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127-670: The railway comprises an international main line through Switzerland from Basel ( French : Bâle ) or Zürich to Immensee to Chiasso , together with branches, from Immensee to Lucerne and Rotkreuz , from Arth-Goldau to Zug or Pfäffikon SZ , and from Bellinzona to Chiasso via Locarno and Luino . At Chiasso, the line connects to the Milan–Chiasso railway , which runs across the Swiss–Italian border . The main line, second highest standard railway in Switzerland , penetrates

254-470: A rack railway to the summit of Monte Generoso . The Gotthard line then continues to Mendrisio and Chiasso . Chiasso station houses the border controls and has a large international marshalling yard . Conventional trains change locomotives here due to different traction voltages and train protection systems in Italy. The Gotthard line carries a mixture of freight and long distance passenger trains over

381-401: A bishops' crozier as the heraldic charge in the coat of arms of Basel first appears in the form of a gilded wooden staff in the 12th century. It is of unknown origin or significance (beyond its obvious status of bishop's crozier), but it is assumed to have represented a relic, possibly attributed to Saint Germanus of Granfelden . This staff (known as Baselstab ) became a symbol representing

508-427: A century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river "between Lake Constance and the sea". The first city guild were the furriers , established in 1226. A total of about fifteen guilds were established in the course of the 13th century, reflecting the increasing economic prosperity of the city. The Crusade of 1267 set out from Basel. Political conflicts between

635-556: A clear width of 12 metres (39 ft), bridging larger distances with iron superstructures , which therefore became a frequent sight on the original Gotthard line, their iron representing a weight of 17723 tons. The construction of each bridge represented its own individual challenge, depending on the surrounding geography and geology . With the exception of three arch bridges all steel bridges consisted of very simple, straight, single beam truss constructions . These had to be reinforced already before 1914 still during steam operation of

762-414: A consequence of the relatively low bid, which contrasted poorly against the additional costs that were incurred during construction, Favre increasingly found himself at odds with Swiss politicians and investors alike. Even prior to the onset of construction activity, the location of the tunnel presented challenges that exceeded those of the earlier Fréjus Rail Tunnel; due to both the steepness and height of

889-566: A great variety of information with regards to material and especially operational aspects in the year 1899, 17 years after the inauguration of the Gotthard tunnel and completion of the railway. The map key and captions to each column are to be found at the top of the page. Leading from left to right information is given on the location of each station's elevation in relation to sea level, the longitudinal profile, signal lights, tunnels and their length, for each route section on southbound journeys

1016-536: A handful of wealthy families collectively referred to as the "Daig" played a pivotal role in city affairs as they gradually established themselves as a de facto city aristocracy . The first edition of Christianae religionis institutio ( Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin 's great exposition of Calvinist doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536. In 1544, Johann von Brugge,

1143-593: A major junction is reached at Giubiasco . Here the original main line branches off what is now considered the main Gotthard line to Lugano and Chiasso. What was originally considered the main line continues down the valley of the Ticino, crossing the Italian border and continuing to meet the Italian railway system at Pino on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore . The line beyond Pino to the Italian town of Luino , although Italian-owned, has always been operated as part of

1270-565: A pro-Habsburg faction, known as Sterner , and an anti-Habsburg faction, the Psitticher . The Black Death reached Basel in 1348. The Jews were blamed , and an estimated 50 to 70 Jews were executed by burning on 16 January 1349 in what has become known as the Basel massacre . The Basel earthquake of 1356 destroyed much of the city along with a number of castles in the vicinity. A riot on 26 February 1376, known as Böse Fasnacht , led to

1397-424: A result of rock slides, dynamite explosions, and a few drowned due to water inrushes. Of those that survived, several suffered from serious health issues caused by a hookworm epidemic ( Ancylostoma duodenale ). Medical investigations led to "major advances in parasitology , by way of research into the aetiology, epidemiology and treatment of ancylostomiasis ". During 1875, the workforce went on strike ; this

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1524-570: A rich Dutch Protestant refugee, was given citizenship and lived respectably until his death in 1556, then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist David Joris . In 1543, De humani corporis fabrica , the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564). There are indications Joachim Meyer , author of

1651-559: A safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as Erasmus of Rotterdam , the Holbein family, Friedrich Nietzsche , Carl Jung , and in the 20th century also Hermann Hesse and Karl Jaspers . Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since

1778-414: A signal bell. Southbound trains were signalled by 3 triple chimes, northbound trains by two double chimes. The signalling mechanism at each signal bell had to be manually wound up every day by station employees and railway watchmen. Part of the mechanism was a weight having to be raised by help of a pulley. The electric signal triggering the alarm operated a relay, activating the bell's hammer through force of

1905-454: A testament to the stringent surveying and directing that had been performed throughout the construction phase. The occasion was widely publicised and hailed as a major engineering triumph; the engineer Adolphe Gautier described it at the time as being "the greatest work hitherto attempted by man". Following this milestone, a further two years of construction work continued upon the tunnel. This period of activity largely revolved around removing

2032-811: A tunnel through the Splügen . In the 1840s, the two cantons then joined forces with the Ticino for a tunnel through the Lukmanier. The Kingdom of Sardinia then wanted a tunnel through the Grimsel , so the tunnel through the Alps would be further away from the Austrian Empire . Zurich and Tessin favored a tunnel through the Lukmanier , while Basel, Uri and Lucerne tried to prevent this at all means. In 1852,

2159-599: Is Swiss Standard German and the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect. Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums , including the Kunstmuseum , which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland , the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen ),

