The world’s longest railway tunnel is an accomplishment of superlatives: at 57 kilometres long, it took 17 years to built. And Implenia was heavily involved in this engineering feat, having built three of the five tunnel sections: Sedrun, Faido and Bodio.
According to a statement from the Swiss construction company, more than 400 employees were at work at peak times. “I’m proud of the tunnel workers and all the other employees whose sweat, passion and skill made this era-defining project possible. We are all very grateful to them,” said Implenia CEO Anton Affentranger.
With the Gotthard base tunnel, Switzerland demonstrates what can be achieved through constructive collaboration between clients, contractors, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders. It is also an important reference project for Implenia, with the company currently working on the Semmering Base Tunnel and Granitztal Tunnels in Austria, the Albvorland Tunnel near Stuttgart, and the Bötberg Tunnel in Switzerland. Last summer Implenia also won a contract to build a new city bypass for Stockholm.