The relief of the earth's surface is not perfectly flat, but almost always difficult, so when building roads it is almost impossible to do without tunnels. The prototypes of tunnels in ancient times were tunnels, with the help of this military trick it was possible to sneak behind the back of the enemy and fall on his shoulders. Today's tunnels mostly serve very different purposes. There are many different tunnels, differing in length, location and structure. What is currently the longest tunnel in the world?

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

The Trans-Siberian Railway or the Great Siberian Route, which connects the capital of Russia Moscow with Vladivostok, until recently bore an honorary title with ...

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

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

The Japanese tunnel, which connects the capital with the city of Aomori, was the longest Japanese railway tunnel at the time of its opening in 2002 until it was overtaken by the Lötschberg Tunnel. This tunnel is located 545 kilometers from Tokyo, halfway between Hachinohe and Morioka, and runs the express trains "Chohoku". We thought about its construction in 1988, and started it in 1991. The facility was ready for operation in 2000, but the line started working only in 2002. The tunnel goes down to a maximum of 200 meters.

8. Hakkoda, Japan (26,455 m)

The Hakkoda railway tunnel is only slightly 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 move in different directions at the same time.

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 New Guan Jiao, it was he who was the longest Chinese tunnel. It became an element of the bullet train connecting the capital of the eastern province of Hebei, Shijiach-Zhuang, with the capital of Taiyuan, adjacent to it from the west of Shanxi province. If earlier it took 6 hours to get from one city to another, now an hour will be enough for that.

6. Guadarrama, Spain (28,377 m)

In the same 2007, but in Spain, the opening of the country's longest tunnel, Guadarram, took place, which connected the country's capital Madrid with Valladolid. It began to be built in 2002, so it is obvious that this was being done at a fairly fast pace. This is a rather complex technical structure, which also has two separate tunnels. Thanks to this, trains run on 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 more often from the capital.

Large and very large objects, animals, people have always attracted people, and we are equally interested as man-made objects, for example, Great Ki ...

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

It is the longest railway tunnel in China. At the same time, being located, as befits a tunnel underground, it is located at a very decent height above sea level (from 3324 meters to 3381 meters). This is 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 was built for 7 years, and it was commissioned 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 automobile tunnel. This is one of the longest overland tunnels in the world for passenger and freight trains. It passes under cities such as Bern, Frutigen, Valais and Rarone. This is a fairly new tunnel, because it was completed only in 2006, and in June of the next year it was officially opened. The most modern drilling technologies were used during its sinking, so it was possible to pierce it in less than two years. Now every week over 20 thousand Swiss use it, eager to quickly get to the thermal spas in Valais.
The arrival of Lötschberg significantly reduced the number of traffic congestion in the area, since previously trucks and wagons had to bypass Switzerland, making a large circle in order to travel only from Valais to Bern. It is curious that in the tunnel there is a source of hot underground water, which the Swiss also don’t waste for nothing, but they use it to heat the greenhouse, where tropical fruits grow thanks to this.

3. Eurotunnel, France / Great Britain (50 450 m)

This tunnel, laid under the English Channel, is a double-track railway tunnel, while 39 kilometers it passes under the waters of the English Canal. 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. In the tunnel itself, the train is at the same time 20-35 minutes.
The inauguration of the tunnel took place on May 6, 1994. It was attended by the leaders of the two countries - French President Francois Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The Eurotunnel holds the record for underwater tunnels and has become the longest international tunnel. Its work is managed by the Eurostar company. The American Society of Civil Engineers was overwhelmed with compliments and even compared the Eurotunnel to one of the seven modern wonders of the world.

2. Seikan, Japan (53,850 m)

This incredibly long Japanese railway tunnel also has a 23.3 kilometers underwater section. It goes 240 meters underground, leaving it 100 meters below the seabed. The tunnel passes under the Sangar Strait and connects Aomori Prefecture (Honshu Island) and Hokkaido Island. It is part of the Kaikyo and Hokkaido-shinkansen local railway company.
In length, it is second only to the Gotthard Tunnel, and in terms of occurrence 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, they are simply pronounced differently in Japanese. The Seikan Tunnel became the second underwater railway tunnel in Japan after the Kammon Tunnel, and it connects the islands of Kyushu and Honshu under the Kammon Strait.

Hydroelectric power plants or hydroelectric power plants generate electricity using the energy of falling water. Hydroelectric power plants most often appear on the largest rivers, which for this ...

