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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Guardian staff and agencies

Gotthard rail tunnel, world’s longest, closes for months after Swiss derailment

The first train comes out of the Gotthard base tunnel's north portal accompanied by a pyrotechnic show on its opening day, Wednesday 1 June 2016, near Erstfeld, Switzerland,
The first train comes out of the Gotthard base tunnel's north portal accompanied by a pyrotechnic show on its opening day, Wednesday 1 June 2016, near Erstfeld, Switzerland. Passenger services have been halted by a serious derailment. Photograph: Laurent Gilliéron/AP

Train passengers between north and southernmost Switzerland will have to skip the world’s longest train tunnel and go back to the longer scenic route for months, rail authorities have said, after a freight service derailed and tore up the track.

Sixteen cars that jumped the tracks in last Thursday’s derailment remained stuck inside the 57km (35-mile) long Gotthard base tunnel in the southern Ticino region, national railway operator SBB said on Wednesday.

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