Ceneri Base Tunnel: Final Commissioning Measures
On 15 December 2019, the final measures for the commissioning of the Ceneri Base Tunnel were agreed at the station in Lugano by the government president of Tessin, Christian Vitta, and the head of Swiss railways (SBB), Andreas Meyer.
The 15.4 km long tunnel is to open for service with the timetable changeover in 2020 as the last section of the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA); construction costs for the tunnel will amount to 22.8 billion Swiss francs (21 billion euros).
The Ceneri Base Tunnel will open on 13 December 2020 at 6:03 a.m. with the first train northward; this should belong to the new Giruno fleet and be named “Ceneri 2020”. The SBB is sure that all necessary measures for the opening on schedule of the Ceneri Base Tunnel will have been completed on time; this includes the enlargement of the tunnel profiles, about 20 construction sites in the Tessin and the improvement works on the east bank of the Zugersee as well as the agreements covering national and international passenger services.
