"Gothar" tunnel, which is the longest tunnel in the world and connects the cities of Zurich and Lugano, wants European leaders to make it a symbol of economic recovery, as this tunnel connecting the connecting northern and southern Europe and make traffic flow more smoothly.
Opened the world's longest tunnel in Switzerland connects the north and south of Europe to traffic Sunday (December 11 / December 2016), according to the company's Swiss Federal Railways announced. And connects "Gothar" tunnel between the cities of Zurich and Lugano is the longest in the world, extending over a distance of 57 kilometers and cut Mount San Gothar in the Alps.
The news agency "ETS" for Andreas Meyer, the company's Swiss railway official, as saying: "This is a holiday gift!", After the first train carrying passengers from the city of Zurich and six o'clock in the morning local time starting point, to reach Lugano in the eighth quarter A.m. In June last, the train was inaugurated officially in the presence of European leaders, it has by the President of the Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider-safety and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister at the time Matteo Renzi.
It took the work of the completion of the tunnel 17 years, so as to create a new transport hub between north and south, and at a cost of nearly 11 billion euros. European leaders want to make the rail line this symbol of economic recovery takes into account the environment through public investments. And it contributed to the European Union, which does not belong to Switzerland, by financing amounting to about 15 per cent of the cost of business.
Sources : DW