Bözberg tunnel approved, the old one becomes a rescue tunnel
The Federal Office of Transport has granted SBB planning approval for the construction of the new Bözberg Tunnel. This is intended to further promote transalpine freight transport by rail. The current Bözberg Tunnel will be used in future as a service and rescue tunnel.
The BAV has approved SBB's project to replace the existing Bözberg tunnel with a new construction between Effingen and Schinznach-Dorf. According to the statement, this project is the largest single project for the expansion of the line between Basel and Chiasso into a 4-meter corridor. Once completed, the 4-meter corridor will allow semitrailers with a corner height of 4 meters to be transported by rail from 2020. This will strengthen the shift of transalpine freight transports from road to rail.
Numerous smaller and larger measures are necessary for the realization of a 4-meter corridor on the Gotthard axis. In total, measures will be implemented in twelve tunnels and around 80 further obstacles will be removed, according to the statement. Parliament has approved a credit of 710 million Swiss francs for this purpose. Of this, around 350 million francs will be spent on the construction of the new Bözberg tunnel.
The current Bözberg tunnel has two lanes and is not suitable for 4 meters. In the future, it will be used as a service and rescue tunnel for the new tunnel. Five cross-connections between the old and the new tunnel will serve as escape routes into the rescue tube. With the planning approval, the FOT has authorized SBB to start construction work immediately, according to a final statement.
