Switzerland | Schweiz

Derailment Detectors on the Approaches to the Gotthard Base Tunnel Are in Operation

Derailed freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, August 2023 Credit/Quelle: SBB CFF FFS
Derailed freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, August 2023
Credit/Quelle: SBB CFF FFS

Following the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in August 2023, SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) examined measures to mitigate the impact in the event of an incident. In mid-May 2026, SBB commissioned trackside derailment detectors at around ten locations on the approaches to the Tunnel.

The detectors have been installed on a particularly sensitive section before the portal cross-over points on the access lines to the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Both passenger and freight trains travel at high speed on this line, whereby high-speed switches enable cross-overs.

Derailment detectors...

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