The world's longest tunnel has opened in Switzerland. The longest tunnels in the world

Lefortovo tunnel

In Moscow, the leader in terms of length is the Lefortovo tunnel. It lies in the south-eastern part of Moscow and is part of the third transport ring. Most long tunnel Moscow has a length of 3,246 kilometers, it is also one of the largest tunnels in Europe. The tunnel is located under the Yauza River and Lefortovo Park. The Lefotovo Tunnel has seven lanes for vehicles (three lanes in the north direction and four lanes in the south direction).

Nicknamed "Tunnel of Death"

Each strip is three and a half meters wide. The Lefortovo tunnel is a deep tunnel (up to 30 meters), such a depth is dictated by the need to absorb noise and vibration from a large traffic flow.

On average, approximately 3,500 vehicles pass through this tunnel per hour, and it copes well with this intensity. But, during peak hours, the flow increases to seven to eight thousand, which causes frequent accidents, including fatalities. According to statistics, this tunnel is one of the most dangerous sections of roads in Moscow in terms of the number of accidents, in connection with this it received an unflattering nickname - the “tunnel of death”.

Causes of car accidents

The reason for such a high danger lies in a banal violation of traffic rules related to speed limits and ignoring the solid dividing line between traffic lanes, which prevents changing lanes. The maximum permitted speed in the tunnel is 60 km per hour, but the “record” for speeding is 236 km per hour.

The Lefortovo tunnel is equipped with safety and life support systems: ventilation, drainage system, fire protection system. Also, payphones and video surveillance systems are installed along the entire length. A central control center is provided to manage all communications.

The longest tunnel in Moscow was put into operation in December 2003. By the way, the longest road tunnel in the world is located in Norway, its length is almost 25 kilometers.

Victor Alexandrov, Samogo.Net

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A railway tunnel in Japan is 53.85 km long with an underwater fragment 23.3 km long. The tunnel descends to a depth of about 240 meters, 100 meters below the seabed. It lies under the Sangar Strait, connecting Aomori Prefecture on the Japanese island of Honshu and the island of Hokkaido - as part of the Kaikyo and Hokkaido Shinkansen line of the Hokkaido Railway Company. It is the deepest seabed and second longest railway tunnel in the world.

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The railway tunnel in Switzerland is 57.1 km long (including service and pedestrian passages - 153.4 km). The northern portal of the tunnel is located near the village of Erstfeld, and the southern portal is located near the village of Bodio. After the completion of the eastern part (October 15, 2010) and the western part (March 23, 2011), it became the longest railway tunnel in the world.

8 Beijing Subway: Line 10

The high-speed rail transport system of Beijing, the capital of China, has been in operation since 1969 and has been rapidly developing since the end of the 20th century. It ranks second among metro systems in the world in terms of line length and annual passenger flow, as well as second place in peak daily passenger flow after the Moscow Metro.

7 Guangzhou Metropolitan: Line 3

The decision to build a metro in Guangzhou was made in 1989. Construction began in 1993. The first line was put into operation on June 28, 1997. In 2002, the second line was opened, in 2005 - the third and fourth. On December 28, 2013, metro line 6 was opened.

6

It was built in 1987 in Sweden. The cross section of the tunnel is 8 m2.

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Within a large water management system. of the Orange River project, in the middle reaches of the river, the Hendrik-Verwoerd and Le Roux dams and reservoirs were built, designed to regulate the river flow, irrigate agricultural lands, industrial water supply, and for hydropower purposes. Part of the flow from the Hendrik-Verwoerd reservoir is transferred through a tunnel through the mountain range to the south of South Africa.

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One of the longest tunnels is located in Liaoning province. China has previously taken part in the implementation of large-scale road projects. For example, the Danyang-Kunshan Great Bridge is the longest bridge in the world.

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Päijänne water pipeline- a conduit tunnel located in the south of Finland. Its length is 120 km, depth from 30 to 100 m from the surface. The purpose of constructing the water pipeline is to supply water to the capital agglomeration of Finland, in whose cities (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and others) more than a million people live.