2286-526: Is May during which time Basel receives an average of 98 mm (3.9 in) of rain. The month with the most days of precipitation is also May, with an average of 11.7 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 45 mm (1.8 in) of precipitation over 8.4 days. The city of Basel functions as the capital of the Swiss half-canton of Basel-Stadt . The canton Basel-Stadt consists of three municipalities: Riehen , Bettingen , and

2413-671: Is also made with the Arth-Rigi-Bahn , a rack railway climbing the mountain Rigi . The Zug branch of the Gotthard railway commences in the city of Zug . It makes a junction, in Zug station , with the line to Zürich via Thalwil . The line then follows the east shore of the Lake of Zug to reach Arth-Goldau. From Arth-Goldau, the line then follows the Lauerzer See and passes Schwyz ,

2540-446: Is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.67 km (7.98 sq mi) or 86.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.45 km (0.56 sq mi) or 6.1% is either rivers or lakes. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 10.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 40.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 24.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of

2667-678: Is located in Northwestern Switzerland and is commonly considered to be the capital of that region. It is close to the point where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, and Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. As of 2016 , the Swiss Basel agglomeration was the third-largest in Switzerland, with a population of 541,000 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland (municipal count as of 2018). The metropolitan area , called

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2794-653: Is made with the Lugano–Ponte Tresa railway , a metre gauge railway to the town of Ponte Tresa . Following the western waterside of Lake Lugano , the line crosses Lake Lugano at the Melide causeway , a 817-metre-long (2,680 ft) causeway and bridge. The track follows the eastern waterside from the Melide causeway to Capolago-Riva San Vitale station . Here interchange is made with the Monte Generoso railway ,

2921-460: Is reached via Altdorf . The depot at Erstfeld station houses rolling stock needed for the Gotthard route, i.e. for banking service . A Ce 6/8 "crocodile" serves as a memorial for the legendary Gotthard locomotives. For the whole of the northern ramp from Erstfeld to Göschenen, the line follows the valley of the Reuss . The track now gets steeper with a gradient of up to 27 ‰. After Amsteg

3048-463: Is recorded for 1185, and the first mayor , Heinrich Steinlin of Murbach, for 1253. The first bridge across the Rhine was built in 1225 under bishop Heinrich von Thun (at the location of the modern Middle Bridge ), and from this time the settlement of Kleinbasel gradually formed around the bridgehead on the far river bank. The bridge was largely funded by Basel's Jewish community who had settled there

3175-506: Is scheduled at 04:09, from where it leaves again at 04:14. In 1899 the entire train journey from Bellinzona to Lugano was scheduled to be 52 minutes. Today (2017), the same journey on one of the EC trains takes 27 minutes. The illustrations shows that between Giubiasco and Rivera Bironico trains do not pass each other as in 1899 this was, as mentioned in the paragraph above, a single track line. This information can thus be drawn form both,

3302-483: Is sometimes called a Re 10/10. If the trains are heavier, then any additional locomotives must be used as banking locomotives at the rear of the train, because the tractive effort of more power at the front of the train would exceed the capacity of the couplers within the train. The Gotthardbahn and its branchlines pass over a total of 1234 bridges and open passages which span a total of 6,471 metres (21,230 ft). Arch bridges from stone were only constructed up to

3429-525: The Alps using the Gotthard Tunnel at 1,151 metres (3,776 ft) above sea level. The line then descends as far as Bellinzona, at 241 metres (791 ft) above sea level, before climbing again to the pass of Monte Ceneri , on the way to Lugano and Chiasso. The extreme differences in altitude necessitate the use of long ramped approaches on each side, together with seven spirals . Construction of

3556-464: The BBC . Currently, the spelling Basel is most often used, to match the official German spelling. In French Basle was still in use in the 18th century, but was gradually replaced by the modern French spelling Bâle . In Icelandic, the city is recorded as Buslaraborg in the 12th-century itinerary Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan . There are traces of a settlement at the nearby Rhine knee from

3683-460: The Baselstab in red represented the bishop, and the same charge in black represented the city. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is In Silber ein schwarzer Baselstab (Argent, a staff of Basel sable). In 1400, Basel was able to purchase the towns of Liestal , Homburg and Waldenburg with its surrounding territory. In 1412 (or earlier), the well-known Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen

3810-456: The Ceneri section it is clearly visible to this day that these were built at greatly different points in time. The Giubiasco-Al Sasso and Al Sasso-Rivera sections were equipped with double-tracks in 1922 and 1934 respectively. The graphic timetable is a two-dimensional image of the train journeys. Time is displayed horizontally from midnight XII o'clock to midnight XII o'clock. The stations along

3937-737: The French Revolutionary Wars . In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel from 29 August through 31 August 1897. Because of the Balkan Wars , the (Socialist) Second International held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912. In 1989, the Basel Convention was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of hazardous waste from wealthy to developing nations for disposal. Basel

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4064-577: The Mont-Cenis , Semmering or Brenner railways. A north-south route through Switzerland had been discussed as far back as 1848. An international conference in Bern in 1869 had decided that the best route would be via the valleys of the rivers Reuss and Ticino , linked by a tunnel under the Gotthard Pass . The selected route was an ancient one that pilgrims and traders had used since at least

4191-599: The Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art , which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. The University of Basel , Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460), and the city's centuries-long commitment to humanism , have made Basel

4318-553: The Renaissance , and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century. In 1897, Basel was chosen by Theodor Herzl as the location for the first World Zionist Congress , and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location. The city is also home to the world headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements . The name of

