Skip to main content

Thales to deliver signalling system for southern Gotthard extension

Following completion of the Gotthard tunnel, AlpTransit Gotthard has awarded Thales a US$64 million (€57 million) signalling contract for the new Ceneri tunnel, the final section of the transalpine rail corridor that will link Zurich and Milan in less than three hours journey time. Located 25 km south of the Gotthard tunnel, the Ceneri Base Tunnel between Bellinzona and Lugano in Switzerland is 15.4 km long and, like the Gotthard tunnel, comprises two single-track tubes separated by a space of 40 metres
September 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Following completion of the Gotthard tunnel, AlpTransit Gotthard has awarded 596 Thales a US$64 million (€57 million) signalling contract for the new Ceneri tunnel, the final section of the transalpine rail corridor that will link Zurich and Milan in less than three hours journey time.

Located 25 km south of the Gotthard tunnel, the Ceneri Base Tunnel between Bellinzona and Lugano in Switzerland is 15.4 km long and, like the Gotthard tunnel, comprises two single-track tubes separated by a space of 40 metres.

Thales will provide its latest ETCS Level 2 train control technology and will have overall responsibility for project management and integration of train command and control systems. The tunnel is scheduled to open in 2020.

Thales’ signalling technology is expected to reduce the journey time between Locarno and Lugano from today's 55 minutes to 22 minutes, with more than 300 trains travelling in both directions every day at speeds of up to 250 km/h.

Related Content

  • December 12, 2014
    Cubic completes Sydney Opal Card rollout early
    Cubic Transportation Systems has completed the roll out of Sydney’s Opal contactless smartcard ticketing system across all transport modes and connecting multiple operators and commenced operation and maintenance of the Opal system under the ten-year services agreement that is part of the original contract. The contract to build the new electronic ticketing system (ETS) – later branded as the Opal Card – was awarded to the Cubic-led Pearl consortium in 2010.
  • September 25, 2019
    New York to pump $51.5bn into transit
    New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed investing $51.5 billion in the city’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years. Janno Lieber, MTA chief development officer, says: “The proposed capital programme will be truly transformational – more trains, more buses, more service, more accessibility and more reliability.” The 2020-2024 Capital Plan would put $40bn into the city’s subways and buses and $6.1bn for 1,900 new subway cars to help mitigate delays. MTA also wa
  • July 16, 2012
    A fresh approach to electronic fee collection
    The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is pioneering fresh approaches to Electronic Fee Collection (EFC) deployment in the US. Its new system, operational since January 2009 on all buses and commuter trains, is the country's first full-network rollout of transit e-ticketing technology built on an open-payment network, according to the organisation's Technology Programme Development Manager Craig Roberts.
  • July 18, 2017
    Authorities look to MaaS for new solutions and cost savings
    The structure of society and the way in which our cities work will be completely transformed by Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Finland’s minister of transport and communications Anne Berner, told ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference 2017 in London. In her keynote address, Berner told a packed audience of more than 200 ITS professionals that MaaS has the potential to help governments around the world meet their big city targets such as the rate of employment, the environment, the efficient use of