The longest road tunnel in Europe. English Channel: the longest underwater tunnel in the world, which turned out to be unprofitable

Tunnels have always been considered indispensable structures necessary for a safe transition or passage under the ground. But if earlier such architectural masterpieces helped people quietly penetrate the territory of the enemy, today their construction is associated with other goals. However, they differ from each other in structure, location and length. About what are the longest tunnels in the world, we decided to tell you today.

longest japanese tunnel

The longest to date is the railway tunnel, located in the Land of the Rising Sun. It is called Seikan, which means "Majestic Spectacle" in Japanese. The tunnel has a very impressive size and even has a part hidden under water. So, its total length is 53.85 km, and the underwater fragment corresponds to a length of 23.3 km. That is why, in addition to the title of one of the largest land structures, Seikan has another title - the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

The structure itself, the construction of which took at least 40 years, was erected in 1988. It contains two stations. However, despite the power of the building, Seikan is not currently used as often as it used to be. According to analysts, this is due to the increase in rail fares.

Seikan is a tunnel with a depth of 240 m. This marvelous creation of man is located under the well-known. As planned by the designers, the tunnel also unites Hokkaido.

Few people know that a typhoon, as a result of which 5 passenger ferries crashed, became a kind of impetus that led to the creation of this giant. As a result of this disaster, more than 1150 tourists, including crew members, died on board only one of them.

The longest and longest land connection in the world

The longest tunnels in the world can be conditionally divided into the following types:

• elevated;
• underground;
• automobile, or road;
• railway;
• underwater.

One of the longest land tunnels is Lamberg, once built in Switzerland. Its length is 34 km. Trains can easily move along it, sometimes accelerating to a speed of 200 km / h. It is noteworthy that this building helps Swiss travelers to arrive in one of the most popular resort areas of the country - Valle in a couple of hours. According to experienced tourists, it is here that numerous thermal springs are located.

It is interesting that, in addition to its main task, Lamberg, like the other longest tunnels in the world, also performs a number of others. In particular, near the building itself there are warm ones that help to heat the Tropenhaus Frutigen - a nearby greenhouse and tropical crops growing on its territory.

One of the largest car subways

The longest road tunnel in the world is Lerdal. This building, 24.5 km long, is a kind of connecting bridge between the municipalities of Airland and Laerdal, located in the western part of Norway. Moreover, the Lerdal tunnel is considered a continuation of the well-known E16 highway, which is located between Bergen and Oslo.

The construction of the famous tunnel began in mid-1995, and it ended closer to 2000. From that moment on, the building was recognized as one of the longest automobile subways, leaving behind the famous Gotthard Tunnel for as much as 8 km.

It is interesting that the building passes through the mountains, the height of which is over 1600 m. Thanks to the precise calculation of the architects, the experts managed to reduce the burden on drivers moving through the tunnel. And this was achieved by creating three additional grottoes, equidistant from each other. At the same time, these artificial caves share free space under the building into four long sections. Here is such an unusual and most long tunnel in the world.

Third longest railway tunnel

The third longest among other subways passing through railways, is considered the Eurotunnel. This structure passes under the English Channel and unites the UK with part of continental Europe. With its help, everyone can come from Paris to London in just a couple of hours. Inside the underground pipe, the train remains on average for 20-35 minutes.

The grand opening of the Eurotunnel took place in May 1994. Despite the fact that a lot of money was spent on the construction of this underground corridor, the world community recognized it as a miraculous masterpiece. Therefore, the building was classified as one of the modern wonders of the world. According to preliminary estimates, this longest tunnel in the world will become self-sustaining only after 1000 years.

The longest tunnel in the Alps

Another incredible underground corridor that has not lost its position for over half a century is the Simplon Tunnel. It is he who is considered the most successful link between the city of Domodossola (Italy) and Brig (Switzerland). In addition, the building itself has a convenient geographical position, as it crosses the well-known Orient Express route and affects one of the lines in the direction of Paris-Istanbul.

Incredibly, the Simplon Tunnel has its own history. These walls remember a lot, for example, that during the Second World War, the entrance and exit from it were mined. However, an unauthorized explosion was avoided thanks to the help of local partisans. Currently, the subway consists of two portals with a length of 19803 and 19823 m. Now you know where the longest tunnel in the world is.