4445-509: The Roman castle . This name is mostly interpreted as deriving from the personal name Basilius , from a toponym villa Basilia (" estate of Basilius") or similar. Another suggestion derives it from a name Basilia attested in northern France as a development of basilica , the term for a public or church building (as in Bazeilles ), but all of these names reference early church buildings of

4572-473: The Roman invasion of Gaul . In Roman Gaul , Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km (12 mi) from Basel as the regional administrative centre, while a castrum (fortified camp) was built on the site of the Celtic oppidum . In AD 83, the area was incorporated into the Roman province of Germania Superior . The Roman Senator Munatius Plancus is known as the traditional founder of Basel since

4699-682: The Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pass . It was built as single bore tunnel accommodating a standard gauge double-track railway throughout. When opened in 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the world. The tunnel rises from the northern portal at Göschenen (1,106 m or 3,629 ft) and the highest point (1,151 m or 3,776 ft) is reached after approximately eight kilometres (5 mi). After two more kilometers,

4826-705: The Simplon Tunnel in 1906). Soon after construction, the army secured the line with fortresses (for instance, above Airolo, and at Biasca) and ways to block the tunnel in case of an invasion (among others, an artificial landslide to block the southern tunnel entrance). At the same time, the Aargauische Südbahn completed the section from Rotkreuz to Immensee, which provided a rail link from Aarau . The additional feeder lines from Lucerne to Immensee, and from Zug to Arth-Goldau were completed in 1887. The Gotthard Railway graphic timetable contains

4953-606: The Swabian League of Cities in 1385, and many knights of the pro-Habsburg faction, along with duke Leopold himself, were killed in the Battle of Sempach the following year. A formal treaty with Habsburg was made in 1393. Basel had gained its de facto independence from both the bishop and from the Habsburgs and was free to pursue its own policy of territorial expansion, beginning around 1400. The unique representation of

5080-563: The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) turned to selling these watchman houses. The Gotthard Railway Company worked the Gotthard railway until 1909, when it became part of the Swiss Federal Railways . This was seven years after the creation of that state owned railway, and the Gotthard railway was the last major railway to be absorbed. In 1922, the whole line was electrified by Brown, Boveri & Cie with 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC supplied by overhead line . The approaches to

5207-721: The Treaty of Meerssen of 870. Basel was destroyed by the Magyars in 917. The rebuilt town became part of Upper Burgundy , and as such was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. From the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II of Metz in 999 until the Reformation , Basel was ruled by Prince-Bishops . In 1019,

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5334-478: The Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel (TEB), consists of 62 suburban communes including municipalities in neighboring countries, and counted 829,000 inhabitants in 2007. Basel has an area, as of 2009 , of 23.91 square kilometers (9.23 sq mi). Of this area, 0.95 km (0.37 sq mi) or 4.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.88 km (0.34 sq mi) or 3.7%

5461-536: The Zoo Basel , opened its doors in the south of the city towards Binningen . In 1897 the first World Zionist Congress was held in Basel. Altogether the World Zionist Congress was held in Basel ten times, more than in any other city in the world. On 16 November 1938, the psychedelic drug LSD was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel. In 1967,

5588-492: The telegraph-relays were produced by Gustav Hasler  [ de ] ( Bern ). The Gotthardbahn employed signal bells within its stations and along the line to signal any approaching train. An alarm was triggered once a train had left a neighbouring station or block station. These signal bells were partly installed along the line and signalled any construction worker of an approaching train. In addition, any railway watchman's house and railroad crossing would be equipped with

5715-448: The "Biaschina-Loops", lead the line down to Giornico, at an altitude of 391 metres (1,283 ft). By the time the line has arrived at Biasca , at an altitude of 293 metres (961 ft), the valley has widened, and the gradient reduced. From Biasca station the line continues to follow the Ticino as far as Bellinzona , at an altitude of 241 metres (791 ft) and the capital of the canton of Ticino. Just beyond Bellinzona station ,

5842-622: The 13th century. Treaties for the construction of the line were made with the Kingdom of Italy , in 1869, and the German Empire , in 1871. The Gotthard Railway Company was incorporated in Lucerne in 1871. To the overall costs of CHF  238 million (in 1869/71) the Italian government eventually contributed CHF 58 million ( £ 2.25 million), with Germany contributing CHF 30 million (£1.25 million). Construction of

5969-546: The 4th century, but were repelled; one such event was the Battle of Solicinium (368). However, in the great invasion of AD 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau . The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century. The Alemannic and Frankish settlement of Basel gradually grew around

6096-502: The 4th or 5th century and cannot be adduced for the 3rd-century attestation of Basilia . By popular etymology, or simple assonance, the basilisk becomes closely associated with the city, used as heraldic supporter from 1448, represented on coins minted by the city, and frequently found in ornaments. The Middle French form Basle was adopted into English, but this form has fallen gradually out of use although it continues to be used in some sections of British English including

6223-431: The Basel diocese, depicted in bishops' seals of the late medieval period. It is represented in a heraldic context in the early 14th century, not yet as a heraldic charge but as a kind of heraldic achievement flanked by the heraldic shields of the bishop. The staff is also represented in the bishops's seals of the period. The use of the Baselstab in black as the coat of arms of the city was introduced in 1385. From this time,

6350-689: The British supported a tunnel through the Lukmanier massif, but this wasn't realized at the time. Thus in 1853, several Swiss cantons met in Lucerne for a Gotthard Conference. At the conference it was decided to request funds from the Federal Council. which declined alleging that the law prohibited the state from financially supporting private railways. But the Federal Councillor Josef Martin Knüsel supported