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Many of us have the luxury of instant access to clean water, but few people think about what miracles of technology we can pour ourselves a glass of water. New York is one of those cities that lacks sources fresh water. As the population grew, aqueducts began to appear. In 1945, the Delaware Aqueduct appeared. Today it supplies the population of the metropolis with water by 50 percent. It is the second longest continuous tunnel in the world with a length of 137 kilometers. It was created by drilling and blasting hard rocks. The aqueduct works incredibly efficiently - 95 percent of the total volume of water is supplied independently.

1

The longest tunnel in the world- Thirlmere aqueduct. Its length is 154,000 meters, construction began in 1890 and ended in 1925. Formally, it is not the longest tunnel in the world, since it is not a continuous tunnel, but it is generally accepted to consider it the longest tunnel in the world. The aqueduct was built to carry water from a reservoir in Manchester, and about 250,000 people pass through it every day. cubic meters water.

The relief of the earth's surface is not perfectly flat, but is almost always complex, so when laying roads it is almost impossible to do without tunnels. The prototypes of tunnels in ancient times were mines; with the help of this military stratagem one could sneak behind the enemy's back unnoticed and fall on his shoulders. Today's tunnels, for the most part, serve completely different purposes. There are a variety of tunnels, differing in length, location and structure. What is currently the longest tunnel in the world?

10. Laerdal Tunnel, Norway (24,510 m)

In this case, we are talking about a road tunnel that shortens the route from the municipality of Laerdal to another municipality of Aurland (both in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Western Norway). The tunnel is part of the European highway E16, connecting Oslo with Bergen. Construction of this tunnel began in 1995 and was completed in 2000. At that time it became the longest in the world road tunnel, surpassing the famous Gotthard road tunnel by as much as 8 km. Above the tunnel there are mountains with average height about 1600 meters.
The Lärdal Tunnel has a unique feature - three large-volume artificial grottoes are chosen in it at the same distance from each other. These grottoes divide the tunnel itself into 4 approximately equal sections. This is not a whim of the architects, but the purpose of the grottoes is to relieve fatigue from drivers driving for a long time in completely monotonous tunnel conditions, and here they can stop and rest.

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9. Iwate-Ichinohe, Japan (25,810 m)

The Japanese tunnel connecting the capital with the city of Aomori, at the time of its opening in 2002, it was the longest Japanese railway tunnel until it was overtaken by the Lötschberg tunnel. This tunnel is located 545 kilometers from Tokyo, halfway between Hachinohe and Morioka, and the Chohoku express trains run through it. We started thinking about its construction in 1988, and started it in 1991. The structure was ready for operation in 2000, but the line began operating only in 2002. The tunnel goes down a maximum of 200 meters.

8. Hakkoda, Japan (26,455 m)

The Hakkoda railway tunnel is only a little longer than the previous one. He was a kind of pioneer - before him there were no long tunnels in the world through which trains could simultaneously move different directions.

7. Taihangshan, China (27,848 m)

In 2007, a new Taihangshan tunnel was put into operation in China, passing through the thickness of the mountain range of the same name. Before the construction of the New Guan Jiao, it was the longest Chinese tunnel. It became an element of the high-speed railway that connected the capital of the eastern province of Hebei, Shijiach-Zhuang, with the capital of the adjacent Shanxi province from the west, the city of Taiyuan. If previously it took 6 hours to get from one city to another, now an hour is enough.

6. Guadarrama, Spain (28,377 m)

In the same 2007, but in Spain, the longest tunnel in the country, Guadarrama, was opened, which connected the capital of the country, Madrid, with Valladolid. It began construction in 2002, so it is obvious that this was done at a fairly fast pace. It's quite complicated technical structure, which also contains two separate tunnels. Thanks to this, trains run along it simultaneously in different directions. It is especially worth noting that high-speed trains of the AVE system are used here. After the launch of the tunnel, it became possible to get from one city to another in just a few minutes. This was especially liked by tourists, who began to visit Valladolid from the capital more often.

