摘要
1. Introduction With the opening ceremony of the Gotthard Base Tunnel on 1 June 2016, a new world record was established: the commissioning of the longest railway tunnel in the world. Many challenges have been overcome and many technical innovations have been developed and considered in this project. As of 11 December 2016, the Gotthard Base Tunnel has been an integral part of the new timetable of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS), and is in full operation. With a total length of 57 km and a cruising speed of 200 km·h^-1 for passenger trains, the Gotthard Base Tunnel reduces the journey time through the Alps by 40 min, significantly reducing the distance between the south and north of Europe.