6477-664: The Ecclesiastical Princes of the Imperial Diet . In 1500 the construction of the Basel Münster was finished. The city had remained neutral through the Swabian War of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The Treaty of Basel ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland de facto from

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6604-669: The European nations. Even prior to the scheme's commencement, such a tunnel had been envisioned as a necessary but singular element of a wider railway network that would connect the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea together, opening up new commercial opportunities by facilitating the movement of goods and people between the ports of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany with those of Northern Italy, along with many of

6731-516: The Gotthard Railway's early days ultrasound was not available to examine the tracks. Fractures within these were far more common than today, when special ultrasound equipped trains are employed in the maintenance process. The railway watchman was especially important in ensuring the Gotthard railway's safe operation. A railway watchman was assigned to a special segment of tracks which he had to inspect every day. Fractures, deformations and

6858-492: The Gotthard Road Tunnel following a fatal fire caused by a collision in 2001. The adjacent ramps include several turn tunnels (see Table of turn tunnels). While a triumph of its era and an example of pioneering engineering, the Gotthard Tunnel was considered to be relatively slow to traverse by twentieth century standards, leading to talk of building a superior successor tunnel as early as the 1940s. During 1980,

6985-436: The Gotthard Tunnel are susceptible to rockfalls , regularly leading to closures of the railway line. In the worst such incident in recent times, the Gotthard line was closed to all traffic for almost one month following a rockfall near Gurtnellen on 5 June 2012, which killed one rail worker and injured two others. The closure caused massive disruption of both passenger and international freight traffic. The Lucerne branch of

7112-631: The Gotthard line is within this tunnel, 1,151 metres (3,776 ft) above sea level, which makes it the second highest standard railway in Switzerland, after the Lötschberg railway line , the other main north-south axis in the country. Here the tunnel crosses the border between the canton of Uri and the canton of Ticino , and line passes from the German-speaking part of Switzerland to the Italian-speaking part. The line exits

7239-443: The Gotthard line meets the Schöllenenbahn , a metre gauge rack operated branch of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn that ascends to Andermatt , where connections can be made over the Oberalppass to Chur or through the Furka Base Tunnel to Brig . Immediately after Göschenen station, the Gotthard railway enters the Gotthard Tunnel, a 15,003-metre-long (49,222 ft), double-track tunnel, built as one tube. The highest point of

7366-437: The Gotthard railway commences in Lucerne station , facing the south shore of Lake Lucerne . From here it undertakes a 270 degree turn, heading first south, then west, north and east, as well as crossing the river Reuss , to reach the north shore of the lake. From here it continues along the west shore of the Küssnacht arm of the lake to reach Immensee station . Here it meets the Rotkreuz branch , which runs from Rotkreuz to

7493-504: The Gotthard railway in the Bellinzona area, before proceeding down the branches to Locarno and Luino respectively, with some S30 trains extended to Milan Malpensa Airport . Besides trains operated by the Swiss Federal Railways , other railway companies have also been able to run trains on the Gotthard route since the introduction of open access in 2001. Companies that have taken advantage of this include Deutsche Bahn AG , who operate through freight trains from Germany to Italy. Most of

7620-471: The Gotthard railway ran on double-tracks from the villages of Flüelen to Giubiasco . Facing north the picture on the right shows the watchman's house at the Mondascia bridge depicts the double-tracks and advance signal to the entry signal before Biasca (at 132.5 km), mentioned in the timetable. The next picture on the right shows the Pianotondo viaduct and the Pianotono-spiral tunnel's upper gate with its watchman's house, which came into use during

7747-409: The Gotthard railway started in 1872, and the first lowland sections from Biasca to Locarno and Lugano to Chiasso were opened by 1874. The whole line was inaugurated with festivities in Lucerne and Chiasso from 21 May to 25 May 1882. Scheduled operations started on 1 June. At the time, the 15,003-metre-long (49,222 ft) Gotthard Rail Tunnel was the world's longest rail tunnel (seconded by

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7874-533: The Gotthard railway used a telegraph -network, which linked up all railway stations on the entire line from Luzern to Chiasso , Locarno and Luino . This network is pointed out on the left hand side of the graphic timetable dated 1899. The telegraphs for every railway station shown on the timetable are marked with a black dot. As a detailed section from the timetable shows, the Biasca station used four telegraphs at that time. One of those telegraphs linked all stations from Biasca to Bellinzona . Whatever message

8001-456: The Gotthardbahn are: Basel Basel ( / ˈ b ɑː z əl / BAH -zəl ; German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ), also known as Basle , is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the River Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine ). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva ), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits. The official language of Basel

8128-550: The Gotthardbahn due to quickly increasing traffic and load. Fish-belly truss structures were attached to the bridges from below where possible and an arch truss structure was added from the top, where a short clear height made this necessary, besides other measures. Eventually all original iron bridges had to be replaced with modern bridges because they had been built and were repeatedly reinforced to specifications that again and again were surpassed by increasing traffic, velocity and load. Notable originally single beam truss bridges on

8255-454: The Holy Roman Empire. On 9 June 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its eleventh canton . It was the only canton that was asked to join, not the other way round. Basel had a strategic location, good relations with Strasbourg and Mulhouse , and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among

8382-445: The Italian border. According to Gautier, at the time of the tunnel's construction, there were proposal to operate trains hauled by atmospheric locomotives through the tunnel; however, he voiced his scepticism over the value of doing so in comparison to the additional work that would need to be performed to facilitate such rolling stock being operated. There were also some concerns over the tunnel's ventilation being sufficient considering

