The 4-metre north-south corridor was completed in September 2020 with the addition of the Ceneri base tunnel. The next milestone was reached at the beginning of June 2023, with all tunnels on the line via Monte Ceneri now adapted to accommodate semi-trailers with a fourmetre corner height. Between 2016 and 2023, we equipped 22 tunnels and short lines from Basel to Chiasso with rigid overhead conductor rails for 4-metre corner heights.
This involved fitting a total of 19 km of rigid overhead conductor rails – with the Bözberg as the longest tunnel at 2.7 km of double track – to pivoting conductor rail supports, or in many cases to supports with sliding suspension. The Axen tunnels were especially narrow, and the necessary precision down to the nearest centimetre posed a significant challenge. The required clearance heights were achieved thanks to the rigid overhead conductor rails and the ballastless track now widely installed.
While we are of course delighted with the success of this major undertaking, we will definitely miss working on the project.
We would like to wish the SBB a smooth run with our rigid overhead conductor rails!
