On September 2, 2024, Ticino State Council President Christian Vitta, Uri State Councillor Urban Camenzind, and SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot announced the complete reopening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel for both freight and passenger trains. The tunnel had been initially closed and then partially restricted following the derailment of a freight train on August 10, 2024. Freight trains had already been allowed to pass through, albeit in limited numbers, but full capacity has now been restored. Practically, this translates to a time saving of 60 to 75 minutes per journey.
SBB estimates that the restoration work cost at least 150 million Swiss francs, with a 20 percent margin of error. There are also indirect costs to consider, including lost revenue from transit fees and the broader impact on the transportation sector due to train cancellations and diversions. However, it is still too early to provide an accurate estimate of these costs.
While September 2 is a celebratory day for rail transport, it is a bleak one for road transport. On this date, the Mont Blanc road tunnel will completely close to all vehicles until December 16 for extensive maintenance work. It is expected that a significant portion of industrial vehicles will be diverted to the Fréjus Tunnel, causing congestion not only on the Valsusa highway but also on Turin's ring road.