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

This railway tunnel, made in the Swiss Alps, when adding up its own length with the length of pedestrian and service passages, will stretch for 153.4 kilometers. From the northern end, it exits near the village of Erstfeld, and the southern exit is located near the village of Bodio. 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, a transalpine rail link became possible, and the northwest of Italy was able to switch from more environmentally dirty road transport to cleaner and cheaper rail transport. Travel time from Zurich to Milan was reduced by almost an hour. The tunnel was opened in June 2016. Alp Transit Gotthard, which controls its construction, handed it over to the Swiss Federal Railways in full working order in December of the same year, and on December 11, its commercial operation began.

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These are the topics I love. No mysteries, conspiracy theories, unknown information. Comrade mantix did not philosophize slyly and simply asked in: It would be interesting to read about tunnels, railways and others. The longest, the most difficult, etc. Norway, Switzerland, other countries ... in China, it seems, they are building very impressive tunnels right now.

To begin with, remember, but now let's get down to the records. And we'll start with the longest tunnel.

On the border between Switzerland and Italy, the construction of the Gotthard railway tunnel is nearing completion. It is the Gotthard-Basistunnel (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 portal is near the village of Erstfed. It was created for rail links across the Alps.

Today, the longest underground route is the Japanese Seikan tunnel, which connects the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Its length, excluding aqueducts, is 53.6 kilometers. Its other famous cousin, 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 handsome man will be 57 kilometers, and taking into account the service and pedestrian passages - 153.4 km. And then it will become the most-most 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 follow in opposite directions. Inside the tunnel there will be two emergency railway stations connected to the surface by emergency mines.

In general, the idea of ​​building such a tunnel was proposed by the government back in 1947, but the first construction option was prepared only in 1962. However, the main problem was the design - which tunnel to choose, a single one with two single-track or still two separate single-track? However, the decision on this issue was delayed 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 includes not only builders, but also geologists, engineers and planners. The work was carried out continuously for seven days a week and 24 hours a day. For tunneling in rocks, both several tunnel boring complexes and drilling and blasting operations were used. The tunnel has two common "trunks", under which trains will follow in both directions. Along the route, there are two railway stations, where you can also change the train. By the way, the total construction costs are just over USD 10 billion.

Regular traffic through the tunnel will open in 2016. Experts say that the most advanced technologies are used in the construction, special drilling rigs with a disc diameter of 10 meters began to work from opposite sides. On October 15, 2010, under the gun of all world television companies, the last 3 meters of the rock collapsed - the tunnel was completely laid.

And now I will tell you about the longest water tunnel. For some reason, he is in first place on Wikipedia for the longest tunnels. The longest aqueduct tunnel is located 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

Recently, it has developed so that the word "most" is increasingly used in relation to China - the most densely populated country, the fastest growing economy, one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. Unsurprisingly, 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, which runs along the bottom of the Yangtze River and connects Shanghai to Chongmindao Island, is part of a twenty-five and a half kilometers long tunnel and bridge project with a budget of 12.6 billion yuan ($ 1.84 billion).

The inner diameter of this tunnel structure is 13.7 meters, the length is 8900 meters. During the construction of the tunnel by the 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 Chongmindao Island through a tunnel through which the railway line and six-lane highway pass will take just over twenty minutes.

Chongmindao Island is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River and covers an area of ​​1200 square kilometers, which is equal to 20 percent of the total area of ​​the Shanghai region.

Due to the weak transport interchange, the development of the region was hampered, its share in the total GDP of Shanghai was only one and a half percent.

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

And 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 the landowner and the Japanese government.

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

Here's another interesting sample:

Tunnel Log, California, USA

Tunnel Log - "The Log Tunnel" is a tunnel that was cut in a giant fallen sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, California, USA. The tree, which is 84 meters high and 6.4 meters in diameter, fell in 1937 for natural reasons and blocked the road. The following year, park staff carved a tunnel 2.4 meters (8 feet) high and 5.2 meters (17 feet) wide in the tree, making the road a gateway again.

Well, again, China:

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

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

Read on. We have already discussed this.

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

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

The end of the construction of the tunnel has been postponed many times, now its official launch is scheduled for October 29 - the anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. This tunnel will be the first mega-project to be completed in Istanbul.

The tunnel is part of a larger $ 5 billion Marmaray project that includes upgrades to the existing commuter rail system. According to the government's plans, the 76 km long lines will be used by 1.5 million people daily.

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

The 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).

