While the first assembly work for the big celebration is already underway, the final tests and final works are being carried out in the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Alptransit Gotthard Ltd is in the pipeline – on 1 June 2016 it will hand over the tunnel to SBB for operation. At SBB and the FOT, work is underway on granting the operating permit, as stated by the institutions involved today during a media briefing at the north portal of the Base Tunnel.
For the official opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel on 1 June 2016, in addition to the entire Federal Council, the heads of state and government of our neighboring countries are also expected, as well as the transport ministers of the countries located along the section of the Rotterdam-Genoa freight corridor. In the presence of 1100 guests and 300 media representatives, two trains, one from the north and one from the south, will open the base tunnel. The first to pass through the gallery will be 1000 representatives of the Swiss population. The official inauguration event will take place both to the south and to the north of the gallery, near the two portals in Erstfeld/Rynächt and in Pollegio.
During the following weekend, 4 and 5 June 2016, four specially prepared areas in the Erstfeld/Rynacht and Pollegio/Biasca region will host a large folk festival. Visitors will be able to cross the longest railway tunnel in the world with special trains. Tickets for these trains can be obtained from the serviced points of sale or from the SBB online ticket shop. In addition to the train journeys, there will be numerous other attractions for visitors. The SBB maintenance and emergency service centers in Erstfeld and Biasca will open their doors. In the pavilions dedicated to the mobility of the future, it will be possible to admire self-driving vehicles, robots and drones. The partners "Gottardo 2016" and the two host cantons Uri and Ticino will also present themselves in an exciting way. In addition, large parties will be organized on 4 June at the railway stations of Aarau, Biel, Bern, Geneva, Winterthur and Zurich.
At today's media briefing, director Volker Hesse and his ensemble gave an insight into the planned artistic staging of the festivities. A total of about 600 actresses and actors will be involved. The staging will take place on both sides of the Gotthard Base Tunnel and combines the myth of the Gotthard, with its primordial elements, and the highly modern Record Tunnel, which further shortens the distances between north and south. The headline performance will take place on June 1, with reprises scheduled for the weekend's general public event.
