The world's longest rail tunnel has closed for repairs after a freight practice derailed - and it isn't anticipated to open for months.

The Gotthard railway tunnel in Switzerland might be shut till the tip of 2023, for much longer than was initially anticipated.

The 16 automobiles that derailed final Thursday prompted appreciable harm to the tracks and are nonetheless caught contained in the tunnel.

Nobody was harmed within the incident and photos of the scene present wine bottles strewn on the road, amongst different objects.

Passengers will now must take the scenic route as an alternative - including an hour onto home journeys, with two hours of delays for worldwide travellers.

The 35-mile (57km) tunnel, which opened in June 2016, cuts by means of the Alps and offers a high-speed hyperlink between northern and southern Europe.

Five miles (8km) of tracks and 20,000 concrete railroad ties are going to get replaced.

As properly as transporting passengers, Gotthard is a key passage for cargo - significantly between Germany and Italy - with greater than two-thirds of rail freight visitors within the Alps going by means of the tunnel final 12 months.

One aspect of the tunnel was unaffected by the derailment and must be working "in principle" from subsequent week.

It took 17 years to construct at a value of 12.2 billion Swiss francs (£10.8bn) and was designed to slash journey occasions, ease highway congestion and cut back air air pollution.