The world's longest and deepest rail tunnel has officially opened in Switzerland, after almost two decades of construction work. The 57km (35-mile) twin-bore Gotthard base tunnel will provide a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps between northern and southern Europe.
The tunnel has overtaken Japan's 53.9km Seikan rail tunnel as the longest in the world and pushed the 50.5km Channel Tunnel linking the UK and France into third place.
[msn.com]
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| [msn.com] |
The project cost $12bn and was delivered on time and within budget. But nine workers died in accidents. Engineers had to go through 73 different kinds of rock, some as hot as 46C. All freight passing through Switzerland is to use the tunnel to reduce environmental pollution. The trip from Zurich to Milan should be two hours and 40 minutes, an hour less than the old route. It takes 17 minutes to traverse the straight and level tunnel. [msn.com] Removing an hour from the trip also removes the chances of being stuck on the road for many hours because of an accident.
When my wife and I visited Switzerland in the Fall of 2012, I remember reading brochures about this tunnel. One of the issues is whether or not it was close enough to big dams and the rock was porous enough that water would leak out of the dam's reservoir into the tunnel. There was also concern of lowering the water table under the dam and changing the strength of the rock around the dam enough to cause the dam to break. Evidently these problems did not happen.
When my wife and I visited Switzerland in the Fall of 2012, I remember reading brochures about this tunnel. One of the issues is whether or not it was close enough to big dams and the rock was porous enough that water would leak out of the dam's reservoir into the tunnel. There was also concern of lowering the water table under the dam and changing the strength of the rock around the dam enough to cause the dam to break. Evidently these problems did not happen.
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| safe_image for Switzerland has completed construction on the world's longest tunnel "So far, the project has remained on time and without delays in construction. Testing the tunnel's tracks, ventilation and communications capabilities will begin in October." Eight workers died during construction. |
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| BusinessInsider |
2020 Update: even though the tunnel was done in 2016, it took a few more years to complete the entire high-speed rail line. They had to finish the "Ceneri Base Tunnel" that cuts through the remaining 9.5 miles of mountainous terrain on the route. It will cut the travel time between Zurich and Milan from four to three hours. The tunnels will also double freight capacity. But the original Gothard route will remain open for those who prefer a scenic trip. [CNN]
This appears to have been written before 2016. It has a link to a 3:01 video. The tunnel breakthrough occurred in Oct 2010 after 10 years of construction. [0:30]
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| safe_image for The Longest Railway Tunnel In The World! |
Aug 10, 2023: Crash shuts world's longest rail tunnel for months "Rail operator SBB said in total, around 8km (4.9 miles) of track and 20,000 concrete sleepers need to be replaced. SBB said one side of the tunnel was unaffected and should be operating 'in principle' for freight usage from 23 August, but passenger trains would not be able to use the unaffected side due to safety reasons"
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| safe_image for Derailment Closes World's Longest Rail Tunnel Until 2024 David Daruszka posted with the comment: "Stuck brake repaired, by did anyone check the wheel for heat stress? Duh." According to the article: "Wheel disc fragments indicate that the train carried on for a few miles with a broken wheel before ultimately derailing." [The locomotive is so powerful that the horsepower needed to bust up 20,000 concrete ties didn't increase the amperage draw?] |
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