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5. New Guan Jiao, China (32,645 m)

This is China's longest railway tunnel. At the same time, being located, as befits an underground tunnel, it is located at a very decent height above sea level (from 3324 meters to 3381 meters). And all because it is part of the second line of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, laid in the Guan Jiao Mountains of the Chinese province of Qinghai. In fact, there are two separate one-way tunnels here. This tunnel took 7 years to build, and it was put into operation at the very end of 2014. Trains are capable of rushing through these tunnels at a speed of 160 km/h.

4. Lötschberg, Switzerland (34,577 m)

The Lötschberg railway tunnel is located on the line of the same name passing through the Alps, and it is located 400 meters deeper than the Lötschberg road tunnel. Passenger and freight trains travel through this one of the world's longest land tunnels. It passes under cities such as Bern, Frutigen, Valais and Raron. This is a fairly new tunnel, because it was completed only in 2006, and already in June of the following year it was officially opened. During its excavation, the most modern technologies drilling, so it was possible to break through it in less than two years. Now over 20 thousand Swiss people use it every week, trying to quickly get to the thermal resorts in Valais.
The arrival of Lötschberg has significantly reduced the amount of traffic congestion in the area, since previously trucks and trucks had to bypass Switzerland, making a large circle to travel just from Valais to Bern. Interestingly, there is a hot spring in the tunnel. underground water, which the Swiss also do not waste, but use it to heat the greenhouse, where tropical fruits grow thanks to this.

3. Eurotunnel, France/UK (50,450 m)

This Channel Tunnel is a double-track railway tunnel that runs 39 kilometers under the English Channel. Thanks to him, the island of Great Britain was connected to the continent by rail. Since then, it has become possible to board a train in Paris and be in London in two and a quarter hours. The train stays in the tunnel itself for 20-35 minutes.
The grand opening of the tunnel took place on May 6, 1994. It was attended by the leaders of two countries - French President Francois Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The Eurotunnel holds the record for underwater tunnels and is also the longest international tunnel. Its work is managed by the Eurostar company. The American Society of Civil Engineers was full of compliments and even compared the Eurotunnel to one of the seven modern miracles Sveta.

2. Seikan, Japan (53,850 m)

This incredibly long Japanese railway tunnel also has an underwater section that is 23.3 kilometers long. It goes 240 meters underground, resulting in 100 meters below the seabed. The tunnel passes under the Sangar Strait and connects Aomori Prefecture (Honshu Island) and the island of Hokkaido. It is part of the Kaikyo and Hokkaido Shinkansen of the local railway company.
In length it is second only to the Gotthard Tunnel, and in terms of its location under the seabed it is the leader in the world. The name of the tunnel contains the first hieroglyphs of the names of the cities that it connects - Amori and Hakodate, just those on Japanese are pronounced differently. The Seikan Tunnel became the second underwater railway tunnel after the Kammon Tunnel in Japan, and it connects the islands of Kyushu and Honshu under the Kammon Strait.

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1. Gotthard Tunnel, Switzerland (57,091 m)

This railway tunnel, dug in the Swiss Alps, when adding its own length with the length of pedestrian and service passages, will stretch for 153.4 kilometers. At the northern end it exits near the village of Erstfeld, and the southern exit is located near the village of Bodio. The construction of the eastern part was completed in October 2010, and the western part in March 2011, after which it became the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Thanks to its construction, trans-Alpine rail transport became possible, and north-west Italy was able to switch from more polluting road transport to cleaner and cheaper rail transport. Travel time from Zurich to Milan has been reduced by almost an hour. The tunnel was opened in June 2016. The company controlling its construction, Alp Transit Gotthard, handed it over to the Swiss federal authorities in December of the same year. railways in fully working order, and commercial operation began on December 11.

I didn’t make any further ado and simply asked: It would be interesting to read about tunnels, railways and others. The longest, the most complex, etc. Norway, Switzerland, other countries... in China they seem to be building very impressive tunnels now.