8509-424: The Renaissance. Roman control over the area deteriorated in the 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian . Basilia is first named by the Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae as part of the Roman military fortifications along the Rhine in the late 4th century. The Germanic confederation of the Alemanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in

8636-610: The Swiss locomotives were originally constructed for the Gotthard line, so many of them were called "Gotthardlokomotiven", for instance C 5/6 "Elephant" , Ce 6/8 and Be 6/8 "Krokodil" , Ae 8/14 "Landilok" , Ae 6/6 , Re 620 . Famous trainsets on the Gotthard route are the Trans Europ Express and the Roter Pfeil , as well as the tilting train , Cisalpino Pendolino . Nowadays passenger trains are mostly pulled by Re 4/4 (up to two for long trains) and sometimes by Re 460 , freight trains by Re 6/6 and Re 4/4 . Up to 1300 tons may be pulled by an Re 6/6 with an Re 4/4 . This combination

8763-452: The Swiss system. At Cadenazzo on the line to Pino, a further branch crosses the Ticino and runs a short distance down the western shore of Lago Maggiore to a terminus at the Swiss resort town of Locarno . Transfer can be made at Locarno station to the international metre gauge Domodossola–Locarno railway . At Giubiasco , the line from Immensee to Chiasso reaches its lowest point of 230 metres (750 ft) above sea level. From here

8890-402: The adjoining railways of Germany and France. To the west, a line had reached Brig , in the upper Rhone valley , from Lausanne . In the central north, lines linked Olten , Lucerne , Zug and Zürich . However, no line had yet reached through the Alps to southern Switzerland or the border with Italy. All north-to-south rail traffic had to pass either to the west or east of Switzerland through

9017-516: The aforementioned weight. Each signal bell within the Gotthard railway's network is marked on the graphic timetable. The railway watchman's house number 159 (Casello 159) signal bell on the Monte Ceneri line between Giubiasco and Rivera-Bironico is shown as an example in the timetable's excerpt . A southbound train departing Giubiasco for Rivera-Bironico would trigger alarms of eleven different signal bells on its 11 kilometres long journey. Around 1980 these signal bells were decommissioned. In

9144-421: The air pipes traversed greater and greater distances, the diameter of the pipes used was increased in order to maintain pressure. To reduce the heat of the rock during drilling, water jets were routinely used to cool the rockface. While the geology encountered typically comprised rocks of sufficient hardness for mechanical drilling to be used, those of exceptional hardness were often encountered, resulting in even

9271-546: The ancient bishopric of Augusta Raurica , was established in the 8th century. Under bishop Haito (r. 806–823), the first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle (replaced by a Romanesque structure consecrated in 1019). At the partition of the Carolingian Empire through the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Basel was first given to West Francia and became its German exclave. It passed to East Francia with

9398-723: The area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 8.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 2.5% is used for growing crops and 1.3% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Under the Köppen system , Basel features an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ), although with notable continental influences due to its relatively far inland position with cool to cold, overcast winters and warm to hot, humid summers. The city averages 118.2 days of rain or snow annually and on average receives 842 mm (33.1 in) of precipitation . The wettest month

9525-471: The best drills being blunted and greatly slowing the rate of advancement, sometimes to as little as one meter per day. There was also a section of entirely disaggregated bedrock encountered, which could only be cleared using traditional manual techniques, which came with the risk of potential collapse. To attain sufficient clearance for the running of trains, the ceiling was vaulted following the completion of advanced boring. The conditions present in either of

9652-399: The bishops and the burghers began in the mid-13th century and continued throughout the 14th century. By the late 14th century, the city was for all practical purposes independent although it continued to nominally pledge fealty to the bishops. The House of Habsburg attempted to gain control over the city. This was not successful, but it caused a political split among the burghers of Basel into

9779-444: The border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino is passed; after another five kilometres (3 mi), the tunnel ends at the southern portal near to Airolo (1,142 m or 3,747 ft). The trip takes about seven to eight minutes by train. Services are operated by the Swiss Federal Railways . The origins of the Gotthard Tunnel and its construction can be traced back to the widely-felt desire to improve interconnectivity between

9906-441: The bores were thoroughly inhospitable during the tunnel's construction, particularly in the bore driven from Airolo, where vapours were persistently present throughout the work. They were also hazardous; in one major accident alone, around 200 workers (the exact number is not known) were killed largely by the compressed air-driven trains that were used to carry excavated material out of the tunnel; other tunnel workers were killed as

10033-529: The capital of the canton of Schwyz , at an altitude of 455 metres (1,493 ft). From Brunnen to Flüelen , the line follows the Lake Lucerne (that part of it is also referred to as Urnersee ). In that section, the Axen , the two tracks follow two different routes mainly in tunnel because the second track was built later (up to 1943) and on a straighter route through longer tunnels. At Flüelen station ,

10160-498: The challenging conditions encountered during construction, but it was believed that these would settle during routine operations without the need for extensive intervention. During 1909, the Gotthardbahn was integrated into the Swiss Federal Railways . On 18 October 1920, the first electric trains were run through the Gotthard Tunnel. Initially, the voltage had to be reduced from the desired 15 kilovolts to 7.5 kV , because

10287-483: The city Basel itself. The political structure and agencies of the city and the canton are identical. Gotthard Rail Tunnel The Gotthard Tunnel ( German : Gotthardtunnel , Italian : Galleria del San Gottardo ) is a 15-kilometre-long (9.3 mi) railway tunnel that forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through

10414-469: The city is internationally known through institutions like the Basel Accords , Art Basel and FC Basel . Basel is Switzerland's main centre for the pharmaceutical industry, hosting both Novartis and Roche . In 2019 Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by Mercer . The name of Basel is first recorded as Basilia in the 3rd century (237/8), at the time referring to