Unfinished "monster" in the Alps

In the Alps, there is also an unfinished one which is called a real monster of modern architectural structures. This titan, whose length is about 57 km, is comfortably located in friendly Switzerland. According to the developers of the project themselves, the main purpose of the tunnel is the safe passage of goods and passengers through the Alps. It also cuts the three-hour journey from Zurich to Milan to two hours and fifty minutes.

And although the Gotthard Tunnel is not yet completed at the moment, it is already breaking records in terms of the amount of money spent. According to one foreign publication, to date, the construction of the underground corridor has cost its owners $10.3 billion. The opening of one of the longest railway tunnels is scheduled for 2017.

The longest tunnels in the world: an underwater connection between Japan and South Korea

The South Korean government, together with the Japanese, has developed a plan to build a tunnel, 182 km long. This decision was made in order to increase trade and speed up the transport connection between the two countries. This project, according to experts, will be grandiose. And although its construction is just beginning, developers, engineers and architects have already had to face a lot of problems. In particular, it is not yet clear how the rescue system will work if a random accident occurs.

The longest and most expensive tunnel in the world

The longest car tunnel, where you can see eight lanes of the highway at once, is considered the Great Boston. However, its amazing structure and design, no doubt, pale in front of the amount that the customers of this building had to pay.

According to preliminary data, overall budget, spent on the construction of the tunnel, exceeded 14.6 billion dollars. But the contractors could not meet this amount, so the additional daily costs amounted to about $ 3 million. During the construction of the Great Boston Tunnel, over 150 modern cranes worked. Moreover, more than 5,000 employees participated in the process itself.

The longest tunnel in all of Spain

Spain also boasts Guadarama, a long land tunnel that connects Valladolid with Madrid. Its length is only 28.37 km. The building was opened in 2007. Later, Guadaram was talked about as the largest architectural work in Spain.

Large underground tunnel in Japan

Japan is famous for its underground and above-ground buildings, among which there is a large Hakkoda railway tunnel. Its total length is about 26.5 km. Many years have passed since the opening of this building to the present. But even now it continues to be one of the most unique spacious passages along which two trains can pass at once.

All along the road in the tunnel is illuminated with light with a bluish tint, in the grottoes the light is bright blue with orange illumination from below, which is close to the color of sunlight.

Emergency telephones for rescuers are located every 250 meters.
Mobile phones operate in the tunnel due to special repeaters.
Every 125 meters, fire extinguishers are attached to the arches of the tunnel.
Along the way, electronic displays are installed that signal and warn the driver in case of danger, for example, in the event of an accident, deep in the tunnel.

Every 500 meters, emergency niches have been created for an emergency stop of cars.
At the entrance and exit of the tunnel, photo sensors are installed, which, according to the program, detect the number of cars that have entered and left. This is also one of the security measures.

An interesting feature! The tunnel itself more straight, essentially 25.5 km straight road. In Norway, and especially near Bergen, there are almost no straight sections of roads, and drivers in the tunnel began to exceed the speed limit. In order to record violations, devices were installed to measure the speed of cars moving inside the tunnel.
Forced ventilation was created in the tunnel to clean the air from exhaust gases.

The construction of a tunnel that would connect mainland Europe and insular Great Britain was dreamed of back in early XIX century. But it was only in 1994 that the grandiose plan to build the world's longest underwater railway tunnel was realized. But, strange as it may seem, the joy of the construction of its creators quickly gave way to financial disappointment: the tunnel brought only losses.

The project to build a railway tunnel under the English Channel, or Eurotunnel, as it is also called, started in 1973. But due to lack of funding, direct construction began only in 1987. The idea was unique in terms of the complexity of the design itself and the technical implementation of underwater drilling.

To implement the railway communication, it was decided to build two tunnels through which trains will run, and one tunnel for maintenance and access in case of emergency situations. At the same time, the drilling of tunnels was to take place at a depth of more than 50 meters under the bottom of the English Channel. This was due to the fact that it is at this depth that Cretaceous deposits occur, which are mainly represented by sandstone. It was easier and faster to drill through them, so the tunnel itself is not strictly horizontal, but repeats the bending of the sedimentary layer.