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

Highest automobile tunnel:

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

Currently, the construction of an entrance to the tunnel with a length of 14.06 km is in full swing. This facility 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. Investment in the project is estimated at 1.12 billion yuan ($ 172 million). After putting the tunnel into operation, the travel time through Mount Trola will be reduced by at least 2 hours - to just over 10 minutes.

Recall that the construction of a road from Sichuan to Tibet with a length of 2,415 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.

2011 to 2015 the 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 highways, including high-speed ones. 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 over 200,000 people. Currently, the total length of highways in the Celestial Empire exceeds 3.9 million km.

Oh, yes, I completely forgot, and which car tunnel is the longest in the world?

The Lerdal Tunnel is a road tunnel connecting the cities of Lerdal and Aurland and is part of the E16 road between Oslo and Bergen. The 24.5 km tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world.

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

Natural conditions in Norway such as mountainous terrain, the risk of rockfalls, the northern climate, and many fjords create difficulties for reliable road connections. In addition, ferry transport, which is widespread 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 the laying of tunnels (the world's deepest road transport tunnel, Eiksund, is also located in Norway). The construction of the tunnel was carried out from 1995 to 2000.

The tunnel is divided into four sections with special grottoes.

These grottoes are used for turning cars, including road trains, and a place to stop for rest.

The designer lighting of the grottoes, as well as the arrangement of the track, make the trip through the tunnel not so monotonous and "boring", the duration of the trip through the tunnel is about 20 minutes.

A large number of security measures are applied in the tunnel. Emergency telephones are installed every 250 meters along the route, fire extinguishers are located every 125 meters, in addition to the 3 grottoes, 15 more turning points have been made.

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

The tunnel has an average traffic of about 1000 cars per day, and is also free of charge. The mountains, through which the tunnel passes, reach a height of 1600 meters.

The trip through the tunnel, thanks to thoughtful safety measures, does not seem boring, monotonous, and does not lull the drivers. Half an hour passes - and after the stone rough monochromatic walls, the beautiful landscapes of central Norway in all their austere beauty appear.

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

In the local information center you can get comprehensive information on the schedule of buses to the church, and suggestions for hotels and guesthouses. It is not very clear what Lerdal is by local standards - a city or a large village, but it is very, very cozy there. You can go around the town by bike in just 5 minutes, or just walk around the town-village.

Reference: Is the Lerdal tunnel really the longest road tunnel in the world? At first I don't want to believe this, but the statistics and figures convince:

So, the top 10 longest tunnels in the world:

1. Gotthard Base Tunnel 57.00 km

The largest tunnel under construction in the history of Europe, the planned length is 57 km, the construction will be the longest railway tunnel in the world. The project is scheduled for completion in 2015

2. Seikan 53.90 km (Japan) - is for today

the longest railway a tunnel connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The tunnel was opened to traffic on March 13, 1988. Has the titles Longest Railroad Tunnel and Longest Underwater Tunnel.

3. Eurotunnel 49.94 km, laid under the English Channel between Folkestone (Kent, UK) and Calais (France). Despite the fact that 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 was officially opened in 1994.

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

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

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

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

8. Lerdal 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, fire and smoke broke out, which claimed the lives of 16 workers.

10. Wushaoling Tunnel 21.05 km

Double railway tunnel in Gansu province in northwest China. Has the title of the longest railway tunnel in China

The longest railway tunnel in Russia is the Severo-Muisky Tunnel, with a length of 15.3 km.

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

In Moscow, the Lefortovo tunnel is the leader in length. It runs in the southeastern 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. There are seven lanes of traffic in the Lefotovsky tunnel (three lanes to the north and four lanes to the south).

Each strip is three and a half meters wide. The Lefortovo tunnel belongs to deep-buried tunnels (up to 30 meters), this depth is dictated by the need for noise and vibration absorption of a large traffic flow.

On average, about 3,500 vehicles pass through this tunnel per hour, and it copes with this intensity perfectly. But, during rush hours, the flow increases to seven to eight thousand, which is the cause of frequent accidents, including those with human casualties. According to statistics, this tunnel is one of the most dangerous sections of roads in Moscow in terms of the number of accidents, in this regard, it received an impartial nickname - "tunnel of death".

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 excludes rebuilding from row to row. 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 security and life support systems: ventilation, drainage system, fire-fighting system. Also, payphones and video surveillance systems are installed along the entire length. To manage all communications, a central dispatch point is provided.

Let me remind you more about, as well as. Well, someone might be interested The original article is on the site InfoGlaz.rf The link to the article this copy was made from is

A tunnel is an underground or underwater structure, the main purpose of which is to ensure the movement of vehicles or the movement of water over long distances.

