Long tunnels maintenance: challenges and lessons learnt. The case study of the Gotthard Base Tunnel

Eight years after the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the Swiss Federal Railways Infrastructure managers are dealing with a number of challenges mostly concerning maintenance under very demanding logistical and climatic conditions. In particular, the regular maintenance of the world's longest railway tunnel should be performed in a very short lapse of time and with specific maintenance trains. Considering the complex logistic, as well as the high health and safety requirements ruling the maintenance activities, the efficiency can be strongly affected by small changes in the working conditions. This paper presents major challenges related to the maintenance of the world's longest tunnel and discusses lessons learnt about how design requirements represent the key for a more effective tunnel management.