The construction of a tunnel that would connect mainland Europe and island Great Britain was dreamed of at the beginning of the 19th century. But it was only in 1994 that the grandiose plan to build the world's longest underwater railway tunnel was realized. But, strange as it may seem, the joy of building its creators quickly gave way to financial disappointment: the tunnel brought only losses.
The project for the construction of a railway tunnel under the English Channel, or Eurotunnel, as it is also called, started in 1973. But due to lack of funding, direct construction began only in 1987. The idea was unique in terms of the complexity of the design itself and the technical implementation of subsea drilling.
To implement the railway communication, it was decided to build two tunnels, through which trains will run, and one tunnel for maintenance and access in case of emergency situations. In this case, the drilling of the tunnels had to take place at a depth of more than 50 meters under the bottom of the English Channel. This was due to the fact that it is at this depth that the Cretaceous deposits, represented mainly by sandstone, lie. It was easier and faster to drill through them, so the tunnel itself is not strictly horizontal, but repeats the bend of the sedimentary layer.
The passes were drilled simultaneously from two shores: the British and the French. The diameter of the central tunnel, which is intended for the maintenance of the line, is 4.8 m, and the diameters of the main lines, where the railway lines pass, are equal to 7.6 m. All walls of the tunnels are reinforced with 45 cm thick concrete. The service tunnel is connected to the main tracks by regular crossings through every 370 meters.
The route of the tunnel was laid using high-precision satellite equipment, and the direction of drilling was set using a laser beam. However, when the French and British builders met, it turned out that the error was about 30 centimeters in the horizontal direction, and the vertical deviations were negligible.
In May 1994, the Eurotunnel was inaugurated, and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and French President François Mitterrand personally attended the festive event. The tunnel under the English Channel, which connects French Calais with British Folkestone, is used by passenger and freight trains, as well as shuttle trains carrying trucks and cars. The length of the tunnel is 50.5 kilometers, and 39 kilometers of track are located directly under the water. Trains cover the English Channel in 20-35 minutes (depending on the brand of the train) from average speed 160 km / h
But, despite the importance of the Eurotunnel and its obvious need, the grandiose Franco-British project turned out to be unprofitable. This was influenced by the policy of lowering prices by alternative carriers, which was carried out immediately after the opening of the tunnel, and emergencies that occurred more than once underground. And although the company that operates the tunnel periodically declares annual profits, it does not bring a stable income to its owners.
Image copyright AFP Image caption This photo was taken on October 15, 2010. Workers stand at a huge tunnel shield, with the help of which the tunnel was built
The longest and deepest Gotthard in the world railway tunnel opened today in Switzerland. It took almost 20 years and more than $ 12 billion to build it.
Its permanent operation will begin in December.
Swiss authorities say the tunnel will revolutionize the transport of goods in Europe. Goods, which are now carried by millions of trucks every year, will be transported by rail.
This technological miracle will provide faster and easier connections between southern and northern Europe. The tunnel will speed up the movement of goods and people and reduce pollution environment exhaust gases from cars.
The Swiss authorities predict that 260 freight trains will be able to pass through the tunnel per day. 20 million passengers a year will be able to use the new highway. Travel time from Zurich to Milan will be reduced to 2 hours 50 minutes.
Conquering the Alps as part of self-identification
Until now, the longest railway tunnel in the world was considered to be the Japanese Seikan with a length of 53.9 km with an underwater fragment of 23.3 km.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Gotthard Tunnel runs under the Alps - the maximum height of the mountains above the tunnel is 2300 metersThe Gotthard Tunnel is also ahead of the length of the Channel Tunnel, which is 50.5 km long.
It is not only the longest tunnel in the world, it is also the deepest railway tunnel in existence: the maximum height of the mountains above the tunnel is 2300 meters. Without a powerful ventilation system, the temperature in it would reach +40 degrees.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande will be present at the opening ceremony of the tunnel in Switzerland along with Swiss officials.
"This is part of the Swiss identity," Reuters quoted Peter Fueglistaler, head of the Swiss Federal Transport Department, as quoted by Reuters.
