Swiss engineers have begun work on the world's longest rail tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel for 36 miles from Erstfeld, 30 miles south of Zurich, to Bodio, 25 miles north of the Italian border.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is actually two main parallel tunnels measuring a record-breaking 57km each and total length of 153.5 km of tunnel through the Swiss Alps. Construction of the mega-tunnel will cost almost $15bn. When it is finished, the journey time from Basle to Milan will be cut from more than five hours to three hours 45 minutes and the Zurich to Milan link by more than two hours to two and a half hours, making the rail route competitive with air travel when it opens in 2012.
Meanwhile, The Brenner Tunnel, scheduled for completion in 2022, aims to cut train journey times between Innsbruck and Bolzano from two hours to 50 minutes.
The new rail links will afford increased accessibility which results in the increased tourist numbers and overseas property investors flocking to the country, which is best known for its beaches, favorable climate, vibrant capital city and wealthy cultural heritage. With increased accessibility, newer areas of Italy have become more easily reached and it is therefore now possible to examine the likes of Calabria or Basilicata for example where investors can still find incredibly well priced homes for sale.
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