10541-483: The construction of the cathedral of Basel (known locally as the Münster ) began under Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor . In the 11th to 12th century, Basel gradually acquired the characteristics of a medieval city . The main market place is first mentioned in 1091. The first city walls were constructed around 1100 (with improvements made in the mid-13th and in the late 14th century). A city council of nobles and burghers

10668-436: The days of the double-track steam service, roughly at the time of the graphic timetable's validity. The graphic timetable sees two tracks running southwards from Giubiasco station . One is signposted "Chiasso" , the other " Luino / Locarno ". From this point onwards the railway runs on single tracks. Giubiasco's neighbouring stations to the south, Rivera-Bironico and Cadenazzo , are all on single tracks. At each underpass on

10795-578: The double loop of Wassen , at an altitude of 928 metres (3,045 ft), which allows the famous church of Wassen to be seen three times from different perspectives, first from below and the last time from 200 metres (660 ft) above. The line passes over the Reuss twice, and the Meienreuss three times in this section. After a 1,570-metre-long (5,150 ft) tunnel, the line reaches Göschenen station , at an altitude of 1,106 metres (3,629 ft). Here

10922-605: The early La Tène period (5th century BC). In the 2nd century BC, there was a village of the Raurici at the site of Basel-Gasfabrik (to the northwest of the Old City, and likely identical with the town of Arialbinnum that was mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana ). The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an oppidum on the site of Basel Minster , probably in reaction to

11049-412: The excess spoil and the completion of its masonry. These finishing works were considered to be relatively low risk compared with the preceding boring that had taken so long, and was actually easier to complete than the approach lines to meet with either end of the tunnel. On 1 January 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was opened for traffic for the first time. The opening drew substantial international attention;

11176-492: The full length of the line. The long distance passenger trains include EuroCity (EC) trains between Zürich and Milan , and ICN and IR trains between a number of cities in northern Switzerland and various points in Ticino . Passenger trains using the Gotthard line in the past included the Trans Europ Express trains Gottardo , Roland , and Ticino . Regional commuter rail services also operate on

11303-476: The graphic timetable. Information can be drawn as to the tunnel's vertex which lies at 1154.5 meters above sea level and the fact that the tunnel does not run in a straight line but rather in a slope down from either side of its vertex. The tunnel was designed in such a way that inflowing water would be able to drain. From the railway station of Göschenen to the tunnel's vertex the train lines ascend at an angle of 6 ‰ and descend at 2 ‰ from vertex to

11430-413: The greatest gradient, distances, employed telegraphs and their networking, signal bells and their connection, telephones, block stations, track layout of the respective station and their equipment, total usable length of the remaining tracks, the longest side track, station names and distances between them, distance to point of origin and between main stations. Departure and arrival times are displayed within

11557-552: The grime deposited on the insulators by the steam locomotives encouraged excessive arcing . However, in May the next year, steam was replaced entirely by electric traction, and the problem of soot and grime was eliminated. During 1932, a memorial for those workers who had died during the tunnel's construction was erected close to the station building at Airolo. The memorial contains a relief produced by Vincenzo Vela from 1882/1883, titled "Vittime del lavoro" (Victims of labour). Until

11684-653: The influential 16th-century martial arts text Kunst des Fechten ("The Art of Fencing"), came from Basel. In 1661 the Amerbaschsches Kabinett , a vast collection of exotic artifacts, coins, medals and books was purchased by Basel. It was to become to the first public museum of art. Its collection became the core of the later Basel Museum of Art . The Bernoulli family, which included important 17th- and 18th-century mathematicians such as Jakob Bernoulli , Johann Bernoulli and Daniel Bernoulli , were from Basel. The 18th-century mathematician Leonhard Euler

11811-407: The journey, from Zug and Lucerne to Chiasso , Locarno and Luino are displayed vertically. The first scheduled train, an express train with 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages, leaves Bellinzona at 03:17. The train with the number 55 is powered by a steam locomotive and, according to the timetable, does not make a scheduled stop at Giubiasco, Rivera-Bironico and Taverne . Arrival at Lugano

11938-423: The killing of a number of men of Leopold III, Duke of Austria . This was seen as a serious breach of the peace , and the city council blamed "foreign ruffians" for this and executed twelve alleged perpetrators. Leopold nevertheless had the city placed under imperial ban , and in a treaty of 9 July, Basel was given a heavy fine and was placed under Habsburg control. To free itself from Habsburg hegemony, Basel joined

12065-595: The land around Farnsburg became a part of Basel. The Schwabe publishing house was founded in 1488 by Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business. Johann Froben also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by Erasmus. In 1495, Basel was incorporated into the Upper Rhenish Imperial Circle ; the Bishop of Basel was added to the Bench of

12192-632: The line falls by no less than 849 metres (2,785 ft) in 46 kilometres (29 mi). At Piotta , the Funicolare del Ritom ascends to the Ritom dam. Beyond Rodi-Fiesso , at an altitude of 942 metres (3,091 ft), the most impressive section of the southern ramp begins. The valley narrows to the Piotta canyon, and the line passes two spirals ("Piottino-Loops") to lose 200 metres (660 ft) in height before reaching Faido . Two more spirals, known as

12319-599: The line passes the Chärstelenbach Bridge and changes the side of the valley over the Intschireuss Bridge, which is, with its 77 metres (253 ft), the highest bridge in the SBB network. After Gurtnellen , at an altitude of 738 metres (2,421 ft), the first of several tunneled railway spirals is encountered; their purpose is mainly to gain height where no space is available. Two of them form

