The other day, the official opening of a tunnel through the Alps to Switzerland took place, the construction of which took 17 years. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is 57 kilometers long, making it the longest in the world. Moreover, since in some places the maximum height of the mountains above the tunnel is 2300 meters, it is not only the longest, but also the deepest in the world.

Europe's largest rail project is the Crossrail high-speed rail system, but the tunnel portion is only 42 kilometers long. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is, in turn, only 3 kilometers longer than Japan's Seikan Tunnel and 7 kilometers longer than the Eurotunnel between the UK and France, both of which carry rail passenger traffic. In addition, among all tunnels of any type in the world, Gotthard now ranks 9th.

If you add up all the actually used branches and forks that make up the Gotthard Base Tunnel, then its total length, including various service forks and transitions, will be 152 kilometers. In addition, the entire length of the tunnel lies on one level, there are no ascents or descents.

The original idea for this tunnel dates back 68 years, but plans have been rewritten many times for countless reasons. When construction was finally approved, up to 2,400 people worked at the sites during rush hour. During the entire construction period, 9 people died.

Engineers and miners had to cut through many different types of rock, including granite and sedimentary rocks. About 80 percent of the work was done with huge drilling machines. The laying of the remaining 20 percent was carried out using explosive methods. A total of 31.1 million tons of rock were mined.

When laying the continuous sub-rail began, the task required the efforts of 125 workers who worked in three shifts over three years. As a result, 131,000 cubic meters of concrete, 290 kilometers of under-rail material and 380,000 cross beams (struts) were used.

The tunnel connects the commune of Erstfeld with the town of Bodio. Every day, 325 trains will pass through it, 260 of which will be freight (travelling at a speed of 160 km/h), and the remaining 65 will be passenger trains (travelling at a speed of 200 km/h). Passenger train speeds are expected to increase over time, with 250 km/h eventually becoming the standard. This will reduce travel between Zurich and Lugano, which are located in the northern and southern parts of Erstfeld and Bodio respectively, by approximately 45 minutes.

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

Seikan Railway Tunnel

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

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

Gotthard railway tunnel


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

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


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

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

Mountain Tunnel Lötschberg


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

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

Automotive Laerdal tunnel


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

The Laerdal Tunnel is currently the longest road tunnel on the planet.

We focus specifically on the word “road”, since there are longer tunnels, but they are used by railway transport. That's why we don't include them in our schedule.

In Norway it is almost impossible to move between settlements without crossing mountains. Those who have traveled to Norway know how beautiful this country is. Unfortunately, its complex geography, abundance of mountains, glaciers and labyrinthine fjords sometimes create conditions in which some Norwegian communities remain cut off from each other and from civilization during the winter. To build communication routes that do not depend on weather and seasonal conditions, it is often necessary to create them directly through the rocks, that is, to build tunnels.

In general, humanity is trying to make things as easy as possible and reduce the distances between points on the globe. One such logical project is the legendary Panama Canal.

The Laerdal Tunnel is one of the roads connecting remote areas of the country.

Where is the Laerdal tunnel?

The tunnel connects the municipalities of Laerdal and Aurland in the Sogn og Fjordane region in southwestern Norway and is part of the E16 road between Oslo (the capital) and Bergen, the country's second largest city.

Geographic coordinates 60.973894, 7.379064


Laerdal tunnel in numbers

  • Length – 24.51 km
  • Width – 9 meters
  • Average height – 7.5 meters
  • Minimum height – 5 meters
  • Start of construction - March 15, 1995
  • Commissioning date: November 27, 2000
  • The mountains in which the tunnel is built reach 1600 meters in height
  • Average daily traffic 1000 cars
  • The average travel time is 20 minutes (at the end of the article you can watch a video of driving through the tunnel, although the sound design of the video is, as they say, “not for everyone”)
  • Project cost NOK 1.082 billion (or US$113.1 million)
  • The Laerdal tunnel has two lanes of traffic in opposite directions

Find out about the Øresund Bridge-Tunnel between Denmark and Sweden. If you are confused by the wording “Bridge-Tunnel”, then be sure to read the article at the link above and find out why this definition is the most correct.