“For us, conquering the Alps is like exploring the oceans for the Dutch,” he said.
Tunnel cost: $ 12 billion and 9 lives
The project, which cost more than $ 12 billion to build, was approved by the Swiss in a 1992 referendum.
Image copyright EPA Image caption 20 million passengers a year will be able to use the new highwayDuring the construction of the tunnel, engineers excavated 73 different types of rocks: some were as hard as granite, others as soft as sugar. Nine workers died during construction.
Completed on time and on budget, the Gotthard Tunnel will become the main railway linking Rotterdam in the Netherlands with italian Genoa... The tunnel, consisting of two parallel tunnels, runs from the municipality of Bodio in southern Switzerland to the municipality of Erstfeld in the center of the country.
From December, when permanent operation of the tunnel begins, the journey from Zurich to Milan will take two hours and forty minutes - an hour less than usual.
The money to finance the project was taken from budgetary revenues from fuel and value added taxes, and another part of the funds was a government loan, which must be paid over 10 years.
Representatives of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse said that among the economic benefits of the Gotthard Tunnel are simplified transportation of goods and an influx of tourists.
The tunnels represent a real miracle of architecture, which dates back to quite ancient times. As a rule, people used to use underground tunnels for shelter from enemies and secret passages from one place to another. Today, tunnels are being built for completely different purposes - they allow you to shorten the route of a train or car, and also connect different countries. Moreover, there are such underground structures that are of considerable size. So what are the longest tunnels in the world, and where are they located?
Seikan Railway Tunnel
This tunnel, located in Japan and connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, is now the longest in the world - it is 53,900 meters long. It is even difficult to imagine how long it will take to make a walking trip from the beginning to the end of the Seikan Tunnel. Moreover, it is considered the longest not only among the railway, but also among the underwater tunnels. The world's longest tunnel began its work in 1988. Approximately $ 3.6 billion was spent on its construction.
Nowadays, this tunnel is not used as often as it was before. The reason for this is the great popularity of airlines, which also allow people to save time and money. But we can confidently say that the construction of this structure has led to the fact that Japan is still a strong and united country. It is worth noting that the Seikan is the longest in the world until the Gotthard Tunnel, which is being built in Switzerland, is launched.
Railway Gotthard Tunnel
The structure will be the longest tunnel in the world, with a length of 57,000 meters. The construction of this structure has been underway for 14 years and it is planned that trains will begin moving along it from 2017. It was laid under the Saint-Gotthard mountain pass, from where the name of the tunnel actually came. Its main purpose is to communicate across the Alps by rail.
The Gotthard Tunnel is designed in such a way that trains move along it in the opposite direction. It is assumed that the movement of high-speed trains through this tunnel will pass at a speed of 250 km / h, and freight trains will move at a speed of at least 160 km / h. In the meantime, this tunnel is just getting ready to become the longest in the world, let's consider more tunnels that are impressive in their length.
The length of this tunnel, located under the English Channel and connecting the UK (Folkestone) and France (Calais), is 50,500 meters. Its construction was started back in 1802, but was stopped due to the political situation and hesitation on the British side. But in 1988 the construction of the structure was resumed, and in 1994 the railway tunnel began to operate. The largest train in the world that carries cars and is called "Eurotunnel Shuttle" moves through the tunnel.
Although less than the longest Seikan tunnel in the world in total length, the Eurotunnel has a much larger underwater section - approximately 39,000 meters, which is 14,700 meters longer than the Seikan underwater section. The Eurotunnel, although it has a special role in creating a connection between Britain and the mainland, is considered unprofitable from an economic point of view.
Mountain Tunnel Lötschberg
It is the longest overland tunnel, which is quite young compared to other similar structures, since it was built in 2006 and began to be used in 2007. It took only two years to build it, thanks to innovative technologiesthat were used in this case.
This Swiss tunnel is 34,700 meters long. Both passenger and freight trains move along it. This tunnel allows tourists to take the shortest route to the Welsh thermal spas - this way more than 20,000 Swiss residents visit these spas every week.
