The longest underwater tunnels. World's longest tunnel opens in Switzerland

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

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

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

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

The Japanese tunnel connecting the capital with the city of Aomori, at the time of its opening in 2002, it was he who was the longest Japanese railway tunnel, until the Löchberg tunnel overtook him. This tunnel is located 545 kilometers from Tokyo, halfway between Hachinohe and Morioka, and Chohoku express trains run through it. We thought about its construction in 1988, and started it in 1991. The facility was ready for operation in 2000, but the line started operating only in 2002. The tunnel goes down to a maximum of 200 meters.

8. Hakkoda, Japan (26,455 m)

The Hakkod railway tunnel is only slightly longer than the previous one. He was a kind of pioneer - before him there were no long tunnels in the world through which trains could move in different directions at the same time.

7. Taihang, China (27,848 m)

In 2007, a new Taihangshan tunnel was put into operation in China, passing through the thickness of the mountain range of the same name. Before the construction of the New Guan Jiao, it was he who was the longest Chinese tunnel. It became an element of a high-speed railroad that connected the capital of the eastern province of Hebei, Shijiach-Zhuang, with the capital of the adjoining Shanxi province from the west, the city of Taiyuan. If earlier it took 6 hours to get from one city to another, now an hour is enough.

6. Guadarrama, Spain (28,377 m)

In the same 2007, but in Spain, the opening of the longest tunnel in the country, Guadarrama, took place, which connected the capital of the country, Madrid, with Valladolid. It began to be built in 2002, so it is obvious that this was done at a fairly rapid pace. This is a rather complex technical structure, which also contains two separate tunnels. Thanks to this, trains run along it simultaneously in different directions. It is especially worth noting that high-speed trains of the AVE system are used here. After the launch of the tunnel, it became possible to get from one city to another in just a few minutes. This was especially liked by tourists, who began to visit Valladolid more often from the capital.

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

This is China's longest railway tunnel. At the same time, being located, as it should be for a tunnel underground, it is located at a very decent height above sea level (from 3324 meters to 3381 meters). And all because it is part of the second line of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, laid in the mountains of Guan Jiao Chinese province Qinghai. In fact, there are two separate tunnels with one-way traffic. This tunnel was built for 7 years, and it was put into operation at the very end of 2014. Trains are able to rush through these tunnels at a speed of 160 km/h.

4. Lötschberg, Switzerland (34,577 m)

The railway tunnel Lötschberg is located on the line of the same name, passing through the Alps, and it is located 400 meters deeper than the road tunnel Lötschberg. Passenger and freight trains ply through this one of the longest land tunnels in the world. It passes under cities such as Bern, Frutigen, Valais and Rarone. This is a fairly new tunnel, because it was only completed in 2006, and in June of the following year it was officially opened. During its passage, the most modern technologies drilling, so it was possible to break through in less than two years. Now more than 20,000 Swiss use it every week, seeking to quickly get to the thermal spas in Valais.
The appearance of Lötschberg has greatly reduced the amount of traffic congestion in the area, since previously trucks and vans had to bypass Switzerland, making a big circle just from Valais to Bern. It is curious that in the tunnel there is a source of hot underground water, which the Swiss also do not waste for nothing, but use it to heat the greenhouse, where, thanks to this, tropical fruits.

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3. Eurotunnel, France/UK (50,450 m)

This tunnel, laid under the English Channel, is a double-track railway tunnel, while it runs 39 kilometers under the waters of the English Channel. Thanks to him, the island of Great Britain was connected with the continent by rail. Since then, it has become possible to take a train in Paris and be in London in two and a quarter hours. At the same time, the train stays in the tunnel itself for 20-35 minutes.
The grand opening of the tunnel took place on May 6, 1994. It was attended by the leaders of the two countries - French President Francois Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The Eurotunnel holds the record for underwater tunnels and is also the longest international tunnel. It is operated by the Eurostar company. The American Society of Civil Engineers was full of compliments and even compared the Eurotunnel with one of the seven modern wonders Sveta.

2. Seikan, Japan (53,850 m)

This incredibly long Japanese railway tunnel also has an underwater section of 23.3 kilometers. It deepens underground by 240 meters, resulting in 100 meters below the seabed. The tunnel runs under the Sangar Strait and connects Aomori Prefecture (Honshu Island) and Hokkaido Island. It is part of the Kaikyo and Hokkaido Shinkansen of the local railway company.
In length, it is second only to the Gotthard Tunnel, and in terms of its occurrence under the seabed, it is the leader in the world. The name of the tunnel contains the first hieroglyphs of the names of the cities that it connects - Amori and Hakodate, just those on Japanese are pronounced differently. The Seikan Tunnel is Japan's second undersea railway tunnel after the Kammon Tunnel, and it connects the islands of Kyushu and Honshu under the Kammon Strait.

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

This railway tunnel, pierced in the Swiss Alps, when summing up its own length with the length of pedestrian and service passages, will stretch for 153.4 kilometers. From the north end it exits near the village of Erstfeld, while the south exit is located near the village of Bodio. The laying of its eastern part was completed in October 2010, and the western part in March 2011, after which it became the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Thanks to its construction, the transalpine rail service became possible, and the north-west of Italy was able to switch from more environmentally polluted road transport to cleaner and cheaper rail transport. Travel time from Zurich to Milan was reduced by almost an hour. The tunnel was opened in June 2016. Alp Transit Gotthard, which supervises its construction, in December of the same year transferred it to the Swiss Federal railways in fully operational condition, and already on December 11, its commercial operation began.

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

10 PHOTOS

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

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

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

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

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

Railway tunnel under the English Channel connecting France and Great Britain. The length of the tunnel is about 51 km, however, by TGV train, the Eurotunnel can be reached from Paris to London in just 2 hours and 15 minutes.

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

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

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

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

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

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.
Working in the tunnel mobile phones through special relays.
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 is mostly straight, in fact 25.5 km of 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.

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 the unification of Britain with the mainland, although with material point vision, it still remains unprofitable

3. Compared to other tunnels Lötschberg tunnel(L?tschberg) is still quite young, it was completed in 2006, and officially opened in June 2007. The Lötschberg Tunnel is the longest tunnel in the world on land, is 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 technologies 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 Lötschberg, traffic in this region has been significantly reduced, as previously trucks had to bypass Switzerland to get from Bern to Valais. Interestingly, the warmth groundwater from the tunnel heats the greenhouse Tropenhaus Frutigen, 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. 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 the 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 with particular joy you perceive the light at the end of the tunnel. 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

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.

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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 with 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. 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 floor of this 16-story office building there is a freeway running 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 was laid in 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 trains under the Bosphorus will be 2 minutes, and throughput tunnel will reach 75 thousand passengers per 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 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, the risks of rockfalls, the 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 building bridges and laying tunnels (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 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. 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. The Lefortovo tunnel belongs to the 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.