Switzerland

Tunnelling the Gotthard – Success Story GBT

For centuries, the Gotthard Massif has been an almost insurmountable barrier in the Alps – but since 11 December 2016, the official opening of the base tunnel for services by the SBB, it will now only take 20 minutes for a train to pass through the mountain. The Gott-
hard Base Tunnel (GBT), which was ceremonially opened on 1 June 2016 in the presence of leading European politicians, is now open for rail travellers after more than 20 years of design and construction. As part of the NRLA transit concept and the European goods traffic corridor A (Rotterdam–Genoa), the base tunnel is a construction work of the century for Europe.

The design and construction history of the GBT has set standards for modern tunnel building. Tunnelling projects all over the world will profit from the innovations in tunnelling technology, concrete and waterproofing systems and materials management. In order to ensure this knowledge and practical experience for posterity, the Swiss Tunnelling Society (STS) has now published the reference book “Tunnelling the Gotthard”, a documentation of the project that is unique in this form. More than 100 people involved in the project describe specific specialist perspectives and analyses. Divided into 18 themed sections, the articles deal with subjects including the political environment in the 1980s, high-level management processes, the design and management of the project, tendering and construction – with all points of view including logistics and surveying, materials management, M&E installation and railway equipment to environmental questions.

After the publication of the German edition for the opening ceremonies in June 2016, the English edition of this major project documentation is now available in time for the official start of services in the GBT.

View sample pages under:

www.tunnel-online.info/success-story

Tunnelling the Gotthard

Published by the STS Swiss Tunnelling Society

720 pages, hardback, marker ribbon, end pocket with supplements (schematic general layout, effective construction programme, geological findings along the east tunnel)

2935 g

ISBN 978-3-033-05485-1 (German)

ISBN 978-3-033-05803-3 (English)