First, remember, well, now let's get down to the records. And we will start with the longest tunnel.

The construction of the Gotthard railway tunnel on the border of Switzerland and Italy is being completed. It is the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT, Gotthard-Basistunnel) that will connect Switzerland and Italy, and will also become the longest and deepest tunnel in the world. The southern portal is located near the village of Bodio, and the northern one is near the village of Erstfed. It was created for rail transport across the Alps.

Today, the longest underground route is considered to be the Japanese Seikan Tunnel, connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Its length excluding aqueducts is 53.6 kilometers. Its other famous brother, which ranks second, is the Eurotunnel between England and France, its length is about 51 km.

Upon completion of work on the Gotthard Tunnel, the length of this beauty will be 57 kilometers, and taking into account service and pedestrian passages - 153.4 km. And then it will become the very, very tunnel in the world.

The tunnel consists of two parallel underground highways for two-way traffic, connected by galleries every 325 m, along which trains will travel in opposite directions. Inside the tunnel there will be two emergency railway stations connected to the surface by emergency shafts.

In general, the idea of building such a tunnel was proposed by the government back in 1947, but the first construction version was prepared only in 1962. However, the main problem was the design - which tunnel to choose, a single tunnel with two single-tracks or two separate single-tracks? However, the decision on this issue dragged on for an extremely long time and was finally made in 1998, when an additional tax on heavy transport was introduced in the country.

Clickable

But in fact, the first exploration work began much earlier, back in 1993, and the main ones only in 2001. In total, about 3,500 workers were hired, which included not only builders, but also geologists, engineers and planners. Work was carried out continuously, seven days a week and 24 hours a day. To dig a tunnel in rocks, both several tunnel boring systems and drilling and blasting operations were used. The tunnel has two common “trunks”, under which trains will travel in both directions. Along the route there are two railway stations, at which it will also be possible to change trains. By the way, the total construction costs are just over 10 billion US dollars.

Regular traffic through the tunnel will open in 2016. Experts say that the most Hi-tech, special drilling rigs with a disk diameter of 10 meters began working from opposite sides. On October 15, 2010, under the gaze of all the world's television companies, the last 3 meters of rock collapsed - the tunnel was completely built.

And now I will tell you about the longest water tunnel. For some reason it is in first place on Wikipedia for the longest tunnels. The longest water tunnel is in England, it began to be built in the 18th century, and now its length is 154,000 meters - this is the Thirlmere aqueduct

It was built from 1890 to 1925

Thirlmere Dam Raven_Crag

IN Lately It so happens that the word “most” is increasingly used in relation to China - the most populous country, the fastest growing economy, one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. Not surprisingly, the world's widest tunnel was also built in China. The opening of the world's widest tunnel took place on October 31, 2009.

This tunnel, running along the Yangtze River and connecting Shanghai with Chongming Dao Island, is part of a twenty-five and a half kilometer tunnel-bridge project with a budget of 12.6 billion yuan ($1.84 billion).

The internal diameter of this tunnel structure is 13.7 meters, length – 8900 meters. During the construction of the tunnel by Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. a drilling rig with a diameter of 15.43 meters was used, which is also an absolute world record.

The road from Shanghai to Chungming Dao Island through a tunnel through which a railway line and a six-lane highway passes takes just over twenty minutes.

Chongming Dao Island is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River and covers an area of 1,200 square kilometers, which is equal to 20 percent of the entire territory of the Shanghai region.

Due to poor transport links, the development of the region was hampered; its share in Shanghai's total GDP was only one and a half percent.

The Chinese authorities plan to turn Chongmingdao into an example of a modern territorial unit with developed infrastructure and meeting all environmental requirements. It is also expected that the new transport system will help attract additional investment to the region.

Here are some more unusual tunnels: The Tower Tunnel, Japan One of the most interesting buildings in Japan is the Gate Tower in Osaka, Japan. This building is the result of a rare compromise between a landowner and the Japanese government.

