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The mountain has not made it easy for the workers - spiral tunnels, viaducts and tracks hewn out of the rock over dizzying precipices. The Swiss Lötschberg Railway is one of the most important railway lines across the Alps - connecting Bern with Milan. The route runs from Spiez in the Bernese Oberland over the Lötschberg massif into the Rhone valley, to Brig in the Valais. Every few minutes a freight or long-distance express train winds its way through the mountains. This is how the large Alpine traffic is structured before the new base tunnel replaces the busy mountain route. From mid-June 2007, the train will travel through the Alps at 200 km/h. The first of the two large Swiss Alpine base tunnels is finished. The transit traffic that previously ran over the breathtaking mountain route now races at top speed through the 34-kilometer-long Lötschberg tunnel. Historical film material gives an insight into the history of this spectacular route, an insight into the construction work and the beauty of this almost 100-year-old Alpine route. Today, in the 21st century, part of this Alpine route disappears into the depths of the Lötschberg massif and thus meets the high requirements of modern Alpine transit traffic. The Lötschberg Railway - the rocky road to the south. A film by Harald Kirchner (episode 651 XL)