The
Lötschberg 
Tunnel is a 14.61 km (9.08 mi) long railway tunnel on the Lötschberg Line, which connects
Spiez and Brig at the northern end of the
Simplon Tunnel cutting through the
Bernese Alps of
Switzerland . Its ends are at the towns of
Kandersteg (2 km away) in the
Canton of Bern and
Goppenstein in the canton of Valais. The top elevation of the tunnel is 1,240 m (4,070 ft) above sea level, this is the highest point of the main Swiss railway network.
Construction began in 1907 and suffered delays by several severe accidents.
- February 1908: An avalanche destroyed a hotel that the workers lived in, killing 13.
- July 1908: The tunnel broke into a deep fissure below the Gastern Valley and flooded with water and glacial deposit from the fissure, killing 25, and 1554 meters (5100 feet, 0.9656 mile) of the tunnel had to be abandoned and sealed off and replaced by a curved bypass.
- March 1911: Breakthrough was achieved
- 3 June 1913: Finalization
- 15 July 1913: Regular service through the Lötschberg Tunnel began in 1913.
The tunnel is a single bore twin track.
The
BLS AG company offers a car transport service through the tunnel, between Kandersteg station and Goppenstein station, for accompanied vehicles.
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