Automobile Lerdal Tunnel
This tunnel, located in Norway, is the longest road tunnel. Its length is 24,500 meters. This tunnel was developed according to modern standards. It consists of four parts, each of which is illuminated in a special way - the effect of natural lighting is provided (if it is dawn outside, then in the tunnel there will also be imitation of morning lighting, and if it is sunset, then the lighting here is similar to twilight light). On the positive side, there is no need to pay for the passage through the tunnel - it is absolutely free.
As you know, the shortest path from point A to point B is a straight line. But what if it is impossible to build a road in a straight line because of a mountain, river or sea blocking the way? This problem is often solved by building a tunnel underground. Modern tunnels are a real challenge to nature, their complex construction is a masterpiece of engineering. In addition, some tunnels are also distinguished by an unusual appearancedue to the characteristics 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 friendly materials for construction. Building houses is not that difficult. like the construction of tunnels, but it also requires careful selection good materials... One of these is a 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 60 meters below sea level, have flexible joints to absorb earthquake energy. The name "Marmaray" comes from the Turkish words "Marmara", meaning Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara and "ray" meaning rail.
The Eisenhower Automobile 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. At the moment, it is the longest railway tunnel in the world - its 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 railroad ground tunnel is an amazing botanical phenomenon. The arched green tunnel was created not by human hands, but by a natural interweaving of trees and bushes. The Tunnel of Love is a popular pilgrimage site 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.
A railway tunnel under the English Channel connecting France and the UK. The tunnel is about 51 km long, but the Eurotunnel TGV train takes you from Paris to London in just 2 hours 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 of moving as an exciting attraction for entertainment. Its optical technology, combined with musical accompaniment, make a trip through the Bund tunnel an unforgettable experience.
A tunnel in the rock, dug 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 City of David archaeological park.
This tunnel, carved into the slopes of the Bernese Alps, goes straight to the Aletsch Glacier, located next to the beautiful peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. Leaving the Jungfraujoch Tunnel, you can immediately admire the dizzying panorama of the landscape of Switzerland, France and Germany.
Guoliang Road Tunnel is a real landmark in China. The tunnel, about 1200 meters long and only 4 meters wide, was built on the 12th local residents... An interesting feature of the tunnel is that it is partially open - this was done for the purpose of lighting.
The longest car tunnel in the world, the Lerdal Tunnel runs through the mountains and is part of the motorway between Oslo and Bergen. The total length of the tunnel is 24.5 km.
On March 13, 1988, the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest underwater railway tunnel, was opened in Japan. Today we decided to talk about it and other most remarkable underwater tunnels that tourists can visit.
The longest
While Chinese scientists are poring over the project of the next record holder - a 123 km long underwater tunnel - the Japanese Seikan remains the longest operating railway corridor on the planet. To implement the idea, connect the two most large islands The Land of the Rising Sun took 42 years and more than $ 3.6 billion. The initial timing and cost of erecting the Seikan was increased by weak soils, too strong water pressure, or endless financial difficulties. And on March 13, 1988, the Japanese press finally exploded with enthusiastic essays: the train, hidden in the depths of the tunnel on Honshu, rushed under the waters of the Sangar Strait and emerged like a float on Hokkaido. "The majestic spectacle" (as translated from Japanese "Seikan") reaches a length of 53.85 km, slightly less than half of which are hidden in the depths of the underwater. The tunnel is equipped with protection from natural disasters and the forces of the water element: inside there are supersensitive sensors that react to the slightest earth vibrations, powerful pumps that pump up to 16 tons of water per minute, and impressive shelters that have sufficient reserves in case of a disaster. Seikan is no longer as famous as it was 20 years ago, but it is still a landmark in Japan.
