 It shall allow traffic to bypass the conventional high-level railway running through the historic Monte Ceneri Tunnel.It forms only one element of a wider effort, commonly referred to as the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA) programme, which is being developed by AlpTransit Gotthard AG (ATG), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).Once completed, the Ceneri Base Tunnel shall work together with the longer Gotthard Base Tunnel to significantly shorten the journey times between the Northern Swiss city of Zurich and the Northern Italian city of Milan by providing a flatter route for freight trains than previous conventional lines.