The Gotthard railway (German: Gotthardbahn; Italian: Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between northern Europe, especially Germany, and Italy. The Gotthard Railway Company (German: Gotthardbahn-Gesellschaft) was the former private railway company which financed the construction of, and originally operated, that line. The railway comprises a main line from Immensee to Chiasso, together with branches, from Immensee to Lucerne and Rotkreuz, from Arth-Goldau to Zug, and from Bellinzona to Locarno and Luino. The main line penetrates the Alps by means of the Gotthard Tunnel at over 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level. The line then descends as far as Bellinzona, at 241 metres (791 ft) above sea level, before climbing again to the Monte Ceneri Pass. The extreme differences in altitude necessitate the use of long ramped approaches on each side, together with several spirals. Construction of the line started in 1872, with some lowland sections opening by 1874. The full line opened in 1882, following completion of the Gotthard Tunnel. The line was incorporated into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1909, and electrified in 1922. The approaches to the existing tunnel continue to restrict speed and capacity on this important international route, and in 1996 it was decided to build a new lower level route on the Gotthard axis as part of the AlpTransit project. This route involves the construction of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel and Ceneri Base Tunnel, and it will be integrated with the existing route once completed, with some sections of the two routes in common.
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