Swiss Review / February 2022 / No.1 20 the “Bergstrecke”, the historic route and its 15 km alpine tunnel. She finds the people of Ticino more combative than on this side of the Alps. “In Ticino, there are strikes. Here, we wait.” Nevertheless, thanks to negotiations with the SBB, the mayor seems confident things will change. An agreement would allow the commune to win back the SBB land. It notably has plans to construct a bed & breakfast in Erstfeld station, and guarantees on maintaining SBB jobs are also up for discussion. Bodio would like to see the train stop at Biasca In Bodio, the shutters of the Albergo Stazione are lowered. “I close them to keep out the carbon dust,” explains Tiziana Guzzi-Batzu, the manager, pointing towards a nearby factory. We can hear the continuous whistle of heavy goods vehicles moving along the A2 motorway. Here in the Leventina, the arrival of the “Alp Transit”, as the locals have named the base tunnel, sparked hope. The construction was to help in the uphill road to recovery after two economic setbacks: the inception of the Gotthardmotorway in 1980 and the closure in 1994 of the Monteforno steel plant. “But there was no upturn,” states Stefano Imelli, mayor of Bodio since 2016, who nevertheless has fondmemories of the celebration for the tunnel’s inauguration attended by François Hollande and Angela Merkel. The construction site for the base tunnel worked like a ghetto, recalls Marco Costi, the mayor of Bodio from 2000 until 2016. “We received very little. The municipality had to give up several hectares of land to the Confederation. There was smog, dust and noise.” During this period two bakeries closed. Long gone is the time when the commune boasted the highest number of restaurants per inhabitant in Ticino. The only positive point is that the pollution and noise levels have dropped. Imelli remembers the traffic on the Gotthard Pass. Three walkways allowed children to cross the stream of cars to go to school. There aremany factoryworkers in the industrial park just above the village. They come from northern Italy and Sardinia. Their life is punctuated by the events organised by Catholic associations, scouts and the football club. So, life in the commune is flourishing. “I have never heard people talking about us and them,” underlines the mayor. The absence of a tunnel symbol Bodio, the townwhich already had to fight for its station to be reopened (which happened in 2018), is now asking for the SBB to permit certain highspeed trains to stop in Biasca (and no longer only Bellinzona). “As soon as there is a station, something happens,” explains Marco Costi. Interest in the north seems low amongst the people of Bodio. Imelli does not even know the mayor of Erstfeld. Has the base tunnel attracted tourists? “What is lacking is a symbol for this tunnel,” opines Costi, who mentions the abandoned project of an archwhichwould have overlooked the motorway and the railway. For some, the tunnel is part of daily life. Take Cédric Jacob for example, an SBB train driver who transports technical employees to the heart of the two tracks that make up the base tunnel. His train, 22 metres long, holds an air-conditioned living unit, with a refectory, a coffee machine and a WC. There is also a workshop and a crane. Maintenance is done during the night. The workers and engineers work in temperatures ranging from32 to 44 degrees, depending on the season. And the humidity levels are very high. Because of the risks everyone has to be on the alert. “SBB professionals have developed skills here that are unique in the world,” considers Jacob. Having lived in Ticino since 2016, this native of the canton of Valais has a good understanding of his adopted region. “The locals are mountain people. They have learnt to live in an environment which can be harsh andwhere space is limited.” Report The north portal of the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel at Erstfeld, with the Alps towering above. Photo: Keystone Old Gotthard railway track New base tunnel Bellinzona Biasca Luzern Arth-Goldau Brunnen Altdorf Erstfeld Göschenen Airolo Bodio Locarno
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