(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) will have to replace all 228 kilometres of track in the Gotthard Base Tunnel earlier than originally expected due to the heavy load. The replacement is scheduled to take place between 2032 and 2034. A total closure is not planned. This content was published on September 15, 2025 - 10:22 2 minutes Keystone-SDA

• Deutsch de SBB müssen Schienen im Gotthard-Basistunnel früher ersetzen Original Read more: SBB müssen Schienen im Gotthard-Basistunnel früher ersetze

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The rails in the Gotthard Base Tunnel were originally expected to have a service life of around 20 years, SBB said on Sunday in response to an enquiry from Keystone-SDA. They now reckon with 16 years. This was first reported by the SonntagsBlick newspaper.

According to SBB, the number of trains is now greater than was assumed at the time. Among other things, reference is made to the half-hourly frequency introduced with the last timetable change.

SBB currently assumes that the tracks will be replaced between 2032 and 2034. The replacement of the rails is planned as part of normal, scheduled maintenance windows.

No details are given on the cost of the work. According to SonntagsBlick, these are likely to be in the two to three-digit million range. The railway company is currently looking for concepts from companies that are capable of carrying out the project.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at ... .

Related Stories Popular Stories More Swiss Politics Will Switzerland finally do away with imputed rental-value tax on homeowners? Read more: Will Switzerland finally do away with imputed rental-value tax on homeowners

MENAFN15092025000210011054ID1110064216