Update 16.08.2023: Gotthard Base Tunnel will not be opened for several months
As communicated by SBB on 16 August 2023, the damage after the accident is significantly greater than initially estimated. The east tunnel, free of the accident but currently closed due to safety reasons, should be opened for freight traffic on 23 August 2023.
Passenger trains use the panoramic route at the moment, and they have a priority from 5 am to 11 pm. Only one freight train per hour is permitted on this route during this period. Most of the freight trains run at night, between 11 pm and 5 am.
The problem remains with the combined traffic, which is unsuitable for the Panorama route. SBB Cargo International currently diverts around 30% of this traffic via the Lötschberg route. The situation north-south European axis will thus partially ease after 23 August, when the eastern tunnel will be made available for combined traffic and other freight trains, and the scheduled maintenance work at the Brenner axis should be completed.
The original article from 15 August 2023:
On Friday, 11 August 2023, Railmarket News informed you about a derailment inside the Gotthard Base Tunnel that brought much of the traffic on this key route to a standstill. The investigative authorities have released the locomotive and undamaged wagons out of the tunnel, yet 16 wagons are still at the accident scene. The extensive damage includes rail track, sleepers and other infrastructure that does not allow one tunnel lane traffic to reopen for safety reasons.
Both local and international passenger traffic was redirected via the panoramic route through the Alps, yet double-deck trains are not allowed on this route, decreasing the capacity by 30%. The rerouting also causes delays from one to two hours.
Combined transport, which is the vast majority of freight trains passing the Gotthard route, is diverted to the Lötschberg-Simplon axis, but much of the cargo remains in the terminals, not moving. SBB states that freight train parking capacities in Switzerland are already exhausted.
The derailment occurred near the Faido station in Ticino canton, which is one of two emergency stops of the tunnel. Based on information from the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board, Swiss media outlets mention a broken wheel on one of the wagons as the preliminary cause of the incident. SBB will issue a new forecast on potential tunnel reopening on 16 August 2023, which was initially set as a date of tunnel reopening.