Since ancient times, tunnels (underground passages) were widespread, although they were used mainly by people who secretly moved along them or hid from enemies.

Today, tunnels are built for various purposes, so they are classified by purpose: railway, automobile, sewer, water supply facilities and others.

The longest railway tunnel in the world

In 2017, the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is considered the longest railway tunnel in the world. In addition to the set record for length, it is also defined as the deepest tunnel in the world, since the distance from the surface of the mountains in some places is equated to 2300 km.

Construction took 17 years, and the first projects appeared in 1947. The grand opening took place on June 1, 2016, although test movements around the facility have been launched since 2015. And since December 2016, the tunnel has been in full operation.

The Gotthard Tunnel is laid under Saint Gotthard, a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Its length is equal to 57 km, and if we take into account that the tunnel consists of two parallel viaducts, the mileage of construction doubles. On these two parallel trunks, the movement is in the opposite direction. High-speed trains reach speeds of up to 250 km / h, freight trains - 160 km / h.

When creating the project of the tunnel, technologies were used to ensure maximum safety during transportation. A system for evacuating people in case of an accident has been established (one tunnel serves as an exit from another every 325 meters), and the presence of modern computer systems allows us to quickly respond to emerging problems. There are also emergency stations and mines in the tunnel. Its construction cost $ 12 billion.

As of 2017, 260 freight and 65 high-speed trains pass through the tunnel per day, the average travel time is 20 minutes.

The longest road tunnel in the world

- the country of fjords and mountains. Its beauty is undeniable, but from a practical point of view, moving around Norway is extremely difficult, because either you have to overcome mountain ranges or use a ferry even for short distances. The situation stabilized when active construction of underground facilities began in Norway.

Lerdal Tunnel (Lerdal) is the longest automobile tunnel in the world. Its construction began in 1995, and in 2000 the facility was already put into operation. The length of Lerdal is 24.5 km, however, to overcome it, it will take 20 minutes, since it is forbidden to develop high speed in the tunnel. Taking into account the monotony of the road, special measures for the safety of passengers were applied during the design.

To ensure the driver's attention, “curved” sections were built on a straight track, and after covering a distance of 6 km, you can relax in artificially created caves (grottoes). On the same section of the tunnel, it is supposed to turn the car if necessary. The developers paid great attention to the lighting of the object. There is white lighting along the entire length, and the caves are highlighted with blue-yellow light, reminiscent of sunrise. Also on the track there are noise strips to attract the driver's attention.

In Lerdal, there were no options to equip emergency exits, so emergency telephones were installed 250 meters away. Fire extinguishers are placed along the entire length of the route, and if an emergency does occur, drivers are warned about it by the activated signs “Turn towards the exit”. A special computer system keeps track of cars at the entrance and exit, therefore, in the event of an emergency, it is reliably known whether the cars remained inside the tunnel.

Thanks to Lerdahl, the duration of the journey was halved, previously it took 50 minutes to overcome this distance through the mountains. However, many people prefer the "traditional" way of getting around, considering the Lerdal tunnel too monotonous to travel.

The longest tunnels in Russia

The Severo-Muisky tunnel is considered the longest railway tunnel in Russia. Its length is equal to 15.3 km, and construction took 26 years, including serious unplanned work interruptions.

The Severo-Muisky tunnel is a part of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), its construction began in 1977, and the official opening took place in 2003. In theory, the service life is calculated for 100 years.

The tunnel is located in a seismic zone equal to 9 points. Sometimes there were two strong earthquakes a day, followed by the termination of the construction of the facility for a long period of time. Difficulties arose both because of the harsh local climate and because of the mountainous relief. The combination of these factors significantly hampered construction, affecting the timing and financial part. In total, 9 billion rubles were spent on the construction of the tunnel.

Today, an average of 15 trains pass through the Severo-Muisky tunnel, with a travel time of 15 minutes (previously, this distance was covered in 1.5 hours). The developed train speed varies from 48 to 56 km / h.

However, the difficult natural conditions in the area of ​​the tunnel are monitored by geologists around the clock to prevent serious accidents.

If we talk about automobile tunnels in Russia, then the leading position in length is occupied by the Gimrinsky tunnel, built in Dagestan. Its length is 4303 meters, and the hourly workload is 4000 cars moving in 4 different lanes.

The construction of the tunnel began in 1979, and in 1991 it gradually began to be put into operation, while the construction work continued at the same time. In 2007, the tunnel was closed due to terrorist attacks, however, since 2012, it is officially open again.

