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World’s longest and deepest rail tunnel benefited from Leica Geosystems measurement technology. Surveying and monitoring systems made the construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps possible. The 57-kilometre long tunnel (35.4 miles) is the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. Drilling a 57-kilometre long tunnel starting from both sides of the mountain and meeting in the middle with barely any deviation was a truly challenging task. Highly precise measuring instruments were needed to successfully accomplish the project. The surveying started measuring in 1996, when construction work began. The surveying engineers set up a basic network with 20 reference points. For this task, they used total stations, or optical measuring devices, and GPS, or satellite navigation solutions from Leica Geosystems. There was no major delay during construction time, and the tunnel was inaugurated on June 1st as planned. www.leica-geosystems.com
