The summer of 2024 is set to be a busy one for the Rhine-Alps railway axis, with numerous construction sites planned along this crucial north-south rail corridor that links northwest Italy with Germany and the Netherlands via Switzerland. A major disruption will be the five-month closure of the Frankfurt-Mannheim line, scheduled from mid-July to mid-December. This period is traditionally a time for concentrated railway maintenance, taking advantage of the summer's lower transport demand to minimize impact on freight operations. However, the summer of 2024 will be marked by significant construction works, including long-term projects aimed at enhancing or even reconstructing entire railway sections.
Among the most significant undertakings is the complete overhaul of the Frankfurt-Mannheim corridor, necessitating a total shutdown. German railways have prepared and tested alternative routes to ensure continued connectivity along this vital artery despite the halt in train operations on the main line.
In Italy, a prolonged closure will affect one of the feeder lines to the Simplon Pass near Lake Maggiore, but additional works are scheduled between Domodossola and Switzerland. As detailed by TrasportoEuropa on March 21, 2024, the railway between Arona and Stresa will be closed for three months from June to early September for track adjustments, particularly in tunnels, to accommodate all intermodal transports without restrictions. The section between Stresa and Verbania will also undergo construction in July.
Also on the Italian side of the Rhine-Alps corridor, the Domodossola-Iselle di Trasquera line, featuring the lengthy helical tunnel, will be closed for nearly a month in August. The Ternate-Laveno Mombello section, part of the dual-route railway from Gallarate to Luino and the international line to Switzerland, will also be shut down in August, mainly affecting freight transport. In Chiasso, just beyond the Italian border on the main access route to the Gotthard, scheduled works for August will impact the town's freight station.
In Germany, the town of Rastatt, notorious for a rail accident in August 2017, will see a complete shutdown in August, followed by a partial closure allowing traffic on just one track until mid-September. The Swiss Federal Office of Transport reports that partial closures allowing at least one-track operation are also planned on certain sections of the Gotthard corridor, particularly from Giubiasco to Bellinzona, between Osogna and the Justice junction, and at Faido. In Germany, construction will continue until 2025 on the critical 60-kilometer stretch between Oberhausen, north of Duisburg, and Emmerich, a gateway to the Netherlands and North Sea ports.
By Piermario Curti Sacchi