Safety of the Laerdal Tunnel

One of the main challenges facing engineers was keeping drivers on their toes during 20 minutes of monotonous driving with the same landscape outside the window. This is indeed very important for drivers who may lose concentration leading to an accident.

To achieve this, the Lärdal Tunnel has small bends between straight sections of the road, and large caves can be found every 6 km along the way. There are three such caves in total. They are designed to break up the monotony of the journey, to give the driver the opportunity to rest or turn around if necessary. For people with claustrophobia, such caves will become a kind of outlet. The caves divide the entire tunnel into 4 approximately equal sections. In addition to three large caves, there are emergency niches every 500 meters.

Lighting and rumble strip

Particular attention was paid to lighting. The main tunnel (the areas between the caves) is illuminated in white tones, simulating daylight. The caves feature blue lighting with yellow lights around the edges to give the impression of a sunrise.


In the center, between the traffic lanes, there is a “rumble strip”. This is a special corrugated surface, when driving over it, increased noise from the wheels is generated. Thus, even if the driver loses his vigilance, he will immediately concentrate on the road.


 Pay attention to the markings in the center. It has a corrugated surface. This is a line of rumble or noise.

Air purification system in the Lärdal tunnel

There are no numerous ventilation outlets in the tunnel. Therefore, the second important design problem was the air supply and purification system.
The Laerdal Tunnel was the first tunnel equipped with its own air purification and ventilation unit.

Large fans draw air from both inlets and exhaust contaminated air through one single vent. This exit and the treatment plant itself are located in a separate 100-meter cave 9.5 kilometers from the southern end of the tunnel on the Aurland municipality side. Plus, there are electrostatic and carbon filters that, in addition to removing dust, clean the air from nitrogen dioxide.

Additional security systems

There are no emergency exits in the tunnel. In case of accidents or fire, a number of precautions are provided. There are emergency telephones marked “SOS” every 250 meters. They allow you to quickly contact the police, fire or medical services. Fire extinguishers are located every 125 meters. Moreover, if an emergency telephone is used or a fire extinguisher is removed, then the brake lights and “turn” and “exit” signs light up throughout the entire tunnel, and the “tunnel closed” signs turn on at both entrances and exits.

Video of the drive through the Lärdal tunnel

The longest and deepest tunnel in the world, running under the Swiss Alps, has finally opened! To mark this occasion, in this article we will look at the longest railway tunnels in the world.

So, let's go!

10. Gumzang Tunnel, South Korea - 20.3 km

(Geumjeong Tunnel)

Gumzangl is ranked tenth on the list of the longest railway tunnels in the world. It is part of the Seoul-Busan High Speed ​​Railway. A tunnel buried in the mountains connects the Nopo area with Busanjin Station in Busan.

Also, Gumzangl is the longest railway tunnel in South Korea. It is located at a depth of more than 300 m from the ground. Its width is 14 meters, height 12. The tunnel belongs to the South Korean Railway Administration.

Construction of the tunnel, which was completed in 2009, took place in three sections. The first two sites were opened in 2008. The last section, connecting Nopo-dong and Hwameong-dong, was completed in February 2009.

9. Wushaoling Tunnel, China - 21.05 km

(Wushaoling Tunnel)

Wushaoling, a railway tunnel in Gansu province in northwestern China, was the country's longest tunnel until the end of 2007. Located on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway crossing the Wushaoling Mountains. After the tunnel was put into operation, the road between Lanzhou and Urumqi was shortened by 30.4 km and became completely double-track.

The tunnel consists of two parallel threads, laid at a distance of 40 meters from each other. The portal on the Lanzhou side is located at an altitude of 2663 m, the opposite portal is at an altitude of 2447 m. During the construction of the tunnel, a new Austrian tunneling method was used; the tunnel equipment allows trains to pass at speeds of up to 160 km/h. The eastern line of the Wushaoling tunnel was put into operation in March 2006, the western line in August 2006. The total construction cost was 7.8 billion yuan.

22,221 km

(Daishimizu Tunnel)

Daismizu Tunnel, Japan. Photo: Nihongarden/Wikimedia Commons

A railway tunnel on the Jōetsu Shinkansen high-speed line on the border of Gunma and Niigata prefectures.

