large ventilation shafts and an additional side gallery between from the main tunnel, having its own independent ventilation system in order to facilitate the cutting of a second tunnel, should future traffic levels require it. In March 2014, the Swiss Government approved a bill to allow the building of a second road tunnel. Construction was scheduled to start in 2020, with the cost estimated at almost . 2001 collision and fire On 24 October 2001, a collision of two trucks created a fire in the tunnel, killing eleven and injuring many more, the smoke and gases produced by the fires being the main cause of death. The tunnel was closed for two months after the accident for repair and cleaning, reopening 21 December 2001. To improve safety after the fire, no more than 150 trucks per hour are allowed to enter the tunnel. Rail tunnels The Gotthard Rail Tunnel, close to but separate from the expressway tunnel, handles rail traffic on the north-south line in Switzerland. It was opened in 1882, at the time the world's longest tunnel, though later superseded by longer tunnels, some over long. Under construction since 2002 and opened on 1 June 2016, the Gotthard Base Tunnel (a second rail tunnel, long), is the world's longest. It was built for the use of trains travelling from northern Switzerland to the Ticino area and beyond. Road conditions The Gotthard Tunnel is the core and culminating point of the A2 motorway in Switzerland, running south from Basel through the tunnel down to Chiasso on the border with Italy. Traffic flows through only one tunnel, which carries traffic both ways, with each direction allocated one lane. The tunnel's speed limit is . Heavily used, the tunnel often has traffic jams during peak holiday seasons over Easter and summer, on both the north and south ends. In contrast, another tunnel through the Alps, the San Bernardino road tunnel as part of the A13 in the canton of Graubünden further east, is relatively uncongested and shorter. Second road tunnel proposals Construction on a second, parallel road tunnel was started. In first instance it was only built for safety: an escape route in case of accidents. This second tunnel can be built out to a full road tunnel, allowing four lanes of traffic. Efforts to do this have failed, blocked by political resistance. The Alpine Initiative "for the protection of the Alpine