famous tunnels. The longest tunnels in the world

March 1, 1880 and the construction of the railway was completed tunnel on the pass Saint Gotthard in Switzerland - the most complex engineering structure of those times, which became a symbol of the subordination of nature by man. And today we will talk about a few the world's greatest and most significant tunnels- from the already mentioned St. 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 autumn 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 greatly 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, an automobile tunnel 16.9 kilometers long was opened. And now, construction is underway on an even larger structure at the St. Gotthard Pass - a 57-kilometer railway tunnel, which, when it enters service 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 plying between the two largest Japanese islands have been dying 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 - just over a million. For comparison, the annual volume of passenger traffic between Honshu and Hokkaido is ten 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 century, and Napoleon Bonaparte himself was the "customer" of the project. But real progress in this direction began only after the Second World War, while the 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. Tunnels (only three: two transport and one technical) are used as railways - 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.

Lerdal Tunnel. Norway

Built in Norway in 1995-2000, the Lerdal Tunnel can be called the most beautiful such engineering structure on the planet. In addition, it 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 advance and relieve stress on the drivers, the architects who worked on the Lerdal tunnel divided it into four approximately equal parts with three artificial caves. Each of these grottoes has its own color of illumination, which gives originality and beauty to this engineering object. You can also stop in these caves, park in special septic tanks, and relax a bit.

Oresund bridge. Denmark, Sweden

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

The architects of the Øresund Bridge made such an extraordinary decision for the reason that it is in this place that the glide path of aircraft heading to Copenhagen Airport passes, and it cannot be blocked. Yes, and ships going through the Øresund Strait also need space for successful navigation.

Severomuysky tunnel. Russia

On December 5, 2003, a historic event for the whole 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 the Soviet era.

The construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline began back in 1938, in 1974 it was declared an all-Union shock Komsomol construction site, they began to write songs and make films about it, and ended in the estimated volume only in 2003. When creating the BAM, 10 tunnels were pierced, the largest and the most important of which was Severomuysky.

Marmaray. Turkey

In October 2013, an event happened that Mankind had been dreaming of for centuries, but did not believe in the reality of which until the very last moment. In Istanbul, the Marmaray railway tunnel was opened, connecting the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus.

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

It will be useful to know which of the railway tunnels is the longest, and which tunnel 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.

The longest railway tunnel

It is known that the longest tunnel among the railways is the unique Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland. Its construction has been underway since 1999 - almost seventeen years, although the first sketch appeared in 1947. On June 1, 2016, the authorities announced that the tunnel would be ready for commissioning after a major test run until December 2016.

An engineering structure has paved the way under a mountain pass called St. Gotthard. The length of the tunnel is fifty-seven kilometers, and if you count both shafts, as well as auxiliary passages and shafts, you get more than one hundred and fifty-three kilometers.

From 2017, the Gotthard Tunnel will become part of the NEAT (NEue AlpenTransversal) pan-European high-speed rail network, shortening 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 reach speeds of at least 160 kilometers.

The tunnel was built so that trains could move in the opposite direction along different shafts. 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 Gotthard.

The longest tunnel in Moscow

Many tunnels have been built in Russian Moscow. Today, tunnels help to unload metropolitan roads, and are also the best solution to the transport problem of the metropolis. One of the longest is the one that is laid under Serebryany Bor. Its length is more than three kilometers. This tunnel is one of the most difficult sections of Krasnopresnensky Prospekt.

Thanks to this construction, it was not necessary to lay a road along Serebryany Bor. The tunnel has three tiers. On the lower tier, the movement of metro trains takes place, vehicles move on the middle tier, and the vaulted upper tier is designed 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.

For a long time, the Lefortovsky tunnel was one of the longest metropolitan tunnels. 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 for long, as 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 Gyumrin tunnel, which is a road tunnel and is 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 the inhabitants of the mountainous regions get to Makhachkala in just two or three hours.

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

The exact length of this tunnel is four kilometers, two hundred and eighty-five meters. It has operational ventilation, automatic fire alarm, television surveillance, public address and burglar alarm. 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 in Italy.

The longest tunnel in the world

Since the tunnels are different, we can name the longest tunnels of each type. So the "champion" among the car tunnels is the Lördal Tunnel. It is located in Norway and has a length of twenty-four and a half kilometers.

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

The longest railway tunnel was the Japanese Seikan for a long time. But traffic will soon begin on 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 subway tunnel is in Guangzhou. 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 called Sanliurfa. His 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.

Interest is caused not only by tunnels, but also by bridges. 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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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. However, the main problem was the design - 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, both several tunneling 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 a tunnel that carries a railway line and a six-lane highway 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. 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.

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 Sequoia National Park, 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 open 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 will upgrade 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 Bosporus 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 mountainous terrain, risks of rockfalls, northern climate, many fjords create difficulties for reliable road 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, in transport construction, the emphasis has been on the construction of bridges and tunneling (the deepest Eiksund road tunnel in the world 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 design 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 of 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 ongoing 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 the banal violation of traffic rules associated with speed limits and ignoring the solid dividing line between traffic lanes, which excludes changing lanes. The maximum allowed speed in the tunnel is 60 km per hour, but the "record" for speeding is 236 km per hour.

Link to the article from which this copy is made -

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

Who and when invented the tunnels is unknown. It is believed 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. Often they were used for shelter from enemies.

