The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is the centrepiece of the BLS infrastructure and a central element of the NRLA, the New Rail Link through the Alps. However, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel is also a bottleneck because two thirds of the tunnel can only be accessed via one rail tube. At the beginning of 2024, BLS got the green light to expand the full length of the tunnel to two tubes. This will finally complete the construction. Since the Lötschberg Base Tunnel was first commissioned in 2007, it has been impossible to imagine Swiss transport infrastructure without it. The tunnel has shortened the journey from the Central Plateau to Valais, and freight trains no longer have to traverse the energy-intensive mountain route. The catch here is that only around a third of the current tunnel has two passable tubes. Now BLS is creating more capacity for passenger and freight transport by expanding the tunnel to comprise two rail tubes along its entire length, and is thus eliminating the bottleneck.
Investing in the future: The tracks in the Lötschberg Summit Tunnel were last replaced in the 1970s. Over the past six years, BLS has invested in a modern and sustainable track so that the travellers can continue to travel conveniently through the tunnel between Goppenstein and Kandersteg.