Engineering marvel for Georgia

2026-06-12

Imagine an engineering marvel that starts in Khashuri, runs deep into the majestic Likhi mountain range — 2 kilometers underground — and takes you to Zestaponi in exactly 15 minutes. Is it fantasy? For the Swiss, this is everyday life.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is one of the greatest achievements of the modern world:

At 57.1 km long, it is the longest railway tunnel on Earth (the entire underground system reaches 151.8 km!).

High-speed trains transport passengers and cargo through the heart of the Alps in incredible time.

This project cost Switzerland 12 billion francs, which is about $1,000 per active taxpayer (spread over 17 years).

If we had built a similar, 57-kilometer “Georgian Gotthard” on Rikoti (which would cost at least $12 billion today), the country would have changed fundamentally. And not only economically:

1. Mental and physical integration: the centuries-old natural barrier between eastern and western Georgia would simply disappear. A single labor market would be created — you could live in Imereti and commute to work in Kartli or Tbilisi every day.

2. Ecological revolution on Rikoti: passengers would switch from thousands of trucks and cars to environmentally friendly, electric trains. Rikoti’s unique forests, serpentines and ecosystem would be forever free from emissions and noise.

3. Absolute safety: no landslides, icicles, fog and blocked roads. The 2-kilometer-deep tunnel would not be affected by climatic elements — it would operate uninterruptedly 365 days a year.

4. Decongestion of the capital: Fast connections would revitalize regional centers and stop Tbilisi from being overloaded.

Of course, this would have its sentimental “victims” — perhaps the famous Rikoti nazuks, the Shrosh clay market and the traditional romance of traveling over the pass, which all Georgians love so much, would become a thing of the past.

Switzerland chose innovation, precision and maximum protection of nature. Georgia has taken an "optimal and realistic" step with a 52-kilometer new highway (with 51 tunnels and 97 bridges) at Rikoti, although dreams and engineering excellence have no limits.

Dato Gochava, Professional Railwaymen's Club