In 1978, construction of the Dai-Shimizu Tunnel was completed. This tunnel was dug specifically for the Joetsu Shinkansen line, which was scheduled to be completed in 1982. This tunnel was the longest tunnel in the world. During construction, a fire broke out in the tunnel, resulting in very heavy smoke - 16 workers died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The Daismizu Tunnel reduced travel time between Niigata and Tokyo to approximately one hour and forty minutes, three hours faster than the regular Joetsu Line.

In addition, during the construction of the tunnel, potable natural mineral water was discovered, which is still sold in bottles to this day.

24 km

(Wienerwald Tunnel)


 Wienerwald Tunnel, Austria. Photo: Line29 / Wikimedia Commons

The 13.35 kilometer long railway tunnel near Vienna, which has been in operation since December 9, 2012, runs under the northern part of the Wienerwald between Gablitz and Mauerbach. This section of the new section, with speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, between Vienna and St. Pölten, is part of the Austrian Western Railway.

The Vienna-St. Pölten section, the current four-way and largest railway corridor in the Westbahn, received two new high-speed branches extending far north of the original line. The largest superstructure is a tunnel that crosses the Wienerwald mountains.

11 km from the western portal of the Wienerwald Tunnel, a double-pipe tunnel (a tunnel consisting of two connected single-track pipes) was built, and the rest is a double-track single-pipe section. Construction of the single-pipe section began in the fall of 2004 using blasting and drilling. The tunnel drilling was completed two years later, structural work was completed in February 2010, and road construction began in the summer of 2010.

The Wienerwald Tunnel is only part of the tunnel complex: its eastern (Viennese) portal ends with an underground passage into a 2.2 km long tunnel with two additional lines for the old Westbahn (which has already been in operation since December 2008) and the Lainzer Tunnel - single-pipe, double-track tunnel with a length of 11.73 km, which opened in 2012). The eastern portal of the Lainzer Tunnel branches into two portals. A total of 24 km of the Wienerwald and Lainzer Tunnel allow travelers along the Westbahn to visit Vienna's new main station. This tunnel is the longest tunnel in Austria.

6. Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel, Japan - 25,810 km

(Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel)

The Japanese Iwate-Ichinohe Overland Rail Tunnel is part of the Tohoku Shinkansen line connecting Tokyo with Aomori. When it opened in 2002, it was the longest land tunnel in the world, but was surpassed by the Swiss Lötschberg Tunnel in June 2007.

The tunnel is located 545 km from Tokyo Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line, halfway between Morioka and Hachinohe. Preliminary work on the construction of the tunnel began in 1988. Construction began in 1991. The tunnel began operating when the railway opened in 2002. Maximum depth is about 200 m.

The tunnel passes through the hilly terrain near Mount Kitakami and Mount Ou. The Mabuchi and Kitakami rivers are located near the Tokyo Tunnel Port.

The Iwate-Ichinohe is a single-tube, double-track, horseshoe-shaped structure. Cross-sectional dimensions: 9.8 m (width) x 7.7 m (height). The tunnel rises with a 0.5% gradient from Tokyo Port for approximately 22 km and then descends with a 1% gradient to Aomori Port. During its construction, the new Austrian tunneling method (NATM) was used.

26.455 km

(Hakkōda Tunnel)


 Hakkoda Tunnel, Japan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The railway tunnel, with a total length of 26,445 kilometers (16,432 miles), is located in northern Japan in the central Aomori Prefecture. It extends across the Hakkyoda Range and links the village of Tenmabayashi with the city of Aomori.

The Hakkoda Tunnel is part of the Tohoku Shinkansen Northern Line and is located between Shichino-Budawa and Shin Aomori stations. Preliminary work on the tunnel began in August 1998. On February 27, 2005, it surpassed the Iwate-Ichinoe Tunnel of the same Tohoku Shinkansen line to become the world's longest surface tunnel. After just two months, this title was taken away from him by the Swiss Lötschberg Tunnel, which lost this title thanks to the Gotthard Base Tunnel that opened in 2016. However, the Lötschberg Tunnel is mostly single-track, while the Gotthard Base Tunnel is double-track, which is why it remains the longest double-track single-pipe surface railway tunnel in the world.

The tunnel began operating in 2010.