The Gimrinsky tunnel is one of the most modern, since during the reconstruction expensive equipment from Italy was used, made specifically for this project. A seismic laboratory is located next to the tunnel to prevent emergencies. There is lighting at each section of the tunnel, it is also equipped with automatic fire alarms, telephone communications for emergency assistance, and more. The construction estimate was 10 billion rubles.

In the capital of Russia, the first place in length is occupied by the Lefortovo tunnel, 3.2 km long and 7 lanes for traffic. It is located in the southeastern part of Moscow and is known by the nickname “tunnel of death”.

There is a simple explanation for this nickname. The tunnel's hourly traffic is 3500 cars, but the number doubles during peak hours. This factor leads to a large number of fatal accidents, therefore the tunnel is considered the most dangerous in Russia.

The longest tunnels in Europe and new construction projects

In addition to the Gotthard Tunnel, described above, of particular interest is the Eurotunnel - the second longest in Europe. The length of the Eurotunnel is 51 km, 39 km of which runs under the English Channel. Thanks to this tunnel, Europe is connected with Great Britain, and in America it is recognized as "one of the wonders of the world." The average fare is 17 euros per person.

Lechberg in Switzerland (34 km), the Guadarrama tunnel (28.4 km) and others are also very long. However, every year new large-scale tunnel projects appear, striving to set world records in their length.

The most interesting project of the future is the Transatlantic Tunnel. Its goal is to build a route from North America to Europe, passing under the Atlantic Ocean. According to the plan, the Transatlantic Tunnel will be 88 times the length of the Gotthard Tunnel. True, by 2017, only the construction project was developed in detail, the start of work was postponed indefinitely.

The main problem with construction is financing. Average cost estimates range from $ 175 billion to $ 12 trillion. Therefore, it is not known when the planned project will be implemented in practice.

Image copyright AFP Image caption This photograph was taken on October 15, 2010. Workers stand at a huge tunnel shield, with the help of which the tunnel was built.

The world's longest and deepest Gotthard railway tunnel opened in Switzerland today. It took almost 20 years to build it and more than $ 12 billion.

Its permanent operation will begin in December.

Swiss authorities say the tunnel will revolutionize the transport of goods in Europe. Goods, which are now carried by millions of trucks every year, will be transported by rail.

This technological miracle will provide faster and easier connections between southern and northern Europe. The tunnel will speed up the movement of goods and people and reduce environmental pollution from vehicle exhaust.

The Swiss authorities predict that 260 freight trains will be able to pass through the tunnel per day. 20 million passengers a year will be able to use the new highway. Travel time from Zurich to Milan will be reduced to 2 hours 50 minutes.

Conquering the Alps as part of self-identification

Until now, the longest railway tunnel in the world was considered to be the Japanese Seikan with a length of 53.9 km with an underwater fragment of 23.3 km.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Gotthard Tunnel runs under the Alps - the maximum height of the mountains above the tunnel is 2300 meters

The Gotthard Tunnel is also ahead of the length of the Channel Tunnel, which is 50.5 km long.

It is not only the longest tunnel in the world, it is also the deepest railway tunnel in existence: the maximum height of the mountains above the tunnel is 2300 meters. Without a powerful ventilation system, the temperature in it would reach +40 degrees.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande will be present at the opening ceremony of the tunnel in Switzerland, along with Swiss officials.

"This is part of Swiss identity," Reuters quoted Peter Fueglistaler, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Transport, as quoted by Reuters.

“For us, conquering the Alps is like exploring the oceans for the Dutch,” he said.

Tunnel cost: $ 12 billion and 9 lives

The project, which cost more than $ 12 billion to build, was approved by the Swiss in a 1992 referendum.

Image copyright EPA Image caption 20 million passengers a year will be able to use the new highway

During the construction of the tunnel, engineers excavated 73 different types of rocks: some were as hard as granite, others as soft as sugar. Nine workers died during construction.

Completed on time and on budget, the Gotthard Tunnel will become the main railway linking Rotterdam in the Netherlands with Genoa, Italy. The tunnel, consisting of two parallel tunnels, runs from the municipality of Bodio in southern Switzerland to the municipality of Erstfeld in the center of the country.

From December, when permanent operation of the tunnel begins, the journey from Zurich to Milan will take two hours and forty minutes - an hour less than usual.

The money to finance the project was taken from budget revenues from fuel and value added taxes, and another part of the funds was a state loan, which must be paid over 10 years.

