The first train through an Alpine tunnel arrives on the south side during the inauguration of the Loetschberg Railway Tunnel in Raron, Switzerland. The tunnel runs 21 miles under mountains.

In the Loetschberg Base Tunnel, Switzerland ? With a ceremony that went off like a classic Swiss timepiece, officials Friday inaugurated the world’s longest overland tunnel, a 21-mile-long rail link under the Alps meant to ease highway traffic jams in the mountainous country.

The tunnel, which took eight years to build and cost $3.5 billion, will trim the time trains need to cross between Germany and Italy from 3 1/2 hours to just under two.

The first train through the tunnel was a freight carrying Swiss Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger, arriving in the town of Frutigen at the tunnel’s north entrance. It burst through a banner declaring “Loetschberg – Connecting Europe” to the cheers of more than 1,000 people and the popping of fireworks.

“We have moved a mountain,” Leuenberger said.

Switzerland is at the center of a north-south European axis where traffic has increased more than tenfold since 1980. The Swiss have tired of traffic jams caused by big rigs and vacationers filling their narrow valleys, and the rail plan has remained popular despite running billions of dollars over budget.

The Loetschberg tunnel will get skiers to Swiss resorts more quickly. The trip from Bern, at the northern end of the tunnel, to Visp, near ski regions like Switzerland’s Zermatt and Italy’s Courmayeur on the southern side of the Alps, will be cut in half – from 110 minutes to 55 minutes.

A Roman Catholic bishop and a Protestant minister blessed the tracks, and several bands played. At one point, the festivities moved along so briskly that officials had to slow them for the punctually arriving train.

During the train’s journey, cell phone reception was strong throughout the ride, even at points where the tunnel was 6,500 feet below the mountain surface. Passenger trains will travel at up to 150 mph.