12446-536: The line rises again to Monte Ceneri , the pass between the Sopraceneri and the Sottoceneri , and then passes through the two parallel, single-track Monte Ceneri Tunnels . It reaches the highest point on this part of the line, at Rivera-Bironico station , at an altitude of 472 metres (1,549 ft), before descending to Lugano , at an altitude of 335 metres (1,099 ft). At Lugano station interchange

12573-423: The line started in 1872, with some lowland sections opening by 1875. The full line opened in 1882, following the completion of the Gotthard Tunnel. The line was incorporated into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1909 and electrified in 1922. The line has 36 tunnels totaling 31,216 meters. The approaches to the existing tunnel continue to restrict speed and capacity on this important international route, and in 1992 it

12700-608: The line. In Italian these watchman's houses are called Casello . Every day they had to inspect the tracks up to the next watchman's segment. The watchman houses were built along the entire Gotthard line with distances of up to 4 kilometres between them and were all numbered. From 1950 onward the track inspections did not require as many inspections as before. Between Giubiasco and Rivera the railway watchmen then only had to perform such an inspection every other day. Their former watchman houses now remained unmanned and were subsequently used as holiday homes or private dwellings. From 1995 onward

12827-458: The major inland cities lying in between. To achieve this, it was necessary for the line to traverse the Alps around its most central point. Of all possible routes, Gotthard had historically been a favoured one for the passage of travellers by foot or packhorse . But several other locations where the tunnel through the Alps was to be constructed were also discussed. in 1838 Zanino Volta of Como approached St.Gallen and Grisons with plans of

12954-475: The neighbouring Gotthard Road Tunnel was opened; by 2016, it was reportedly being used to convey around one million freight lorries each year. A second railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel , was opened on 1 June 2016 after 17 years of construction; in comparison, it is considerably longer (57.1 km; namely the world's longest railway tunnel) and at an about 500 m lower elevation than

13081-606: The north. Immensee station is considered the starting point of the main line of the Gotthard railway, and official distances to all points south are measured from here. From Immensee, the line follows the Lake of Zug to Arth-Goldau station , at an altitude of 510 metres (1,670 ft). Here it joined by the Zug branch of the Gotthard railways, and there is a junction with the Südostbahn route to Rapperswil and Romanshorn . Connection

13208-803: The northern and southern sections of the Gotthard line. To the north, line S2 of the Zug Stadtbahn operates hourly between Zug , Arth-Goldau and Erstfeld , whilst line S3 of the S-Bahn Luzern operates hourly between Luzern , Arth-Goldau and Brunnen . To the south, the Gotthard line is served by trains on line S10 of the Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia (TILO), which operate every half-hour between Bellinzona , Lugano and Chiasso , with some trains extending northwards to Airolo and southwards to Milan . The same operator's lines S20 and S30 also operate over

13335-524: The old Roman castle in the 6th and 7th century. It appears that Basel surpassed the ancient regional capital of Augusta Raurica by the 7th century; based on the evidence of a gold tremissis (a small gold coin with the value of a third of a solidus ) with the inscription Basilia fit , Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Basel at this time was part of the Archdiocese of Besançon . A separate bishopric of Basel , replacing

13462-613: The opening of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980, the Swiss Federal Railways offered car shuttle train services for cars and trucks through the Gotthard Tunnel. Today, that service exists as the rolling highway from the German to the Italian border and aims to reduce truck traffic on Swiss expressways. An improvisational piggyback service from Göschenen to Airolo was offered during the two-month closure of

13589-445: The other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation. In 1503, the new bishop Christoph von Utenheim refused to give Basel a new constitution; whereupon, to show its power, the city began to build a new city hall. In 1529, the city became Protestant under Oecolampadius and the bishop's seat was moved to Porrentruy . The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms. For centuries to come,

13716-416: The population of Basel voted in favor of buying three works of art by painter Pablo Picasso which were at risk of being sold and taken out of the local museum of art, due to a financial crisis on the part of the owner's family. Therefore, Basel became the first city in the world where the population of a political community democratically decided to acquire works of art for a public institution. Pablo Picasso

13843-542: The president of Switzerland, Simeon Bavier , praised the project and declare it to be: "A triumph of art and science, a monument to work and diligence! The barrier which divided nations has fallen, the Swiss Alps have been breached. Countries have moved closer to each other, the world market is open!". Initially, the tunnel was operated by the private railway company Gotthardbahn, which ran conventional trains drawn by steam locomotives between Lucerne and Chiasso at

13970-554: The project; accordingly the financing was distributed among a wide variety of private and public investors from Switzerland (20M CHF), Italy (45M CHF) and the German Empire (20M CHF). The confidence of both investors and engineers was bolstered by the Fréjus Rail Tunnel , the construction of which had been substantially aided by the introduction of various modern innovations that made the prospects of building long tunnels more practical than they previously had been. It

14097-427: The railway makes a connection with the steamer services on Lake Lucerne. Steamers operate a shorter, in distance, but longer, in time, service to the city of Lucerne , serving many other towns and villages along the lake shore. The Gotthard Panorama Express uses this interchange to provide its tourist oriented boat and rail service between Lucerne and Lugano . Erstfeld , at an altitude of 472 metres (1,549 ft),

14224-609: The realization of the Gotthard Tunnel and was against the Lukmanier route. Accordingly, the Gotthard Railway Company was established in 1871 to develop such a route, the company being initially operated under the stewardship of the accomplished Swiss industrialist Alfred Escher . Prior to its formation, surveys had been conducted that determined the optimum locations for either end of the prospective tunnel to be at Göschenen and Airolo . Initially, there were difficulties encountered in securing sufficient finance for