Representatives of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse said that among the economic benefits of the Gotthard Tunnel were simplified transportation of goods and an influx of tourists.

It will be useful to know which of the railway tunnels is the longest and which is the longest in the world. It is also interesting to find out the name of the longest tunnel in Russia and in its capital.

Longest railway tunnel

It is known that the longest railway tunnel is the unique Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland. Its construction has been going on since 1999 - almost seventeen years, although the first sketch appeared in 1947. On June 1, 2016, the authorities announced that the tunnel will be ready for commissioning after it undergoes serious tests that will last until December 2016.

Engineering construction paved the way under a mountain pass called Saint Gotthard. The length of the tunnel is fifty-seven kilometers, and if we count both shafts, as well as auxiliary passages and shafts, it will turn out to be more than one hundred and fifty-three kilometers.

From 2017, the Gotthard Tunnel will become part of the united pan-European high-speed rail network NEAT (NEue AlpenTransversale), reducing the distance between Zurich and Milan. It is assumed that the speed of high-speed trains while passing through this underground tunnel will be about 250 kilometers per hour, and freight trains will develop a speed of at least 160 kilometers.

The tunnel is built so that trains can move in the opposite direction along different trunks. Emergency mines and emergency stations will be provided. Of the existing railway tunnels, the longest is the Seikan Tunnel, located in Japan, which is only three kilometers shorter than the Gotthard Tunnel.

The longest tunnel in Moscow

Many tunnels have been built in Russian Moscow. Today tunnels help to unload the capital's roads, and they are also the optimal solution to the transport problem of the metropolis. One of the longest is considered to be the one laid under Serebryany Bor. Its length is more than three kilometers. This tunnel is one of the most difficult sections of Krasnopresnensky Avenue.

Thanks to this construction, there was no need to pave a road along Serebryany Bor. The tunnel has three tiers. Metro trains move along the lower tier, vehicles move along the middle tier, and the vaulted upper tier is intended for smoke removal. The exact length of this tunnel is 3126 meters. The middle tunnel, which is intended for vehicles, is three-lane, with a lane width of three and a half meters. The diameter of each tunnel is fourteen meters.

One of the longest metropolitan tunnels for a long time was the Lefortovsky tunnel. Its length is two kilometers one hundred and fifty meters. So far, the Serebryanoborsky tunnel remains the longest, but it will not remain the longest, since there are plans to build several more tunnels, among which there will be one whose length will exceed four kilometers.

The longest tunnel in Russia

It is interesting to find out the details about the longest tunnel in Russia. The Gyumrinsky tunnel, which is a road and located in Dagestan, is recognized as such. It is the longest not only in Russia, but throughout the CIS.

This tunnel connects nine mountainous regions of Dagestan with Makhachkala. It plays an important role, since with its help, residents of mountainous regions get to Makhachkala in just two to three hours.

Construction began in the seventies, but in the nineties the laying was suspended. In 2008, its reconstruction began, on which more than ten billion rubles were spent. The opening took place in the fall of 2012.

The exact length of this tunnel is four kilometers, two hundred and eighty-five meters. It has operational ventilation, automatic fire alarms, television surveillance, loudspeaker announcements and burglar alarms. A completely unique seismic laboratory has also been installed there, which is able to inform about seismic activity both in this region and beyond. The equipment for this laboratory was specially ordered from Italy.

The longest tunnel in the world

Since the tunnels are different, the longest tunnels of each type can be called. So the "champion" among automobile tunnels is the Lerdal tunnel. It is located in Norway and is twenty-four and a half kilometers long.

But the Delaware Aqueduct is considered the longest water tunnel. Since 1945, it has been he who has provided New York with water. Its length is as much as one hundred thirty-seven kilometers.

The longest railway tunnel was the Japanese Seikan for a long time. But soon the movement will begin along another already built tunnel, which is almost three kilometers longer than the Japanese one - this is the Gotthard Tunnel, laid in Switzerland under a mountain pass. Its length is fifty-seven kilometers.

The longest metro tunnel is located in Guangzhou city. The length of the third metro line is sixty-seven kilometers and three hundred meters.

There are also irrigation tunnels. The longest of them is the Turkish tunnel named Sanliurfa. Its task is to distribute the water of the Euphrates River so that the nearby desert lands can be turned into fruitful farms. It consists of two main tunnels, twenty-six kilometers four hundred meters each. Among reclamation systems, this is an absolute record.

Not only tunnels, but also bridges are of interest. For example, according to the site, the longest railway bridge in the world is 164.8 kilometers long. You can read more about this.
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