Key Swiss rail tunnel damaged by derailment won’t fully reopen until next September

GENEVA — Switzerland’s nationwide rail operator mentioned Thursday the world’s longest rail tunnel will not be absolutely reopened to coach site visitors till subsequent September, once more pushing again the goal date for repairs of injury attributable to a cargo prepare derailment.

The Swiss federal railway operator, identified by its German-language acronym SBB, mentioned the harm from the Aug. 10 derailment within the Gotthard tunnel, Switzerland’s primary north-south rail thoroughfare, is “rather more vital than first imagined.”

“The rail tracks have to be completely changed over 7 kilometers (4.2 miles). The work will take rather more time than anticipated,” SBB mentioned. The price of the repairs is predicted to be 100 million to 130 million Swiss francs (about $110 million to $140 million).

Restricted passenger and cargo prepare site visitors via the tunnel is continuous. Beforehand, SBB mentioned restore work would proceed via the tip of this yr.

Nobody was injured within the derailment, however the harm was appreciable. Massive swaths of observe and an evacuation portal have been torn up.

The tunnel is a vital thoroughfare for items and cargo, notably between Germany to the north and Italy to the south. Final yr, greater than two-thirds of rail freight site visitors via the Alps handed via the tunnel, in accordance with the Swiss authorities.