Lötschberg Base Tunnel

The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a 34.57 km railway base tunnel on the BLS AG's Lötschberg line cutting through the Bernese Alps of Switzerland some 400 m below the existing Lötschberg Tunnel. It runs between Frutigen, Berne, and Raron, Valais.

The Lötschberg Base Tunnel was built as one of the two centrepieces of the NRLA project . Construction of the LBT commenced in 1999 and achieved breakthrough during 2005. A ceremony to mark its completion was held in June 2007; the first train operations began in December 2007. Within only a few years of opening, the LBT had become saturated because of a 21 km single-track section present; without the completion of the second bore, its overall capacity has been greatly reduced. During 2016, a planning contract was awarded for the completion of the second track of the LBT, which has been estimated to cost 1 billion Swiss francs. The resulting plan was presented in Spring 2019, and construction of the second tunnel is expected to start in 2021/2022 and to be completed by the end of 2028.

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