The largest tunnel in the world. The longest tunnels in the world

To be honest, I have never visited very long road or rail tunnels, but I remember well the feeling of driving under the Thames to Dartford Crossing. This is a large intersection in London, in one direction, cars go along the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, and in the opposite direction, along two car tunnels, it is difficult to imagine movement along a 24-kilometer tunnel.
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

The longest for today is the Japanese tunnel "Seikan", which connects the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The tunnel was opened to traffic on March 13, 1988. Has the titles Longest Railway Tunnel and Longest underwater tunnel.

3 Eurotunnel 49.94 km

Eurotunnel 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 is Lötschberg on the Bern-Milan line, which is located in Switzerland. Its length is 34 kilometers. It connects the Bern and Interlaken area with the Brig and Zermatt area.

Railway tunnel in Spain, connecting Madrid and Valladolid with a high-speed route. The tunnel was 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 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

The longest car tunnel connecting the municipalities of Lerdal and Aurland in Norway, is 24.5 kilometers long. Opened in 2000.

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 Japan-Korea Tunnel, 187 kilometers long, which will connect Japan and South Korea, negotiations on its construction have been going on for a long time.

Humanity can boast of great achievements. One of them is tunnels. These are truly miracles of architecture. Their development and improvement has taken place and will always happen.

Who and when invented the tunnels is unknown. It is assumed that such structures originate from caves, which people in ancient times used as dwellings.

The modern role of buildings has changed somewhat. In the civilized period, tunnels are used as secret passages, underground plan. They were often used for cover from enemies.

In modern times, the role of tunnels has changed significantly. Now it is the main medium for high-speed movement. The structure of structures has a standard scheme in different countries... But the length and arrangement of such tunnels can differ significantly.

1. Basic Gotthard Tunnel

Its length is 57.00 km. It is often referred to as the Gotthard Base Tunnel. It is used as the main railway structure in Switzerland. Its length is the maximum in the whole world.

If you include all the passages (pedestrian and service), its length will be about 152 km. The southern end of the structure is located near the village of Bodio, the northern one - near the village of Erstfed. The structure was originally created for railway needs. With the help of such a tunnel, it was possible to create a message across the Alps.

At the moment, this message is closed - the opening of the structure is planned for the end of 2017. In general, the construction of the tunnel through the Alps took as long as 14 years.

2. Seikan

The length of the structure is almost 54 meters (53.9 meters). The longest underwater tunnel in the world. Built to connect the two Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu.

Translated, its name means "Majestic spectacle" and it really is. The structure has an underwater part (about 23.3 km), since the tunnel runs under the Sangay Strait.

3. Eurotunnel, 49.94 km long

The structure is laid under the English Channel. It connects Folkestone (Kent from Great Britain) and Calais (part of France).

The tunnel is not the longest in the world, but it has the longest underwater part (as much as 39 km, which is 14.7 km more than that of Seikan). The tunnel was officially opened in 1994. Since then, it has been working reliably every day, ferrying millions of people across the channel.

4. Lechberg, 34.70 km long

Representative of the longest overland tunnel. Located on the Bern-Milan line, in Switzerland. The design was created in the middle of the 20th century. She managed to connect the Bern and Interlaken areas with the Brig and Zermatt areas.

5. Guadaramma tunnel, 28, 37 km long

Ranked 5th. This is a Spanish railway project that was created in the early 2000s. Its official opening took place in December 2007.

Since that time, people have had a unique opportunity to easily get from Madrid to Valladolid and back. Received the title of the longest and most sought-after device in all of Spain.

6. Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel, the duration of which is 25.81 km.

This is an example of an underground railway structure in Japan. It connects two distant cities - Tokyo and Aomori. The opening of the structure took place in 2002. The tunnel has received the title of the longest underground railway structure in the world.

7. Hakkoda, 26.5 km long

Belongs to the longest-lasting land structures in Japan. The length of its railway section is almost 27 km.

8. Lerdal tunnel

The length of this structure is about 24.5 km. It is rightfully called the longest automobile tunnel. Built in 5 years, opened in 2000. It connects two distant municipalities - Lerdal and Aurland, which are located in Norway.

The tunnel is part of the European road between Oslo and Bergen. The mountains through which the structure passes can sometimes reach 1600 meters and more.

The design feature is the presence of 3 large-sized artificial caves (grottoes). They are located at approximately equal distance from each other. Thus, the entire tunnel is divided into 4 approximately equal sections. This is done on purpose. In this way, it was possible to minimize the stress of the drivers.

Long-term driving in monotonous conditions has been proven to tire the driver a lot. It is also convenient to turn around in such grottoes and stop for rest.

The special design lighting of the grottoes, the special arrangement of the track make the trip through the tunnel more exciting. The duration of the movement in the structure is no more than 20 minutes.

9. Daishimizu Tunnel, 22.20 km long

Japanese tunnel created for the rail link between Niigata and Tokyo. All construction work was completed in 1978. It went down in history not only as the longest, but also the most tragic tunnel. The fact is that during the time of its construction, a huge fire occurred in the structure.