4. New Guan Jiao Tunnel, China - 32.645 km

(New Guanjiao Tunnel)


 New Guan Jiao Tunnel, China. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

This double-pipe railway tunnel is located on Line 2 of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in GuanJiao Mountains, Qinghai Province. The total length of the tunnel is 32,645 km (20,285 mi), making it the longest railway tunnel in China.

The China Railway First Survey and Design Institute was responsible for the design of the tunnel. The new Guan Jiao Tunnel was designed for two parallel single-track tunnels with travel speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph). The total duration of construction was 5 years. The tunnel was built in difficult geological conditions and at high altitude, exceeding 3,300 meters (10,800 ft) above sea level. Work on its construction began in 2007 and was completed in April 2014. The tunnel was opened on December 28, 2014.

The northeastern portal of the tunnel (37.1834°N 99.1778°E) is located in Tianjun County, the southwestern portal (37.0094°N 98.8805°E) is located in Wulan County.

3. Eurotunnel / Channel Tunnel, UK-France - 50 km

(Channel Tunnel)


 Eurotunnel, UK-France. Photo: 4plebs.org

Connecting the UK to mainland Europe (portals to Folkestone, Kent and Pas de Calais in northern France), the tunnel has the world's longest underwater section at 37.9 kilometers (23.5 miles).

Despite the fact that this tunnel is a miracle of the modern era, the idea for its construction belongs to the French engineer Albert Mathieu, who in 1802 proposed to build a tunnel under the English Channel. His plans included creating an artificial island in the middle of the canal where horse-drawn carriages could stop for maintenance.

“This is a megaproject. It has revolutionized the geography of Europe and helped cement high-speed rail as a viable alternative to short-haul flights,” said Matt Sykes, tunnel expert and director of engineering firm Arup.

Interesting fact: despite the fact that both the British and the French began work on creating the tunnel at the same time, the former did more work.

53,850 km

(Seikan Tunnel)


 Seikan Tunnel, Japan. Photo: Bmazerolles / Wikimedia Commons

A unique feature of Japan's Seikan Tunnel is that its 23.3 kilometers (14.2 miles) section lies 140 meters (460 feet) below sea level. Until the Gotthard Base Tunnel was built, Seikan was the longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world.

It spans the Tsugaru Strait, connecting Aomori Prefecture on the island of Honshu with the island of Hokkaido. Work on the tunnel began in 1964 and was completed in 1988.

Interesting fact: In 1976, construction workers stumbled upon an area of ​​soft rock, causing water to rush into the tunnel at a rate of 80 tons per minute. The leak was neutralized only two months later.

57 km

(Gotthard Base Tunnel)


 Gotthard Base Tunnel, Switzerland. Photo: Matthieu Gafsou / www.time.com

European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande, attended the opening ceremony of the magnificent Gotthard Base Tunnel in June 2016, which featured colorful surreal scenes featuring costumed dancers, songs and fireworks.

Located at a depth of 2,300 meters (7,545 feet, almost 1.5 miles), the tunnel cuts travel time between Zurich, Switzerland and Milan by an hour.

The 57-kilometer tunnel runs between the towns of Erstfeld in the north and Bodio in the south. According to the Swiss Travel System, trains reaching speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph) complete the journey in 20 minutes.

Commercial operation of the tunnel began on December 11. On this day, the first regular passenger train left Zurich at 06:09 local time and arrived in Lugano at 08:17.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel took the title of the longest railway tunnel in the world from the 53.9-kilometer northern Japanese Seikan Tunnel and pushed the 50.5-kilometer tunnel between Great Britain and France into third place.

Interesting fact: during the construction of the tunnel, 3,200 kilometers of copper cable were used, the length of which would be enough from Madrid to Moscow.


March 1, 1880 and the construction of the railway was completed tunnel at the pass Saint Gotthard in Switzerland - the most complex engineering structure of those times, which became a symbol of the subjugation of nature by man. And today we will talk about several the world's greatest and most significant tunnels- from the already mentioned Saint Gotthard in the Alps to the Marmaray line under the Bosphorus, which opened in October 2013, each of which marked a new milestone in the development of their country.