The expressway runs through the 6th, 7th and 8th floors of this 16-story office building - right through the building. On the first floor, the floor information says that floors 6-8 are “rented by Hanshin Expressway.” The tunnel is not connected to the building in any way. It is supported on special supports and enclosed in a special structure, which helps protect the building from noise and vibration.

Here's another interesting example:

Tunnel Log, California, USA

Tunnel Log - The Log Tunnel is a tunnel that was carved out of a giant fallen sequoia tree in National Park Sequoia, California, USA. The tree, 84 meters high and 6.4 meters in diameter, fell in 1937 due to natural causes and blocked the road. IN next year park staff cut a 2.4-meter (8-foot) high and 5.2-meter (17-foot) wide tunnel into the tree, making the road passable again.

Well, again China:

One of the most unusual roads in the world is the Guolian Tunnel, which is located high in the mountains of Henan Province, China.

This tunnel is only a few decades old, but during this time Guolian has become one of the most famous roads on the highways, all thanks to its unusual location and amazing design! The fact is that the Guolian Tunnel is built in rock and is a bizarre cave, more than a kilometer long!

Read. We've already discussed this.

Now let's look at the deepest sea tunnel in the world:

Turkey has successfully tested the recently completed railway tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the European and Asian parts of Istanbul, Reuters reports. Its length is 13.6 km, maximum depth- 56 m. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan launched the first test train through the tunnel in August 2013.

The completion of the tunnel has been postponed many times, and now its official launch is scheduled for October 29, the anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. This tunnel will be the first megaproject completed in Istanbul.

The tunnel is part of the larger $5 billion Marmaray project, which includes upgrading the existing commuter rail system. According to government plans, 1.5 million people will use the 76 km lines every day.

Meanwhile, the interval of trains under the Bosphorus will be 2 minutes, and throughput the tunnel will reach 75 thousand passengers per day.

Construction of the tunnel began in 2004. a Japanese-Turkish consortium, financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Let us note that the construction of this tunnel was initially an extremely complex project from a geological point of view, since the strait is located in a seismically active zone.

Highest road tunnel:

In Sichuan province in southwestern China, construction of a tunnel through Trola Mountain has begun. This building is part of the complex highway Sichuan-Tibet. The tunnel will be the highest in the world, as it will be located at 4240-4380 m above sea level.

Currently full swing Construction of the 14.06 km long entrance to the tunnel is underway. This object is located in the east of Mount Trola. The length of the tunnel itself will be 7 km. The construction of this road section will be completed in four years. Investments in the project are estimated at 1.12 billion yuan ($172 million). Once the tunnel is put into operation, travel time through Mount Trola will be reduced by at least 2 hours - to just over 10 minutes.

Let us recall that the construction of a highway from Sichuan to Tibet with a length of 2415 km has become the most difficult in the world. The road crosses 12 rivers and 14 mountains at an altitude of 4000-5000 m above sea level.

From 2011 to 2015 Chinese authorities will allocate $954 billion to develop the country's transport infrastructure. Most of The allocated funds will be spent on the construction of new roads, including expressways. Thus, in the next five years, 108,000 km of expressways will be built in China. By the end of 2015, they will unite more than 90% of all cities in the country with a population of more than 200,000 people. Currently, the total length of roads in the Middle Kingdom exceeds 3.9 million km.

Oh, yes, I completely forgot, what is the longest road tunnel in the world?

Laerdal Tunnel is a road tunnel connecting the cities of Laerdal and Aurland, part of the E16 highway between Oslo and Bergen. The 24.5 kilometer tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world.

Construction cost 120 million euros. Opened on November 27, 2000 by King Harald the Fifth of Norway.

Such natural conditions in Norway, mountainous terrain, risks of rockfalls, northern climate, and many fjords create difficulties for reliable road transport. In addition, the ferry transport common in this country cannot always provide reliable year-round communication. Therefore, in Norway, in the last 20 years, the emphasis in transport construction has been on the construction of bridges and tunnels (the world's deepest Eiksund road tunnel is also located in Norway). Construction of the tunnel took place from 1995 to 2000.