As a result, 16 workers died.
Thanks to the opening of the structure, the time spent on the road was reduced by about an hour and a half. In addition, the construction of the tunnel made it possible to find a spring of drinking water. Thanks to this, the production of natural drinking water began near the tunnel.

10. Wushaoling Tunnel, length - 21.05 km

A one-of-a-kind double railway tunnel that opened in 2006. Located in the northwest of China. Created to connect the two ends of the Gansu province.

The design has reduced the distance between Dakaigou and Longgou by 30.5 km. Received the title of the longest railway structure in all of China. Able to receive trains at a speed of 160 km / h. The maximum depth of the structure is 1100 m.

The idea of ​​mankind is to build the longest, most grandiosely comfortable tunnel of the future. This is the Japan-Korea Tunnel. Its length is expected to be about 187 km. The structure is supposed to connect Japan and South Korea. Negotiations on the start of construction work have already begun, but they have been going on for a long time.

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 pollution environment exhaust gases from cars.

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 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.

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.

On solemn ceremony German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande will attend the opening 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.

During the construction of the tunnel, engineers removed 73 types of different 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 receipts from taxes on fuel and value added, another part of the funds is a government 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.

On March 13, 1988, the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest undersea railway tunnel, was opened in Japan. Today we decided to talk about it and other most remarkable underwater tunnels that tourists can visit.

The longest

While Chinese scientists are poring over the project of the next record holder - a 123 km long underwater tunnel - the Japanese Seikan remains the longest operating railway corridor on the planet. It took 42 years and more than $ 3.6 billion to implement the idea to connect the two largest islands of the Land of the Rising Sun by the shortest route. The initial timing and cost of erecting the Seikan was increased by weak soils, too strong water pressure, or endless financial difficulties. And on March 13, 1988, the Japanese press finally exploded with enthusiastic essays: the train, hidden in the depths of the tunnel on Honshu, rushed under the waters of the Sangar Strait and emerged like a float in Hokkaido. "The majestic spectacle" (as it is translated from the Japanese "Seikan") reaches a length of 53.85 km, slightly less than half of which are hidden in the depths of the underwater. The tunnel is equipped with protection against natural disasters and the forces of the water element: inside there are supersensitive sensors that react to the slightest vibrations of the earth, powerful pumps that pump up to 16 tons of water per minute, and impressive shelters that have sufficient reserves in case of a disaster. Now Seikan is not as famous as it was 20 years ago, but it is still a landmark in Japan.

The oldest

An interesting fact: the very first “underwater bridge” on the planet was supposed to connect the two banks of the Neva in St. Petersburg. But fate decreed otherwise. The royal customer Alexander I died before the talented architect Mark Brunel finished the project, and his successor Nicholas I was not interested in the technical novelty. The developer decided not to waste the good, and turned to another "advanced" monarch - Queen Victoria of England. Here he was more fortunate: the method he invented, which is still used in the construction of tunnels, was implemented to connect the two banks of the Thames. 50 thousand Londoners gathered to watch the opening of an underwater communications 459 meters long. By the standards of 1843, this was almost half of the capital's population! Although the tunnel never became a cargo tunnel due to a lack of funding, it was immensely popular: walking under a river seemed as incredible as being on the moon. The corridor has turned into a city of entertainment: a shopping gallery and an underwater brothel appeared here, and the world's first underwater fair was held. After some time, the passage under the Thames was abandoned: for 145 years, only road tunnels dropped in here. More recently, voices have resounded in the oldest underwater tunnel in the world: London authorities are walking through historic dungeons.

Photo: usolt.livejournal.com

The most deep

The construction of a tunnel under the Bosphorus, which managed to connect Europe with Asia, was an old Turkish dream, which seemed to be a fantasy. It took more than 150 years to realize the idea that the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid had in mind back in 1860. The opening of the Marmaray tunnel on October 29, 2013 and timed to National Day Turkey was not without excesses: electricity was cut off in Marmaray and passengers were forced to get out of the train stuck in the tunnel on their own. The length of the communication, which unites three underground and 37 ground stations, 8 suburban and 4 interchange stations, reaches 13.6 kilometers, and 1400 meters passes directly under the Bosphorus. The double pipe, which runs 60 meters below the bottom of the strait, has a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per day, and its security system can withstand earthquakes of 9 on the Richter scale. In addition to the undeniable economic benefits that solved the overload problem transport system Istanbul, the construction of Marmaray brought another unexpected benefit. During the mega-construction, 40,000 important archaeological finds were discovered, including a fleet of 30 Byzantine ships worthy of a place among the World Heritage Sites.

