The Gotthard Base tunnel
CommScope provides reliable DAS coverage for railway passengers speeding through the Gotthard Base Tunnel under the Swiss Alps 2,300 meters underground at 250 km/h.
The Swiss government envisioned a high-speed rail line connecting the international trading hubs of Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy. Only one thing stood in the way: The Swiss Alps. The solution was a 57-kilometer subterranean rail line blasted and bored through solid rock.
Once construction on the Gotthard Base Tunnel was completed, Nokia was the partner responsible for furnishing telecommunications and tunnel control technology. To complete this unprecedented project, Nokia trusted CommScope to provide a premier, global radio frequency (RF) solution.
CommScope’s ION®-M distributed antenna system (DAS) solution provided critical communication networks to this tunnel, so that Swiss Federal Railways can be confident that passengers experience dependable in-train wireless coverage—even at 250 kilometers per hour, nearly two miles beneath the Alps.
Company fast facts
- The Gotthard Base tunnel is officially the world’s longest railway tunnel.
- In 1998, the Swiss government started envisioning a high-speed rail line connecting the international trading hubs of Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy.
Challenges
- Reliable and consistent signal strength for passengers speeding through the Gotthard Base tunnel at 250 kilometers per hour.
- Ensuring that railway employees, train operators and dispatchers could communicate with each other deep underneath 2,300 meters of Alpine granite.
Solutions
- ION®-M distributed antenna system (DAS)
- 31 master control units and approximately 690 remote repeaters
- Estimated 150 kilometers for RADIAX cable
