Lötschberg plans full rail baseline finish
The Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon railroad company, BLS AG, now plans to complete the west bore of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. It is only partially done, and the tunnel is operated as a single-track line in the east bore, thus being a major bottleneck. Approvals should be done in mid-2020, contracting should start in 2021, construction should start in 2021-22, and it should be done by the end of 2028.
From north to south, the state of completion is:
The project's cost will be nearly USD 1 billion. Scaling from Switzerland's population of 8.27 million to the US's population of 327.2 million (2018 numbers) gives about USD 40 billion.
The Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon railroad company, BLS AG, now plans to complete the west bore of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. It is only partially done, and the tunnel is operated as a single-track line in the east bore, thus being a major bottleneck. Approvals should be done in mid-2020, contracting should start in 2021, construction should start in 2021-22, and it should be done by the end of 2028.
From north to south, the state of completion is:
- Wengi-Ey
- West bore unfinished (Engstlige tunnel) - 4 km
- Frutigen
- West bore not tunneled - 7 km
- Mitholz crossover unfinished
- West bore unfinished - 14 km
- Ferden crossover
- West bore in service - 14 km
- Raron
The project's cost will be nearly USD 1 billion. Scaling from Switzerland's population of 8.27 million to the US's population of 327.2 million (2018 numbers) gives about USD 40 billion.