Funding Approval for World's Longest LiftThe opening of the 57 km Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland is still nearly ten years away, but locals in the Surselva, one of the valleys under which it will pass, are celebrating a breakthrough. The Swiss parliament approved on 7th December, 2005 CHF7.5 million to kick-start the CHF50 million Porta Alpina plan. That was quickly followed by lawmakers in canton Graubünden who promised a further CHF20 million. The cantonal share of CHF20 million still needs to be approved by voters in Graubünden on 12th February, 2006. But the people of the isolated and economically depressed mountain region in Graubünden are now well on their way to being connected to the rest of the world by a high speed rail link. The idea of the promoters is to convert the access tunnel and elevator shaft used at the Gotthard construction site outside the village of Sedrun into a permanent subterranean railway station. Instead of whizzing from urban Zurich to the Milan metropolis non-stop, travellers would have the option of disembarking in the heart of the Alps to go skiing or play a round of golf.Supporters in parliament called the project "visionary", scoring a victory over opponents who warned that costs could spiral out of control and that having trains stop in the middle of the tunnel would slow service, defeating the purpose of the high speed rail link.The CHF50 million is what has been budgeted to refit the existing tunnel and shaft with passenger facilities and safety features, including the world's tallest lift to take travellers up to the surface level from the rail platform 800 metres below. In comparison, CN Tower in Toronto - considered the world's tallest structure - is only 553 m high. Work is expected to begin on the station with the construction of a passenger concourse inside the tunnel next March.A feasibility study carried out a couple of years ago by the canton figured that by cutting travelling times to Zurich by half (1.5 hours in future), the project would not only stop the exodus of people from the mountain region but attract 1,000 new residents. It would also boost tourist numbers by around 50,000 a year. The end result, according to the study, would be CHF35 million in additional income annually - ten times higher than the forecasted operating costs. The argument was enough to convince politicians.Of the total of 153.4 km of main tunnels, cross passages and shafts, 84.1 km (54.7%) had been excavated as of 1st January, 2006. When completed in 2015, the Gotthard base tunnel will vastly reduce travelling times between places north and south of the Alps, and move more freight from road to rail. Click ch/17 & ch/22, here and here. Read E-News Weekly 43/2005 & 29/2005. Visit www.alptransit.ch and www.visiun-porta-alpina.ch 04/06. Click to enlarge