14351-505: The stations' track layout and the graphic timetable. Also visible on the graphic timetable is the fact that between Osogna and Biasca , trains however do pass each other along their journeys, it being a double-track line. Further, the Arth-Rigi-Bahn's trains (nowadays Rigi Railways ), are also listed in the Gotthard railways' timetable. The timetable's scale is 15mm/hour horizontally and 1.75mm/km vertically. To coordinate trains,

14478-400: The summits, surveys using direct observation were impossible, thus more complex indirect techniques combining triangulation and accurate cartography were performed by a team headed by M. Gelpke, and subsequently confirmed by a second team led by M. Koppe via different methodology. During 1871, construction of the Gotthard Tunnel proper commenced. It would take ten years to complete. Boring

14605-566: The time, was unreliable; the Tremola spring was one source, but would greatly change in capacity seasonally, leading to water being extracted from the more distant river Ticino instead. At the suggestion of the Geneva-based engineer M. Colladon, it was decided to use compressed air as a means of conveying energy around the worksite and along the bores. Air was compressed by water-driven pumps and stored in cooled reservoirs prior to use; as

14732-477: The tracks' general condition were to be reported to the track master. Tending to loose screws and cutting down shrubs were also part of the watchman's job description. Also putting out small shrub fires, caused by the heavily employed brakes of downhill running cargo trains, were part of his duty. The railway watchman was equipped with a red flag to be able to stop trains in an emergency. The Gotthard railway's watchmen lived in specially provided watchman houses along

14859-459: The tunnel at Airolo , at an altitude of 1,142 metres (3,747 ft) in the valley of the river Ticino , which it follows as far as Bellinzona . Both north and south portals are within a few hundreds metres from those of the Gotthard Road Tunnel . After passing through Airolo station , the line crosses the Ticino and descends through its valley in the Leventina . Between Airolo and Biasca

14986-432: The tunnel can be largely credited to Favre, although he was unable to see its completion, having suffered a fatal heart attack while inside the tunnel on 19 July 1879, barely six months before breakthrough would be achieved. The tunnel's construction proved difficult on account of multiple factors technical, geological, and financial. The copious supply of water, which was necessary in order to power any heavy equipment at

15113-538: The village of Airolo . The tunnel's length is indicated to be 14,998 meters, its vertex being at kilometre 80. The old Gotthard railways' distances were measured from the town of Immensee , as clearly indicated on the graphic timetable. Electrical Telegraphs and signal bells are listed on the distance column's right and a detailed description thereof is to be found in the chapters The Gotthard railway Telegraph Network and The Gotthard railway Signal Bells . The track layout of each station shows that in 1899

15240-559: Was born in Basel and studied under Johann Bernoulli. In 1792, the Republic of Rauracia , a revolutionary French client republic , was created. It lasted until 1793. After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of Basel-Landschaft . Between 1861 and 1878 the city walls were slighted . On 3 July 1874, Switzerland's first zoo,

15367-540: Was commenced from both sides simultaneously, being reliant upon accurate surveying to keep each bore in alignment with one another. Amongst other feats, the boring process involved the first large-scale use of dynamite , a relatively recent innovation that had only been patented in 1867. Another key innovation was the use of mechanised tunneling machines , which Favre, supervisor of the work as well as prime contractor, strongly advocated for, despite pressure to make greater use of manual boring. The engineering used to create

15494-476: Was decided that the contract to build the tunnel ought to be subject to a competitive tendering process, during which a bidding war broke out between two engineering companies, based in Geneva and Italy respectively. Ultimately, the final bid submitted by the Swiss engineer Louis Favre was selected as the best offer, receiving a contract to build the tunnel with an estimated cost of 2830 Swiss francs per meter. As

15621-553: Was decided to build a new lower level route on the Gotthard axis as part of the NRLA project. This route involves the construction of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel and Ceneri Base Tunnel . The Gotthard Base Tunnel has been completed and was integrated with the existing route in 2016, while the Ceneri Base Tunnel was opened in 2020. By the early 1870s, northern Switzerland had a significant network of railways, with links to

15748-487: Was established. Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th century Council of Basel (1431–1449), including the 1439 election of antipope Felix V . In 1459, Pope Pius II endowed the University of Basel , where such notables as Erasmus of Rotterdam and Paracelsus later taught. At the same time the new craft of printing was introduced to Basel by apprentices of Johann Gutenberg . In 1461,

15875-449: Was promptly violently suppressed by local police force (21 men) from Altdorf , resulting in four deaths amongst the workers and the wounding of 13 others. Consequently, 80 workers left the building site. During 29 February 1880, it was announced that both of the tunnel's advance borings had broken through into one another around the mountain's middle point. It was also observed that a high degree of accuracy had successfully been achieved,

16002-630: Was so moved by the gesture that he subsequently gifted the city with an additional three paintings. Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel (1499) ended the Swabian War . Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation . The Peace of Basel in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition against France during

16129-516: Was tapped out on this telegraph (sent by morse code ), was transmitted to all stations up to Bellinzona . A second telegraph linked all stations from Biasca to Göschenen . What was tapped out on the third telegraph, reached only the railway stations Bellinzona , Faido , Airolo , Göschenen , Wassen and Erstfeld . The fourth telegraph was for long distances. Messages transmitted from there reached Bellinzona , Airolo , Erstfeld , Goldau and Luzern . The telegraphs with their Morse keys and

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