Railway technology installation making good progress
Four kilometres behind the tunnel entrance, the 500-metre-long rail-bounded concrete mixing plant ("the concrete train") is hard at work producing over 220 metres of poured slab track per day. 380,000 sleeper blocks and 120 kilometres of track are being installed in the two 57-kilometre-long tunnel tubes– both supported by 130,000 cubic metres of fresh concrete, prepared on site.
Some 20 journalists were able to witness the work for themselves on-site. Rolf Brunner, the responsible Transtec Gotthard site manager, is satisfied. According to him, the first test runs will take place as early as December 2013.