Drilling of passages was carried out simultaneously from two banks: British and French. The diameter of the central tunnel, which is intended for line maintenance, is 4.8 m, and the diameters of the main lines, where the railway tracks pass, are 7.6 m. All tunnel walls are reinforced with 45 cm thick concrete. The service tunnel is connected to the main tracks by regular crossings every 370 meters.

The route of the tunnel was laid using high-precision satellite equipment, and the drilling direction was set using a laser beam. However, when the French and British builders met, it turned out that the error was about 30 centimeters in the horizontal direction, and the vertical deviations were negligible.

In May 1994, the Eurotunnel was inaugurated, and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and French President Francois Mitterrand personally attended the festive event. Through the tunnel under the English Channel, which connected the French Calais with the British Folkestone, there are passenger and freight trains, as well as shuttle trains carrying trucks and cars. The length of the tunnel is 50.5 kilometers, and 39 kilometers are located directly under the water. Trains cross the English Channel in 20-35 minutes (depending on the brand of train) from average speed 160 km/h

But, despite the importance of the Eurotunnel and its obvious need, the grandiose Franco-British project turned out to be unprofitable. This was also influenced by the policy of price reduction by alternative carriers, which was carried out immediately after the opening of the tunnel, and emergency situations that arose more than once underground. And although the company operating the tunnel periodically declares annual profits, it does not bring a stable income to its owners.

did not philosophize slyly and simply asked in: It would be interesting to read about tunnels, railway and others. The longest, the most difficult, etc. Norway, Switzerland, other countries ... in China, they seem to be building very impressive tunnels now.

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

On the border of Switzerland and Italy, the construction of the Gotthard railway tunnel 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 railway communication through the Alps.

Today, the longest underground route is the Japanese Seikan Tunnel, connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Its length, excluding aqueducts, is 53.6 kilometers. Its other well-known counterpart, 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 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, interconnected 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 option was prepared only in 1962. but main problem the design has become - which tunnel to choose, one with two single-track or two separate single-track? 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 was started much earlier, back in 1993, and the main one - only in 2001. In total, about 3,500 workers were hired, which includes not only builders, but also geologists, engineers and planners. Work was carried out constantly for seven days a week and 24 hours a day. For tunneling in rocks ah, both several tunnel-boring complexes and drilling and blasting were used. The tunnel has two common "trunks" under which trains will run in both directions. Along the route, there are two railway stations, where 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 advanced technologies are used in construction, special drilling rigs with a disk diameter of 10 meters began work from opposite sides. On October 15, 2010, at the sight of all world television companies, the last 3 meters of 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 water tunnel is in England, it began to be built back 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 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.

The tunnel, which runs along the bottom of the Yangtze River and connects Shanghai to Chongmingdao Island, is part of a 12.6 billion yuan ($1.84 billion) tunnel and bridge project spanning 25.5 kilometers.

The inner diameter of this tunnel structure is 13.7 meters, the length is 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 Chongmingdao Island through the tunnel through which railway line and a six-lane motorway, will take just over twenty minutes.

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

The Chinese authorities are planning to turn Chongmingdao into a model of a modern territorial unit with a developed infrastructure and meeting all environmental requirements. It is also expected that the new transport system help attract more 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.

Through the 6th, 7th and 8th floors of this 16-story office building there is an expressway - right through the building. On the ground floor, the floor information says that floors 6-8 are "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 design, which helps to protect the building from noise and vibrations.

Here is another interesting example:

Tunnel Log, California, USA

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

And 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 in China.

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

Read. We have already discussed this.

And now let's look at the deepest tunnel in the world:

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

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

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

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

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

It should be noted 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.

The highest road tunnel:

In the province of Sichuan in the southwest of China, the construction of a tunnel through Mount Trola has begun. This facility is part of the Sichuan-Tibet highway complex. The tunnel will be the highest in the world, as it will be at around 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 Trola mountain. The length of the tunnel itself will be 7 km. The laying of this road section will be completed in four years. Investments in the project are estimated at 1.12 billion yuan ($172 million). After the tunnel is put 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 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 high-speed ones. Thus, in the next five years, 108,000 km of high-speed highways will be laid 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 China exceeds 3.9 million km.

