Tunnel of the Simplon

The tunnel of the Simplon is a Tunnel Ferroviaire under the the Alps which connects the town of Brigue in Valais (Suisse) to the village of Iselle in the Piedmont (Italy). The tunnel comprises two galleries and measurement 19,803 km. It was a long time the longest railway tunnel of the world. It was inaugurated in 1906. The May 19th 2006 is the official day of the centenary of the tunnel.

The line is exploited by the Swiss federal Railroads (CF) to the Italian station of Domodossola.

Currently, more than 100 trains borrow it each day and the introduction of the basic Tunnel of Lötschberg, inaugurated on June 15th, 2007, will increase the importance of the Simplon.

History

It is in 1880 that the railway project of tunnel under the the Alps between Brigue and Domodossola through the solid mass of the Simplon took a more concrete turning in spite of many criticisms as for this gigantic company for the time. The project comprised a tunnel and a gallery of smaller diameter simultaneously with a distance of 17 meters to evacuate materials.

1898, beginning of the boring of the first tube.
February 24th 1905, boring.
May 19th 1906, inauguration.
1906, electrification.
1912, beginning of the widening of the 2nd tube.
1921, end of the boring of the 2nd tube.

Work of boring

Dug almost with the hand by thousands of workmen, with peaks and jumper bars behind hydraulic drilling machines. One counted 4000 workmen on the Swiss side and nearly 10000 at certain times on the Italian side. The tunnel took its had, making 67 died during work. The conditions of drilling were terrible, sometimes by choking heats - more than 45 degrees inside the tunnel - sometimes the gallery was flooded of ice-cold water or extreme according to the sources met.

Characteristics

Length tunnel I: : 19803 m
Length tunnel II: : 19823 m
northern Portail Aspire to: 685,80 m
Culminating point: 704,98 m
southern Gate Iselle: 633,48 m
Slope with dimensions northern: 2 ‰
Slope southern part: 7 ‰
Galeries of access enters the 2 tunnels all the 200 Mr.

Electrification

The tunnel is electrified in 15000 V and 16 Hz 2/3 (Swiss standard) and this to the Italian station of Domodossola.

Books

Thomas Köppel, Stefan Haas, 100 years of tunnel of the Simplon
Revolt on the line of the Simplon , Editions Cabédita, 2006

See too

List of the tunnels

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