Swiss tunnel shows rest of Europe the way

Swiss Federal President Johann Schneider- Ammann, right, speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, on the opening day of the Gotthard rail tunnel, at the fairground Rynaecht at the northern portal in Erstfeld, Switzerland. [Photo/Agencies]

Switzerland inspired its European neighbors on Wednesday by announcing the completion of the world's longest traffic tunnel, linking north and south Europe.

Landlocked Switzerland is expected to gain tremendous benefits from the multibillion euro Gotthard Base Tunnel through the heart of the Swiss Alps, which will be used by freight and passenger trains to travel to and from Italy later this year.

The tunnel, which is over 57 kilometers long, cost more than $12 billion and took 17 years to complete. Leading European political figures such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, preoccupied with the continuing headaches of terrorism, the refugee influx and economic stagnation, took time out to celebrate the engineering miracle with Swiss leaders that day.

In Europe, transforming such an engineering feat from a grand vision idea into reality is not easy, as various constraints, ranging from complicated environmental impact assessments to the conflicting interests of different parties and laborious approval procedures have to be overcome.

Even smaller projects face hurdles.

In 2010, the local authority in Stutgartt, Germany, decided to invest about 6 billion euros ($6.78 billion) to revive its main train station area into a business hub, but the plan failed to go ahead when more than half the local population voted against it in a referendum.