Gotthard mountain line

The original 1882 Gotthard railway, filmed northbound from Bellinzona to Erstfeld: spiral tunnels in the Leventina, the 15 km summit tunnel and the loops around Wassen.

The route

The Gotthard railway was the first rail route straight through the central Alps, linking German-speaking central Switzerland with Ticino and Italy. It opened in 1882. Its centrepiece is the summit tunnel between Göschenen and Airolo, about 15 km long, which reaches 1,151 m inside the mountain. The engineer Louis Favre designed the tunnel and won the contract with a very low bid; he died of a heart attack inside it in 1879, months before the breakthrough. Around 200 workers lost their lives during construction.

To reach the tunnel portals, the line climbs long ramps on both sides. Where the valleys narrow into gorges, the builders used spiral tunnels that turn the track through a full circle inside the rock. In the Leventina on the southern side there are two sets, at the Biaschina and Piottino gorges. On the northern side, a pair of loops around Wassen lets the line gain height in a confined part of the Reuss valley. That is why the village church appears three times from the train, each time at a different level.

Since the Gotthard Base Tunnel opened in 2016, fast long-distance trains run about 500 m lower through the new 57 km tunnel, and the old route has become a mountain line for regional and leisure traffic. Through trains from Zurich or Basel to Ticino no longer use it. This film is not the base tunnel. It follows the original route over the top, the one that gives the line its reputation.

What you will see

The film begins in Bellinzona, in Italian-speaking Ticino, and heads up the wide valley of the Ticino river to Biasca. Beyond Biasca the Leventina narrows. At the Biaschina gorge the train enters the first spiral tunnels: notice the light disappear and the line keep curving in the dark, then the valley below reappear from a higher angle. Faido follows, and above it the Piottino gorge with a second set of spirals, where the river drops through a narrow rock cleft.

Airolo sits at the head of the valley, and just beyond it the train enters the summit tunnel. Expect a long section with nothing but the tunnel lights and the track ahead. You emerge at Göschenen, on the northern side, where station names and signs have changed from Italian to German. This is the high point of the journey in every sense.

The descent through the Reuss valley is the most famous part of the line. Below Göschenen, look for the church of Wassen, first ahead and below, then level with the train, then above it, as the loops carry the line down. Between the tunnels there are tall stone bridges over side streams and deep views into the gorge. The valley gradually widens and the gradient eases on the final run into Erstfeld, where the base tunnel line rejoins the old route.

Riding it for real

The mountain line is owned by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). Hourly regional trains run between Erstfeld and Bellinzona. The film's title shows it was made on the Treno Gottardo, the Südostbahn (SOB) service that runs daily over the mountain line from Basel or Zurich to Bellinzona and Locarno. Neither needs a seat reservation, and the Swiss Travel Pass covers both.

From spring to October, SBB also runs the Gotthard Panorama Express: a boat across Lake Lucerne to Flüelen, then a train with first-class panoramic coaches over the mountain line to Lugano. That service requires a paid reservation. Timetables and seasonal dates change, so check the SBB and SOB websites for current services and fares before you travel.

The video is embedded from YouTube and remains on its owner’s channel. Views count toward the original video.