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

1. Gotthard Base Tunnel

Its length is 57.00 km. It is often referred to as the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Used as the main railway facility in Switzerland. Its length is the longest in the 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 end is near the village of Erstfed. The building was originally created for railway needs. With the help of such a tunnel, it was possible to create a message through 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 lasted as much 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 communicate with the two Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu.

In translation, its name means "Majestic spectacle" and this is true. The design has an underwater part (about 23.3 km), since the tunnel runs under the Sangai Strait.

3. Eurotunnel, 49.94 km long

The structure was laid under the English Channel. It connects Folkestone (Kent from the UK) 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 officially opened in 1994. Since then, it has been working flawlessly every day, ferrying millions of people across the canal.

4. Lötschberg, 34.70 km long

Representative of the longest land tunnel. It is located on the Bern-Milan line, in Switzerland. The design was created in the middle of the 20th century. She managed to connect the region of Bern and Interlaken with the zone of Brig and Zermatt.

5. Guadarammsky tunnel, 28, 37 km long

Takes 5th place in the ranking. 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 travel from Madrid to Valladolid and back without any problems. 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 received the title of the longest, underground railway structure in the world.

7. Hakkoda, 26.5 km long

Refers to the longest land constructions 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 remote municipalities - Lerdal and Aurland, which are located on the territory of Norway.

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

The design feature is the presence of 3 artificial caves (grottoes) of considerable size. They are located at approximately the same distance from each other. Thus, the entire tunnel is divided into 4 approximately equal sections. It's made on purpose. In this way, it was possible to minimize the stress of drivers.

It has been proven that long-term movement in monotonous conditions is very tiring for the driver. Also in such grottoes it is convenient to turn around, stop for a 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 to the structure is no more than 20 minutes.

9. Daishimizu Tunnel, 22.20 km long

Japanese tunnel created for the Niigata-Tokyo railway connection. 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 its construction, a huge fire occurred in the building.

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

The only double railway tunnel of its kind, which was opened in 2006. Located in northwest China. Created to communicate the two ends of Gansu Province.

The design 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.

In the ideas of mankind is the construction of the longest, grandiosely comfortable tunnel of the future. We are talking about the Japan-Korea tunnel. Its length is expected to be about 187 km. The design should connect Japan and the southern part of Korea. Negotiations on the start of construction work have already begun, but are ongoing.

Tunnels are real architectural marvels that have been developed and improved since ancient times. The tunnels probably originate from the caves that ancient people used as dwellings. If we look to the future, to a more civilized period, we can see that the tunnels are used as secret passages, usually underground. They were used to hide from enemies. Nowadays, tunnels are being built for completely different purposes. In this collection, I will tell you about the longest tunnels in the world and their purpose.

1. So, the longest tunnel in the world at the moment is in Japan. This railway tunnel is 53,850 meters long. Just imagine how many days it will take to travel it on foot before you get to the other side.

The Seikan Tunnel is also the longest underwater tunnel in the world. After World War II, Japan felt the need to connect the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu so that the country was geographically unified. From its planning in 1946 to its official opening on March 13, 1988, it took over 40 years to complete. Construction cost a lot of money: ?538.4 billion, equivalent to $3.6 billion

Today, unfortunately, Seikan is not used as much as it used to be, because airline travel is both faster and cheaper. However, this building was one of the main reasons why Japan is strong and united to this day. It is worth mentioning that this tunnel will remain the longest until 2016, when the Gotthard Base Tunnel is built in Switzerland.

2. The Channel Tunnel, or - the longest international tunnel in the world, connects the United Kingdom and France with a 50,500 meter passage. The tunnel connects the cities of Folkestone in the UK and Calais in France. The tunnel also boasts the largest car-carrying train in the world called the Eurotunnel Shuttle.

The construction of the Channel Tunnel was put on hold for almost two hundred years from 1802, due to constant hesitation from the British and political instability. Ultimately, in 1988, construction began and ended fairly quickly in 1994. The Channel Tunnel was also one of the candidates for the New Seven Wonders of the World list. Undoubtedly, this great building played a key role in uniting Britain with the mainland, although from a material point of view it still remains unprofitable.

3. Compared to other tunnels Lötschberg tunnel(L?tschberg) is still very young, it was completed in 2006, and officially opened in June 2007. The Lötschberg Tunnel is the world's longest tunnel on land, at 34,700 meters long. The tunnel runs between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais and is used by freight and passenger trains. Thanks to the latest technology, the tunnel was built very quickly, in less than two years. More than 20,000 Swiss use it every week to take the shortest route to the Welsh thermal spas. Thanks to Lätschberg, traffic in this region has been significantly reduced, as previously trucks had to bypass Switzerland to get from Bern to Valais. Interestingly, the heat from the groundwater from the tunnel heats the Tropenhaus Frutigen greenhouse, where tropical fruits are grown.

4. in Norway - the longest road tunnel in the world, its length is as much as 24,000 meters, located in the county of Sogn og Fjordane. Until 1999, the Swiss Gotthard Road Tunnel was the longest road tunnel until Laerdal was built in 2000.

The Lardal Tunnel has been designed to modern standards. Unlike most tunnels, Laerdal is divided into four parts, each of which has a special lighting. The lighting effect mimics natural light at dawn and dusk. Also a positive thing is that you do not need to pay any money for travel

Driving through tunnels is always perceived in a special way, very exciting - you see how the headlights snatch out images and road signs, how the air rustles while driving fast and perceive the light at the end of the tunnel with special joy. We told you about the four longest tunnels in the world, we wish you to drive through each of them and get an unforgettable experience