The oldest
An interesting fact: the very first “underwater bridge” on the planet was supposed to connect the two banks of the Neva in St. Petersburg. But fate decreed otherwise. The royal customer Alexander I died before the talented architect Mark Brunel finished the project, and his successor Nicholas I was not interested in the technical novelty. The developer decided not to waste the good, and turned to another "advanced" monarch - Queen Victoria of England. Here he was more fortunate: the method he invented, which is still used in the construction of tunnels, was implemented to connect the two banks of the Thames. 50 thousand Londoners gathered to watch the opening of an underwater communication 459 meters long. By the standards of 1843, this was almost half of the capital's population! Although the tunnel never became a cargo tunnel due to a lack of funding, it was very popular: walking under the river seemed as incredible as being on the moon. The corridor turned into a city of entertainment: a shopping gallery and an underwater brothel appeared here, and the world's first underwater fair was held. After some time, the passage under the Thames was abandoned: for 145 years, only road tunnels dropped in here. More recently, voices have resounded in the oldest underwater tunnel in the world: the London authorities are walking through historic dungeons.
Photo: usolt.livejournal.com
The most deep
The construction of a tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait, which managed to connect Europe with Asia, was an old Turkish dream that seemed like a fantasy. It took more than 150 years to realize the idea that the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid had in mind back in 1860. The opening of the Marmaray tunnel, which took place on October 29, 2013 and timed to coincide with the National Day of Turkey, was not without incidents: electricity was cut off in Marmaray and passengers were forced to get out of the train stuck in the tunnel. The length of the communication, which unites three underground and 37 ground stations, 8 suburban and 4 interchange stations, reaches 13.6 kilometers, and 1400 meters passes directly under the Bosphorus. The double pipe, which runs 60 meters below the bottom of the strait, has a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per day, and its security system can withstand earthquakes of 9 on the Richter scale. In addition to the undeniable economic benefits that solved the problem of congestion in the transport system of Istanbul, the construction of Marmaray brought another unexpected benefit. During the mega-construction, 40,000 important archaeological finds were discovered, including a flotilla of 30 Byzantine ships worthy of being a World Heritage Site.
Photo: andrewgrantham.co.uk
Most entertaining
Until 1997, the ridiculous by today's standards, the distance of 15 kilometers to the inhabitants of the Japanese cities of Kisarazu and Kawasaki did not seem just an annoying trifle. Due to the fact that the shortest distance between these points ran through Tokyo Bay, Kisarazu, lying very close to ultra-modern Tokyo, resembled a rural outback. After all, to get by car from the capital, you had to overcome a path of hundreds of kilometers. The Japanese engineers were faced with an architectural challenge: erecting a bridge between different sides of Tokyo Bay would have made it difficult for ships to navigate, and tunneling was too difficult due to the instability of the seabed. Technical solution was ingenious: Aqualine became a very successful and safe combination of a 9.6 km long underwater tunnel and a 4.4 km bridge. But not sensitive smoke detectors installed every 25 meters, and not the latest anti-seismic technology, put the Tokyo tunnel in this rating. On one of the two artificial islands, through which Aqualine passes, there is a whole entertainment complex, similar to a passenger liner. In addition to parking for 480 cars, there are restaurants, souvenir shops, recreation areas and observation decks.
The most famous
Everyone knows about the modern wonder of the world that connected Foggy Albion with the Fifth Republic: the Eurotunnel, opened under the English Channel in 1994, has become a symbol of the unification of Europe. The idea to lay a direct route from England to the mainland came to minds of outstanding figures of all times: from scientists of the 13th century to the ambitious Napoleon, who dreamed of letting cavalry under the strait, carrying out ventilation through pipes coming out to the surface. And only at the end of the 20th century "Europe finally joined Britain": three tunnels (two for train traffic and one reserve) are connected into a single system by air vents and spare tunnels. In order to reduce the piston effect arising from the movement of high-speed trains capable of speeds up to 350 km / h, a ventilation system was laid over the tunnels, and refrigeration stations and cooling rails were installed at both ends. Interesting fact: The British approached the construction of the 51-kilometer Eurotunnel with particular enthusiasm. They dug faster than the French and dug 15 km more. Yes, and with the land formed during the construction, they treated more romanticly, forming a man-made Shakespeare's cape. The disadvantages of the Eurotunnel (for example, high tolls) are offset by an undeniable advantage: it is the fastest and interesting way get from continental Europe to Britain.