The tunnel is divided into four sections using special grottoes.

These grottoes serve as a turning point for vehicles, including road trains, and as a place to stop for rest.

Designer lighting of the grottoes, as well as the layout of the route, make the trip through the tunnel not so monotonous and “boring”; the duration of the trip through the tunnel is about 20 minutes.

In the tunnel it is used large quantities security measures. Emergency telephones are installed every 250 meters along the route, fire extinguishers are located every 125 meters, and in addition to the 3 grottoes, 15 more turning points have been made.

In the Ledardal tunnels, for the first time in the world, in addition to air ventilation, air purification facilities are used.

The tunnel has an average traffic volume of about 1,000 vehicles per day and is also free of toll. The mountains through which the tunnel passes reach a height of 1600 meters.

A trip through the tunnel, thanks to thoughtful safety measures, does not seem boring, monotonous, and does not put drivers to sleep. Half an hour passes - and the eyes appear after the rough stone plain walls the beautiful landscapes of central Norway in all their rugged beauty.

Laerdal is famous for the Salmon Center, an ancient street with houses from the 17th-18th centuries and the equally famous Borgund Stave Church (30 km away), which was built in 1180 (!!!) and has been perfectly preserved to this day.

At the local information center you can get comprehensive information about the bus schedule to the church, and offers for hotels and guest houses. It’s not very clear whether Laerdal is a city or a large village by local standards, but it’s very, very cozy there. You can get around the town by bike in literally 5 minutes, or just take a walk around the town-village.

Help: Is the Laerdal tunnel really the longest road tunnel in the world? At first I don’t want to believe this, but statistics and figures convince me:

So, the top 10 longest tunnels in the world:

1. Gotthard Base Tunnel 57.00 km

The largest tunnel under construction in the entire history of Europe, the planned length is 57 km, the structure will become the longest railway tunnel in the world. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015

2. Seikan 53.90 km (Japan) - is today

the longest railway tunnel connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The tunnel opened to traffic on March 13, 1988. It has the titles of the longest railway tunnel and the longest underwater tunnel.

3. Eurotunnel 49.94 km, laid under the English Channel between Folkestone (Kent, UK) and Calais (France). Although this tunnel is inferior in total length to the Seikan Tunnel, its underwater section (about 39 km) is 14.7 km longer than the underwater section of the Seikan Railway Tunnel. The Channel Tunnel officially opened in 1994.

4. Lötschberg 34.70 km - the longest land tunnel on the Bern - Milan line, located in Switzerland. Its length is 34 kilometers. It connects the area of Bern and Interlaken with the area of Brig and Zermatt.

5. Guadarrama Tunnel 28.37 km - a railway tunnel in Spain connecting Madrid and Valladolid by high-speed route. The tunnel opened in December 2007. Has the title of the longest tunnel in Spain.

6. Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel 25.81 km - an underground railway tunnel in Japan connecting Tokyo and Aomori. The tunnel opened in 2002 and at its opening had the title of the longest underground railway tunnel.

7. Hakkoda 26.5 km - the longest land tunnel, Hakkoda, is located in Japan, the length of the railway section is 26.5 kilometers.

8. Laerdal tunnel 24.50 km

9. Daishimizu Tunnel 22.20 km - A railway tunnel in Japan connecting Niigata and Tokyo. During the construction of the tunnel, a fire and smoke occurred, which claimed the lives of 16 workers.

10. Wushaoling Tunnel 21.05 km

Double railway tunnel in Gansu province in northwestern China. Holds the title of longest railway tunnel in China

The longest railway tunnel in Russia is the Severo-Muysky Tunnel, its length is 15.3 km.

The longest tunnel of the future is the Japan-Korea tunnel, 187 kilometers long, which will connect Japan and South Korea; negotiations on its construction have been ongoing for a long time.

