It was a pleasure trip in my case, but the line is well used also by weekly commuters and students going back home on the weekend, or by people traveling on business. The line has an average of 10.000 passengers per day (20.000 back in the 70s-80s when air traffic was lower) and 15 millions tonnes of freight a year (5 to 6 short European trains per hour per direction), but traffic is extremely variable. On Sundays in summer two or three 12 car trains per hour per direction full of tourists and weekly commuters are not uncommon, while some trains on winter weekdays are quite empty. The same happens on the motorway, 40.000 cars on peak summer days and 10.000 in winter weekdays.
Yep! And they have a lot more just like it. The Gotthard is more or less at the centre of the Swiss Alps (going East to West). The jury is still out what will happen to the line once the Basistunnel is opened. At 57km (35.4miles) it will be the world's longest tunnel, http://www.alptransit.ch/en/status-of-the-work/gotthard-base-tunnel.html But you won't see much of that gorgeous scenery or the clever layout of the original line.
The old line should be kept in service as backup and for regional and touristic traffic (including a link to the Glacier Express route passing nearby).
I have driven the Autobahn route thru there several times--simply beautiful. Thanks for posting the trackside views!
If you are interested on this line here a video from Swissengeneer Stefan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gnjWFP4M4DM
I have been to Switzerland several times on family holidays in summertime but not in winter and managed to fit in some railfanning (difficult to avoid trains in Switzerland) But never made it to the Gottardbahn as we were centered nearer the Lotchberg. It is certainly a beautiful and famous railroute!
Three videos shot on 22th December 2011 (not from me). They have been shot in Göschenen, northern portal of the 15 km/9 miles summit tunnel, in a very snowy day. The recorded voice at the beginning of the third video says that some branches of the metre gauge MGB network (seen at minute 2:45) are closed because of danger of avalanches. It's about three weeks that some parts of the MGB network and nearby roads are closed, reopened and closed again because of snow; even in this moment there is something out of service. The passenger train waiting on the third track is one of the unreliable ETR 470 sets waiting to be towed away after having broken down (it was running as EC 17 Zürich-Milano service). The ETR 470, introduced in 1996, will be retired (at least from Switzerland) in 2014, that is, around 15 years before initial plans. As they would have to undergo a mandatory mid-life overhaul by that date, SBB CFF FFS decided to use them as much as possible without having to pay for the overhaul. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBBlGOB38gk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCLoJQXZ71c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdGf2d5jKuA
Thanks for the video links. Awesome railway location. Have been hoping for some snow scenes to photograph trains here, but so far no snow has appeared this end of the Alps!
Strangely, there is absolutely no snow at the low end of the valleys on both sides of the summit tunnel, but near the tunnel itself and on higher nearby roads there is even too much snow, impeding transports. Some of the MGB network, the only link in winter on Furka and Oberalp passes (there are shuttle trains for cars - just like the Eurotunnel, but on much smaller scale), is still closed. And the MGB railway (running nearly completely in snow shelters) is in this moment the only link to Andermatt and Hospental villages, as the parallel road is closed.
I have driven over the Furka pass a few times, also used the car shuttle through the tunnel (all in summer). Must be bad to close off the route.
I have driven over the Furka pass and also used the car shuttle through the tunnel (all in summer). Must be bad to close off parts of the route.
