The Gotthard Base Tunnel, running from a point near Erstfeld to a point near Biasca, opened to traffic on 1 June 2016, with full service starting in December of that year. With a route length of , this is the world's longest railway tunnel, surpassing the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. Its maximum altitude of is less than half the altitude of the current Gotthard Tunnel, and obviates the need to haul trains up long approach grades. Although given its name, because it bypasses the Gotthard Tunnel, the base tunnel's route is actually some to the east, passing under Sedrun, rather than the Gotthard Pass, but still below the Saint-Gotthard Massif.