Only NEAT tubes were more expensive SBB build tunnel from Zurich to Winterthur
Construction work on the Brütten Tunnel will begin in 2026. This will shorten the journey from Zurich to Winterthur from 20 to 12 minutes. The project is complex and expensive - only the NRLA tubes cost more.
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- SBB will begin construction of the Brütten Tunnel in 2026.
- The approximately 9-kilometer-long twin tube will reduce the journey time between Zurich and Winterthur from 20 to 12 minutes.
- At 3.3 billion Swiss francs, the costs are considerable. Only the two NRLA tunnels through the Lötschberg and Gotthard were more expensive in the history of the SBB.
For 160 years, rail passengers have been taking a detour from Zurich to Winterthur. This is because the hills between Bassersdorf ZH and Winterthur are in the way.
But this is set to end in a few years' time. Instead of the wide curve to the east and through the Kempt valley, trains will run on an almost direct line from Zurich to Winterthur.
This will be made possible by the Brütten tunnel. Strictly speaking, there are two tunnels, as two parallel tubes of 9 kilometers in length are planned. Trains will travel at 160 km/h from Dietlikon ZH to just before Winterthur Töss.
From Zurich to Winterthur in 12 instead of 20 minutes
From Zurich main station to Winterthur, passengers will first travel underground on the cross-city link to Oerlikon, descend again in Dietlikon and be able to see the sky again shortly before Winterthur. Three quarters of the route will then run underground. "Like the metro", an SBB representative praises the new railroad line in the NZZ.
The tunnel also has a branch to Bassersdorf so that the airport can also be reached more quickly.
The Brütten tunnel should reduce the minimum travel time from Zurich to Winterthur from the current 20 minutes to 12 minutes. The tunnels will also increase capacity on a busy route between Switzerland's largest and sixth-largest cities - from two lanes to four. This will make more train connections possible and incidents between Winterthur and Zurich will no longer cause quite so many delays in the busy SBB timetable.
High costs
What's more, on the new line, Winterthur residents who live near the station will arrive at Zurich main station faster than Zurich residents from certain outlying districts without S-Bahn connections, as the NZZ notes.
The price tag for the Brütten twin tunnel is considerable: CHF 3.3 billion according to SBB. In Switzerland, only the Lötschberg Base Tunnel and the Gotthard Base Tunnel were more expensive at CHF 4.5 billion and CHF 12.2 billion respectively. However, at 27 and 57 kilometers respectively, these are also significantly longer.
Planned for decades
The construction of the Brütten Tunnel has been under discussion for decades, but has been repeatedly postponed. It was actually part of the "Rail 2000" expansion project decided in the 1980s. However, other expansions had higher priority and there was considerable opposition to the major project.
In addition to the tunnel construction, the Wallisellen, Dietlikon, Bassersdorf and Winterthur stations will need to be extended and redesigned, as the SBB documentation shows.
According to "Baublatt", the Federal Administrative Court dismissed the last two appeals a few days ago, meaning that construction work can begin this year. Over 200 objections were received in total. According to "SRF", the Brütten tunnel will go into operation in 2037 - provided there are no delays.