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

The Lerdal Tunnel is a road tunnel that connects the cities of Lerdal and Aurland and is part of the E16 highway between Oslo and Bergen. At 24.5 kilometers, the tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world.

Construction cost 120 million euros. It was opened on November 27, 2000 by King Harald V of Norway.

Such natural conditions in Norway as a mountainous area, risks of rockfalls, northern climate, many fjords create difficulties for reliable auto communication. 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, transport construction has focused on building bridges and tunneling (the world's deepest Eiksund road tunnel 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 the help of special grottoes.

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

The designer lighting of the grottoes, as well as the arrangement 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.

The tunnel uses a large number security measures. Emergency phones are installed every 250 meters along the route, fire extinguishers are located every 125 meters, in addition to 3 grottoes, 15 more turning points are made.

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

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.

A 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 monophonic walls, the beautiful landscapes of central Norway appear in all their harsh beauty.

Lerdal is famous for the Salmon Center, an old street with houses of the 17th-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.

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 is not very clear what Lerdal is by local standards - a city or a large village, but it is very, very comfortable there. You can go around the town by bike in just 5 minutes, or just walk around the town-village.

Reference: Is the Lördal 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, with a planned length of 57 km, the structure will become the longest railway tunnel in the world. The project is scheduled for completion in 2015

2. Seikan 53.90 km (Japan) - is today

the longest railway tunnel connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The tunnel was 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 line Bern - Milan, 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 a 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 was opened in 2002 and at the opening had the title of the longest underground railway tunnel.

7. Hakkoda 26.5 km - The longest land tunnel in Hakkoda 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 - Railway tunnel in Japan connecting Niigata and Tokyo. During the construction of the tunnel, a fire and smoke broke out, which claimed the lives of 16 workers.

10. Wushaoling Tunnel 21.05 km

Double rail 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, 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 going on for a long time.

In Moscow, the leader in its length is the Lefortovo tunnel. It lies 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 Lefortovsky Park. The Lefotovsky tunnel has seven traffic lanes (three traffic lanes to the north and four lanes to the south).

Each stripe is three and a half meters wide. Lefortovo tunnel refers to deep tunnels (up to 30 meters), such a depth is dictated by the need for noise and vibration absorption of a large traffic flow.

On average, approximately 3,500 vehicles pass through this tunnel per hour, and it copes with this intensity perfectly. But, during peak 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, he received an unflattering nickname - "the tunnel of death."

The reason for such a high danger lies in a banal violation traffic rules associated with the speed limit and ignoring the solid dividing line between traffic lanes, excluding rebuilding from row to row. The maximum allowed speed in the tunnel is 60 km per hour, but the "record" for speeding is 236 km per hour.

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

The world's longest and deepest Gotthard railway tunnel opened today in Switzerland. Its construction took almost 20 years 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 that are now transported by millions of trucks every year will be transported by rail.

This technological marvel will provide faster and easier communication between southern and northern Europe. The tunnel will speed up the movement of goods and people and reduce pollution environment vehicle exhaust gases.

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.

Conquest of the Alps as part of self-identification

Until now, the world's longest railway tunnel was considered the Japanese Seikan with a length of 53.9 km with an underwater fragment 23.3 km long.

The Gotthard Tunnel was 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 existing railway tunnel: 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 the solemn ceremony the opening of the tunnel in Switzerland along with Swiss officials will be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

"It's part of the Swiss identity," Peter Fuglisthaler, head of the Swiss federal department of transport, was quoted by Reuters.

"For us, the conquest of the Alps is the same as the exploration of the oceans for the Dutch," he said.

Tunnel price: $12 billion and 9 lives

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

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

The Gotthard Tunnel, completed on time and within budget, will become a mainline railway linking Rotterdam in the Netherlands with Italian Genoa. 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 the permanent operation of the tunnel begins, the journey from Zurich to Milan will take two hours and forty minutes - an hour less than usual.

Funding for the project was taken from budget receipts from taxes on fuel and value added, another part of the funds is a state loan, which must be paid within 10 years.

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