–Oberalp line, a west-east railway connecting the cantons of Valais and Uri. Its west portal lies east of Oberwald (VS), at 1390m above sea level and its east portal lies south of Realp (UR), at 1550m. The base tunnel is 15407m in length, and replaced the previous track that climbed to an apex of 2160m above sea level, thus allowing year-round service through service on the Furka–Oberalp line. The old line has been reopened by the Furka Heritage Railway for tourist trains which pass the Furka Pass via the 1.8km long Furka Summit Tunnel.In the middle of the base tunnel, is a small access tunnel from Bedretto in the canton of Ticino (1480m).The Furka Base Tunnel is completed by a bypass tunnel around Oberwald.HistoryPrior to the opening of the base tunnel, the high-level route closed during the winter months because of heavy snowfall, and large sections of the overhead electrical lines had to be dismantled. In 1976, the Parliament of Switzerland passed a bill for its construction, sponsored by Roger Bonvin, following an initial cost estimate of 76 million francs.