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

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 in length is 53, 850 meters. 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 big 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 on the part of 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 list of the New Seven Wonders of the World. 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 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

Japan's Seikan Tunnel is currently the longest tunnel in the world. Translated from Japanese, Seikan means "Magnificent spectacle." Its length is 53.8 kilometers. The structure was laid at a depth of more than 240 meters and connects the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu.

Construction underwater object began in 1960 and was supposed to be completed in the 70th year, but construction dragged on for almost 18 years. The tunnel was only opened in 1988. One of the main problems with this structure is that sea ​​water constantly gets into the tunnel, so a large number of pumps are constantly working in it, which pump out up to 16 tons of sea water every minute.

The Channel Tunnel (Eurotunnel) was for some time the longest tunnel in Europe. Its length is 50.5 kilometers, it was put into operation in 1994, the construction was carried out for 7 years by the efforts of more than 13 thousand workers. For the first time, the idea of ​​creating such a structure was put forward as early as 1802 and several attempts were made to build a Eurotunnel, but all attempts to political reasons have not been completed.

The trains running through this large tunnel carry not only passengers, but also private cars. Max speed trains 350 kilometers per hour. Thanks to the Eurotunnel, the train journey from London to Paris is 2 hours and 30 minutes.

However, the longest tunnel in the world will be built no later than 2017. This will be the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is currently under construction in Switzerland, its length should be 57 kilometers. Its construction has already begun, more than 3.5 thousand workers are involved in the work, who work around the clock. It passes through the St. Gotthard Pass and connects Swiss Zurich and Italian Milan. Thanks to this tunnel, travel time will be reduced by 50 minutes to 2 hours and 50 minutes. The project is estimated at 15 billion euros.

A tunnel is an underground or underwater structure, the main purpose of which is to ensure the movement of vehicles or the movement of water over long distances.

From ancient times tunnels ( underground passages) were common, although they were mainly used by people who secretly moved along them or hid from enemies.

Today, tunnels are built for various purposes, so they are classified according to their purpose: railway, automobile, sewer, water supply facilities and others.

The longest railway tunnel in the world

In 2017, the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is considered the longest railway tunnel in the world. Except set record in length, it is also identified as the deepest tunnel in the world, since the distance from the surface of the mountains in some places is equal to 2300 km.

The construction was carried out for 17 years, and the first projects appeared in 1947. The grand opening took place on June 1, 2016, although test movements around the facility have been launched since 2015. And since December 2016, the tunnel has been operated at full capacity.

The Gotthard Tunnel is laid under Saint Gotthard, a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Its length is equal to 57 km, and given that the tunnel consists of two parallel overpasses, the construction mileage doubles. On these two parallel shafts, movement is made in the opposite direction. High-speed trains reach speeds of up to 250 km/h, freight trains - 160 km/h.

When creating the tunnel project, technologies were used that ensure maximum safety during transportation. A system has been set up to evacuate people in case of an accident (one tunnel serves as an exit from another every 325 meters), and the availability of modern computer systems allows you to quickly respond to emerging problems. Also in the tunnel are emergency stations and mines. Its construction cost $12 billion.

As of 2017, 260 freight and 65 high-speed trains pass through the tunnel per day, with an average travel time of 20 minutes.

The longest road tunnel in the world

is a land of fjords and mountains. Its beauty is undeniable, but from a practical point of view, moving around Norway is extremely difficult, because or you have to overcome mountain ranges or use the ferry even for short distances. The situation stabilized when active construction of underground facilities began in Norway.

Lerdal Tunnel (Lerdal) is the longest road tunnel in the world. Its construction began in 1995, and in 2000 the facility was already put into operation. The length of Lerdal is 24.5 km, however, it will take 20 minutes to overcome it, since it is forbidden to develop a high speed in the tunnel. Considering the monotony of the road, special measures for the safety of passengers were applied during the design.

