SWITZERLAND: Thales announced on September 16 that it had been awarded a SFr63m contract by project organisation AlpTransit Gotthard to supply signalling for the 15⋅4 km Cenneri Base Tunnel, now under construction between Bellinzona and Lugano.
Responsible for overall project management and the integration of train command and control systems, Thales is to supply ETCS Level 2 for the twin-bore base tunnel. Due to open in 2020, it is expected to be used by over 300 trains a day in both directions, travelling at up to 250 km/h.
Complementing the Gotthard Base Tunnel which was inaugurated earlier this year, the Ceneri Base Tunnel will enable the fastest journey time between Zürich and Milano to be cut to under 3 h.
