Switzerland is opening up the world’s biggest railway tunnel, 17 years and $12 billion after it committed to break the record.
It is holding a celebration for the completion of the 35-mile Gotthard Base Tunnel, which runs through the Alps. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy will all be gathering to celebrate the tunnel’s record-breaking completion in an event that is being used to celebrate the achievements of Europe amid fears of nationalism and increasing distrust of other countries.
The full festivities will see 1,200 guests travel to open up the tunnel – and will cost about €8m in all. But they won’t get to see it actually go into service until December, with test runs being conducted until then.
The new tunnel will help people travel through the area more quickly – cutting 45 minutes off the journey across Switzerland – as well as easing the heavy traffic that can gather there. It will also look to reduce the work done by the polluting lorries that drive between the north and south of Europe.
When it opens in December, 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains will travel through the two-way, long tunnel each day.
The new hole takes the record from Japan’s Seikan Tunnel – as well travelling further, it’s 1.4 miles deeper than any other rail tunnel, too. It will replace the Gotthardbahn rail tunnel, which goes up and down with the land that it’s buried into – unlike the new tunnel, which is the first in the Alps to go on a flat journey.