To ensure the driver's attentiveness, "curved" sections were built on a straight road, and after overcoming a distance of 6 km, you can relax in artificially created caves (grottoes). In the same section of the tunnel, a car is supposed to turn around if necessary. Developers great attention devoted to the illumination of the object. There is white illumination throughout, and the caves are highlighted with blue-yellow light, reminiscent of a sunrise. Also, noise strips are installed on the track to attract the attention of the driver.

In Lerdal, there were no options for equipping emergency exits, so telephones were installed at a distance of 250 meters to call emergency assistance. Fire extinguishers are placed along the entire length of the route, and if an emergency occurs, drivers are warned about this by activated signs “Turn around to the exit”. Special computer system keeps a count of cars at the entrance and exit, so in the event of an emergency it is reliably known whether cars remained inside the tunnel.

Thanks to Lerdal, the journey time was halved, previously it took 50 minutes to overcome this distance through the mountains. However, many prefer the "traditional" mode of travel, finding the Lerdal Tunnel too monotonous to travel.

The longest tunnels in Russia

The North Muya tunnel is considered the longest railway tunnel in Russia. Its length equates to 15.3 km, and the construction took 26 years, including serious unplanned interruptions in work.

The North Muya Tunnel is part of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), its construction began in 1977, and official opening took place in 2003. Theoretically, the service life is calculated for 100 years.

The tunnel is located in a seismic zone equivalent to 9 points. Sometimes there were two in a day. strong earthquakes followed by the cessation of construction of the facility for a long period of time. Difficulties arose both because of the harsh local climate and because of mountainous terrain. The combination of these factors significantly hampered the construction, affecting the timing and financial part. In total, 9 billion rubles were spent on the construction of the tunnel.

Today, an average of 15 trains pass through the Severo-Muisky tunnel, with a travel time of 15 minutes (previously this distance was covered in 1.5 hours). The developed speed of trains varies from 48 to 56 km/h.

However, difficult natural conditions in the area of ​​the tunnel are under the supervision of geologists around the clock to prevent serious accidents.

If we talk about road tunnels in Russia, then the leading position in terms of length is occupied by the Gimrinsky tunnel, built in Dagestan. Its length is 4303 meters, and the hourly workload is 4000 cars moving along 4 different lanes.

The construction of the tunnel began in 1979, and in 1991 it gradually began to be put into operation, while continuing to carry out construction work. In 2007, the tunnel was closed due to terrorist attacks, however, since 2012 it has been considered officially open again.

The Gimrinsky tunnel is one of the most modern, because during the reconstruction, expensive equipment from Italy was used, made specifically for this project. A seismic laboratory has been placed next to the tunnel to prevent emergencies. Each section of the tunnel has lighting, it is also equipped with automatic fire alarms, emergency telephones, and more. The construction estimate amounted to 10 billion rubles.

In the capital of Russia, the Lefortovo tunnel occupies the first place in terms of length, 3.2 km long and 7 lanes for traffic. It is located in the southeastern part of Moscow, known as the "tunnel of death".

This nickname has a simple explanation. The hourly workload of the tunnel is 3,500 vehicles, but during peak hours the number doubles. This factor leads to a large number accidents with lethal outcome, so the tunnel is considered the most dangerous in Russia.

The longest tunnels in Europe and new construction projects

In addition to the Gotthard Tunnel, described above, the Eurotunnel, the second longest in Europe, is of particular interest. The length of the Eurotunnel is 51 km, 39 km of which lie under the English Channel. Thanks to this tunnel, Europe is connected to the UK, and in America it is recognized as "one of the wonders of the world." The average fare is 17 euros per person.

The Lechberg in Switzerland (34 km), the Guadarrama tunnel (28.4 km) and others are also very long. However, every year new large-scale tunnel projects appear, striving to set world records in their length.

The most interesting project the future is recognized as the Transatlantic Tunnel. Its purpose is to build a path from North America to Europe, passing under Atlantic Ocean. According to the plan, the Transatlantic Tunnel will be 88 times the length of the Gotthard Tunnel. True, by 2017 only the construction project was developed in detail, the start of work was postponed indefinitely.

the main problem construction is to finance. Average cost estimates range from $175 billion to $12 trillion. Therefore, it is not known when the planned project will be put into practice.