Photo: andrewgrantham.co.uk

Most entertaining

Until 1997, the ridiculous by today's standards, the distance of 15 kilometers to the inhabitants of the Japanese cities of Kisarazu and Kawasaki did not seem just an annoying trifle. Due to the fact that the shortest distance between these points ran through Tokyo Bay, Kisarazu, lying very close to ultra-modern Tokyo, resembled a rural outback. After all, to get by car from the capital, you had to overcome a path of hundreds of kilometers. Japanese engineers were faced with a daunting task: erecting a bridge between different sides of Tokyo Bay would have made it difficult to get around. sea ​​vessels and the tunneling was too problematic due to the instability of the seabed. Technical solution was ingenious: Aqualine became a very successful and safe combination of a 9.6 km long underwater tunnel and a 4.4 km bridge. But not sensitive smoke detectors installed every 25 meters, and not the latest anti-seismic technology, put the Tokyo tunnel in this rating. On one of the two artificial islands, through which Aqualine passes, there is a whole entertainment complex, similar to a passenger liner. In addition to parking for 480 cars, there are restaurants, souvenir shops, recreation areas and observation decks.

The most famous

Everyone knows about the modern wonder of the world that connected Foggy Albion with the Fifth Republic: the Eurotunnel, opened under the English Channel in 1994, has become a symbol of the unification of Europe. The idea to pave a direct route from England to the mainland came to minds of outstanding figures of all times: from scientists of the 13th century to the ambitious Napoleon, who dreamed of letting cavalry under the strait, carrying out ventilation through pipes coming out to the surface. And only at the end of the 20th century, "Europe finally joined Britain": three tunnels (two for train traffic and one reserve) are connected into a single system by air vents and spare tunnels. In order to reduce the piston effect that occurs during the movement of high-speed trains capable of speeds up to 350 km / h, a ventilation system has been laid over the tunnels, and refrigeration stations and cooling rails are installed at both ends. Interesting fact: The British approached the construction of the 51-kilometer Eurotunnel with particular enthusiasm. They dug faster than the French and dug 15 km more. And they treated the land formed during the construction more romantically, forming Shakespeare's man-made cape. The disadvantages of the Eurotunnel (for example, high tolls) are offset by an undeniable advantage: it is the fastest and interesting way get from continental Europe to Britain.

As you know, the shortest path from point A to point B is a straight line. But what if it is impossible to pave the road in a straight line because of a mountain, river or sea blocking the way? This problem is often solved by building a tunnel underground. Modern tunnels are a real challenge to nature, their complex design is a masterpiece of engineering. In addition, some tunnels are also distinguished by an unusual appearance, due to the peculiarities of the landscape or the imagination of the architect. Here is a selection of the most impressive tunnels from around the world.

10 PHOTOS

The material was prepared with the support of the site les-kodru.com.ua - environmentally friendly materials for construction. Building houses is not that difficult. like the construction of tunnels, but it also requires careful selection good materials... One of these is a deck board used in the arrangement of verandas, terraces and gazebos.

The project to create a tunnel under the Bosphorus, connecting the European and Asian parts of Istanbul, started in 2004 and cost the state $ 3.5 billion. The total length of the tunnel is 13.6 km. Interestingly, the sections of the tunnel, which are 60 meters below sea level, have flexible joints to absorb the energy of the tremors. The name "Marmaray" comes from the Turkish words "Marmara", that is the Sea of ​​Marmara and "ray", that is, rail.

The Eisenhower Automobile Tunnel is notable for being one of the tallest tunnels in the world. Its height above sea level is 3.401 meters.

A railway tunnel that runs through the Alps and provides freight traffic from the north to the west of the country. At the moment, it is the longest railway tunnel in the world - its total length is 57.1 km. Although the construction work has already been completed, the opening of the tunnel is planned only in June this year.

This railroad ground tunnel is an amazing botanical phenomenon. The arched green tunnel was created not by human hands, but by the natural interweaving of trees and bushes. The Tunnel of Love is a popular pilgrimage site for tourists, especially couples in love. In 2014, Japanese director Akiyoshi Imazaki made the film Klevan: Tunnel of Love, the plot of which is directly related to the Ukrainian tunnel.

A railway tunnel under the English Channel connecting France and the UK. The tunnel is about 51 km long, but the Eurotunnel TGV train takes you from Paris to London in just 2 hours and 15 minutes.

This tunnel, which runs 647 meters under the Huangpu River and connects the Bund and Pudong districts, is very popular with tourists. The fact is that the Bund Tunnel is not so much a way of moving as an exciting attraction for entertainment. The optical technology used in it, combined with musical accompaniment, makes a trip through the Bund tunnel an unforgettable experience.

A tunnel in the rock, made during the reign of the Jewish king Hezekiah to provide the city with water. It served to supply water from the source of Gion to the Siloam reservoir. Today, a visit to the Siloam Tunnel is included in the program of most excursions in Jerusalem. The tunnel itself is included in the complex of the City of David archaeological park.

This tunnel, carved into the slopes of the Bernese Alps, goes straight to the Aletsch Glacier, located next to the beautiful peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. Leaving the Jungfraujoch Tunnel, you can immediately admire the dizzying panorama of the landscape of Switzerland, France and Germany.

Guoliang Road Tunnel is a real landmark in China. The tunnel is about 1200 meters long and only 4 meters wide and was built by 12 local residents. An interesting feature of the tunnel is that it is partially open - this was done for the purpose of lighting.

The longest road tunnel in the world, the Lerdal Tunnel runs through the mountains and is part of the motorway between Oslo and Bergen. The total length of the tunnel is 24.5 km.