Lötschberg Tunnel

The historic Lötschberg Tunnel is a 14.6-kilometer (roughly 9 miles) railway tunnel located in the Bernese Alps. It was officially opened in 1913 to connect the cantons of Bern and Valais. For nearly a century, it functioned as the primary mountain rail crossing in the region.

No, the historic 1913 Lötschberg Tunnel is strictly a standard-gauge railway tunnel and cannot be driven through by private cars. However, drivers can load their cars onto specialized automobile transport trains operated by BLS AG. This allows travelers to bypass the mountainous terrain by riding the train through the tunnel with their vehicles.

The historic Lötschberg Tunnel, opened in 1913, runs higher up in the mountains and is used by local and car-transport trains. The Lötschberg Base Tunnel, opened in 2007, is a completely separate, newer structure that runs much deeper through the base of the Alps. The Base Tunnel is primarily used for high-speed freight and passenger trains traveling between Germany and Italy.

The northern portal of the tunnel is located in the town of Kandersteg in the canton of Bern. The southern portal emerges near the village of Goppenstein in the canton of Valais. This route allows trains to cross the major Alpine barrier that separates northern and southern Europe.