Simplon Railway Tunnel is 12 Miles Long
A RAILCAR FIRE HAS BROUGHT TRAFFIC to a halt in the Simplon Tunnel, one of the longest railway tunnels in the world. The twin-bore tunnel runs under the Simplon Pass in the Swiss Alps running from Italy into Switzerland and is approx. twelve miles long. The accident happened on Thursday morning when the train was about 2 miles into the tunnel.
Smoke pours out of the tunnel portals while the train is burning. Cross-connecting chambers
between the two tubes allowed the smoke to also fill the undamaged passageway.
The fire broke out in the sixth (car) of a train carrying household goods made of steel and porcelain from Italy to Germany. No-one was hurt, apart from a few people who suffered minor smoke inhalation. The flames eventually spread to the following nine (cars) because of the immense heat inside the tunnel. The engine and first five (cars) were moved to the Swiss exit of the tunnel at Brig on Thursday.
“The situation is still not totally under control,” Jean-Louis Scherz, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), told the Swiss news agency on Friday afternoon.
The tunnel’s two parallel tubes are linked by transverse tunnels every 200 metres, through which the smoke is reaching the undamaged one, making it unusable. The affected tunnel is reported to have suffered “major” damage, which will take several weeks to repair, according to initial assessments. The SBB said on Thursday that the roof lining could collapse, the rails had probably been distorted, and other infrastructure melted.
One of the fire-extinguishment trains enters the tunnel. (20min. photo)
Three special tunnel firefighting trains including 50 firefighters were dispatched from both Italy and Switzerland to try and approach the fire from each end, but the intense heat inside the tube kept them away for most of the day.
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Saturday at noon, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) announced that the undamaged tube was usable since the smoke had dissipated. The track was reopened to allow passenger trains to use alternating northbound and southbound one at a time. This is a 3-day weekend celebrating Whitsun (Pentecost), a religious holiday, and travel to and from Italy is heavy. On Monday the rails will re-open to freight traffic, again using the single tube.
An SBB spokesman said on Saturday morning that overnight firemen had managed to bring the temperature in the damaged tunnel down to 30 degrees. The normal temperature is 27 degrees, but at the height of the fire it had shot up to 800.
He said a million litres of water had been used so far to extinguish the blaze. Although there is no more smoke or embers, firemen will continue their work until Monday. The 10 burnt-out wagons will remain in the tunnel until then.
The SBB says repair work is likely to last for several months. The cause of the fire, in which no-one was injured, is still being investigated.
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