In Moscow, the leader in terms of length is the Lefortovo tunnel. It lies in the south-eastern part of Moscow and is part of the third transport ring. The longest tunnel in Moscow has a length of 3,246 kilometers, it is also one of the largest tunnels in Europe. The tunnel is located under the Yauza River and Lefortovo Park. The Lefotovo Tunnel has seven lanes for vehicles (three lanes in the north direction and four lanes in the south direction).

Each strip is three and a half meters wide. The Lefortovo tunnel is a deep tunnel (up to 30 meters), such a depth is dictated by the need to absorb noise and vibration from a large traffic flow.

Link to the article from which this copy was made -

The tunnels are a real miracle of architecture, which dates back to quite ancient times. Typically, people used to use underground tunnels for shelter from enemies and secret transitions from one place to another. Today, tunnels are built for completely different purposes - they make it possible to shorten the route of a train or car, and also connect different countries. And there are such underground structures, which are of considerable size. So what are the longest tunnels in the world, and where are they located?

Seikan Railway Tunnel

This tunnel, located in Japan and connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, is currently the longest in the world - its length is 53,900 meters. It’s hard to imagine how long it will take to travel on foot from the beginning to the end of the Seikan Tunnel. Moreover, it is considered the longest not only among railway tunnels, but also among underwater tunnels. The longest tunnel in the world began its work in 1988. Approximately $360,000,000 was spent on its construction.

Nowadays, this tunnel is not used for its intended purpose as often as it was previously. The reason for this is the great popularity of airlines, which also allow people to save time and cash. But we can confidently say that construction of this building led to the fact that Japan is still a strong and united country. It is worth noting that Seikan is the longest in the world until the Gotthard Tunnel, which is under construction in Switzerland, is put into operation.

Gotthard railway tunnel

This structure will be the longest tunnel in the world, as its length will be 57,000 meters. The construction of this structure has been going on for 14 years and it is planned that trains will begin traveling through it in 2017. It was laid under the Saint Gotthard mountain pass, where the name of the tunnel actually came from. Its main purpose is to communicate across the Alps by rail.

The Gotthard Tunnel is designed in such a way that trains move through it in the opposite direction. It is assumed that the movement high speed trains This tunnel will travel at a speed of 250 km/h, and freight trains will move at a speed of at least 160 km/h. Well, while this tunnel is still preparing to become the longest in the world, let’s look at other tunnels that are impressive in their length.

The length of this tunnel, located under the English Channel and connecting Great Britain (Folkestone) and France (Calais), is 50,500 meters. Its construction began back in 1802, but was stopped due to the political situation and hesitation on the British side. But in 1988, construction of the structure was resumed, and in 1994 the railway tunnel began to operate. The world's largest train carrying cars, called the Eurotunnel Shuttle, moves through the tunnel.

Although the Eurotunnel is inferior to the world's longest Seikan Tunnel in total length, it has a much larger underwater section - approximately 39,000 meters, which is 14,700 meters longer than the Seikan underwater section. Although the Eurotunnel has a special role in creating communication between Britain and the mainland, it is considered unprofitable from an economic point of view.

Mountain Tunnel Lötschberg

It is the longest land tunnel, which, compared to other similar structures, is quite young, since it was built in 2006 and began to be used in 2007. Its construction took only two years and all this thanks to the innovative technologies that were used.

This Swiss tunnel has a length of 34,700 meters. Both passenger and freight trains travel along it. This tunnel allows tourists to the shortest path to get to the Welsh thermal spas - this way more than 20,000 Swiss residents visit these resorts every week.

Automotive Laerdal tunnel

This tunnel, located in Norway, is the longest among automobile tunnels. Its length is 24,500 meters. This tunnel was developed according to modern standards. It consists of four parts, each of which is illuminated in a special way - ensuring the effect natural light(if it’s dawn outside, then in the tunnel there will also be an imitation of morning lighting, and if it’s sunset, then there will be lighting similar to twilight light here). Another positive thing is that you don’t have to pay to travel through the tunnel – it’s absolutely free.