Phase two of Zurich’s cross-city rail link – the largest urban construction project in Switzerland – has been completed.
The latest stage of the 2 billion franc project has involved the commissioning of the Letzigraben and Kohledreieck bridges, which will extend the line from Löwenstrasse station to Altstetten.
Following eight years of construction, the link, known as the Durchmesserlinie (DML) or cross-city line, now finally links Altstetten with Oerlikon via Zurich Main Station.
Phase one opened in June 2014, with the completion of the Weinberg tunnel, which lies between the western approach to Zurich Main Station and the southern approach to Oerlikon station, and the new Löwenstrasse low-level station.
Completion of the line to Altstetten means the 9.6-kilometre line will be able to go into commercial operation with the 2016 timetable change. Although associated infrastructure works, including the expansion of Oerlikon station, won’t be completed until mid-2017.
A ceremony, attended by Zurich Councillor Carmen Walker Späh, director of Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport, Peter Füglistaler, and SBB chief executive Andreas Meyer, was held to mark the completion of the two new bridges.
SBB estimated that more than 1,000 people have helped build the cross-city link.