Gotthard tunnel. Switzerland

The Saint Gotthard pass in the Alps is known in Russia thanks to the feat of the commander Alexander Suvorov, who crossed it with great difficulty and losses in the fall of 1799. And in 1880, it became much easier to overcome the mountains in this area, because the construction of a 15-kilometer railway tunnel, one of the most famous such structures in the world, was completed there. It significantly simplified the movement of goods across Europe, and also became one of the keys to the economic well-being of Switzerland.



In 1980, not far from the century-old railway tunnel, a 16.9-kilometer-long road tunnel was opened. And now construction is underway on an even larger-scale structure at the Gotthard Pass - a 57-kilometer railway tunnel, which, when commissioned in 2017, will become the longest in the world.


Seikan Tunnel. Japan

In 1954, a tragic event occurred in Japan - during an unprecedented storm in the Sangar Strait between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, five passenger ferries sank, which led to the death of more than a thousand people. And this was far from the first such disaster in this place - ships sailing between the two largest Japanese islands died regularly for centuries. To finally solve this problem, the Japanese government decided to build a tunnel under the strait.



Work on this structure began in 1964 and lasted more than twenty years. Opened in 1988, the 54-kilometer Seikan became the longest railway tunnel in the world and still holds this record.



In 1988, about 3 million passengers used the services of the Sangar tunnel, in 1999 – 2 million, and in 2009 – a little more than a million. For comparison, the annual volume of passenger traffic between Honshu and Hokkaido is tens of times greater. But as a freight road, this tunnel has no worthy competitors.

Eurotunnel. France-UK

It’s hard to believe, but the idea of ​​​​building a tunnel between France and Great Britain appeared in the late eighteenth - early nineteenth centuries, and Napoleon Bonaparte himself acted as the “customer” of the project. But real progress in this direction began only after the Second World War, and construction itself started only in December 1987.



The grand opening of the Eurotunnel took place on May 6, 1994, with the participation of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and French President Jacques Chirac. The tunnels (three in total: two transport and one technical) are used as railway tunnels - high-speed trains TGV Eurostar and Eurotunnel Shuttle run through them in both directions, connecting London with Paris and Brussels. The Eurotunnel accounts for 67% of passenger traffic between France and England.


Laerdal tunnel. Norway

Built in Norway in 1995-2000, the Lærdal Tunnel can be called the most beautiful such engineering structure on the planet. In addition, this is the longest road tunnel in the world, because its length is 24.5 kilometers.



In order to at least slightly diversify the route of progress and relieve stress for drivers, the architects who worked on the Lärdal Tunnel divided it into four approximately equal parts with three artificial caves. Each of these grottoes has its own lighting color, which gives this engineering object originality and beauty. You can also stop in these caves, park in special pits, and rest a little.


Oresund Bridge. Denmark, Sweden

It is not entirely logical that the list of the greatest tunnels in the world includes a bridge connecting two Scandinavian countries - Denmark and Norway. But there is no mistake in this fact, because out of the almost 12 kilometers of the length of this structure, 4050 meters are underground.



The architects of the Oresund Bridge took such an extraordinary solution for the reason that it is in this place that the glide path of planes heading to Copenhagen Airport passes, and it cannot be blocked. And ships sailing through the Öresund Strait also need space for successful navigation.


Severomuysky tunnel. Russia

On December 5, 2003, a historical event for all of Russia took place in Buryatia - the Severomuysky tunnel, 15 kilometers 343 meters long, was opened there. It became not only the longest in Russia, but also marked the end of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, the legendary BAM - one of the greatest construction projects of Soviet times.



The construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline began back in 1938, in 1974 it was declared an all-Union shock Komsomol construction project, they began writing songs and making films about it, and was completed to its intended extent only in 2003. During the creation of the BAM, 10 tunnels were dug, the largest and Severomuisky became an important one.


Marmaray. Türkiye

In October 2013, an event occurred that humanity had dreamed about for centuries, but did not believe in the reality of its implementation until the very last moment. The Marmaray railway tunnel was opened in Istanbul, connecting the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus Strait.



After its opening, Marmaray was integrated into the Istanbul metro system as a separate line. It is also planned to be used for transcontinental freight and passenger transport - the tunnel will become part of a global railway project to create a single track infrastructure from the UK to South Korea.