The New Rail Link through the Alps (NRAL) will bring high-speed travel to Switzerland with trains running as fast as 250kph. The new link will have base tunnels at Gotthard, Zimmerberg and Ceneri. A second NRAL link will run through Lotschberg. The impetus in building the two new NRAL lines is the rapidly increasing amount of transalpine and European freight traffic, According to the European Union, freight traffic in the Alpine region is expected to grow 75 by 2010. Financing for the ambitious project is through both an approved tax on oil products and vehicles, and a value-added tax. Approximately, CHF30 billion (USD23.9 billion) will be invested over the following 20 years to incorporate the Gotthard Base Tunnel at CHF7 billion (USD5.6 billion) and the Ceneri Tunnel at about CHF2 billion (USD1.6 billion). The Zimmerberg Base Tunnel will be 20 kilometers long and begin just outside Zurich. The Ceneri Base Tunnel will be 15 kilometers long, and runs from Camorino to. Lugano, The first phase of the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel is already in operation, but further work has been postponed by the Swiss government.
展开▼