Relief earth's surface not perfectly flat, but almost always difficult, so it is almost impossible to do without tunnels when laying roads. 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)

AT 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 longest road tunnel in the world, surpassing the famous Gotthard road tunnel by as much as 8 km. Mountains above the tunnel average height about 1600 meters.
The Lerdal tunnel has a unique feature - it has three large artificial grottoes 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 tunnel conditions, and besides, they can stop and rest here.

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 Lötschberg 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 simultaneously move in different directions.

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-Juan, 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 quite rapidly. 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 here we use high speed trains AVE systems. 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.

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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 already in June next 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 significantly reduced the number traffic jams in this area, because before trucks and vans had to go around 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 lose for nothing, but use it to heat the greenhouse, where tropical fruits grow thanks to this.

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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 of the world.

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 summed up own length with a length of pedestrian and service passages, it 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 railway communication, and the northwest 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.

Lefortovo tunnel is the longest tunnel in Moscow in addition, it deservedly takes the 5th position among other long tunnels throughout Europe. It is located under the famous river Yauza and has a length of 3.2 kilometers. If you move in one direction, then this is a combination of a tunnel and an overpass, in another? just a tunnel that starts from a depth of 30 meters. It was opened relatively recently, in 2003.

For complete safety, as required by all the norms of the Russian Federation, the tunnel is equipped with the necessary video cameras, emergency exits, loudspeakers, telephone and other. It would seem that this is an ideal place to travel, however Lefortovo tunnel found a mysterious and rather sad glory.

The fact is that from its very opening, accidents occur daily, which do not always end without casualties. In this regard, the inhabitants of the capital began to call it the "tunnel of death."

There are several opinions that deserve to be voiced:

Some Muscovites believe that insufficiently bright lighting is to blame. Drivers do not see the road well and this causes accidents.

Psychologists refer to the closed space underground and its impact on the psyche ordinary person who should focus on driving. It puts pressure on the drivers and they unconsciously start to go faster in order to leave the tunnel.

Adherents of Gormost blame the drivers themselves and their recklessness at the wheel of a car, which ends badly for everyone.

It is worth noting that Moscow has such well-known tunnels as the North-West and others, but the accident statistics there are many times lower. The Internet in abundance offers any interested person to get acquainted with amateur videos, where it is noticeable how the cars themselves begin to wind along a flat, almost ideal road. After that, it touches another car or the concrete wall of the tunnel itself.

Eyewitnesses and accident participants themselves talk about supernatural things that happened to them in those moments. Some talk about an incomprehensible "grave" feeling of cold, an incomprehensible feeling of losing control over the car. It's like someone won't let me drive the car. Sometimes a ghostly car appeared that cut off the unfortunate driver on the road, and then also suddenly dissolved without any trace. In addition to cars, people notice an unusual fog, some strange figures, without the opportunity to recognize and talk.

The expected question is: so what is going on in long tunnel Moscow? People immediately recall the history of the Lefortovo district. Then stories about the prison, Franz Lefort and the cadets of the Red Barracks Corps emerge. Mankind is arranged in such a way that it always wants to find strange things or some rational explanation for the events, so that it would not be so scary.

Parapsychologists could not stay away from such paranormal stories and put forward their own hypothesis. It lies in the presence anomalous zone, where the well-known tunnel is located. The geopathic field has a very negative effect on all living organisms, and man is just the most complex and thorough representative of it. Whatever it was, and what they didn’t say, most drivers are inviting to remain calm, adhere to the rules and not think nonsense, which will interfere on the road.

The popularity of the tunnel does not go away, on the contrary - many people want to see it closer, tickle their nerves and capture in the photo those inexplicable oddities that occur on the road. Some people, if possible, avoid this place with all their might, but the tunnel works, and further it acquires new legends and fictions that excite other people's minds.