What is the largest railway tunnel in the world?
Gotthard Base Tunnel
Gotthard Base Tunnel, Switzerland The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world’s longest and deepest tunnel. It runs under the Swiss alps between the towns of Erstfeld in the north and Bodio in the south. The tunnel is 57 km long and reaches a depth of 2,300 meters.
How long does it take to go through the Gotthard tunnel?
As a general rule, passenger trains travel through the Gotthard Base Tunnel at a speed of 200 km/h. This means that the journey through the tunnel takes about 20 minutes.
What happened in the Gotthard tunnel?
One of Europe’s main transport routes, the Gotthard road tunnel in Switzerland, was shut for several hours after a deadly crash. Police said two people were killed and four injured in the head-on crash between a car and a lorry on Wednesday morning local time.
Who built the Gotthard tunnel?
AlpTransit Gotthard AG
AlpTransit Gotthard AG was responsible for construction. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). To cut construction time in half, four access tunnels were built so that construction could start at four different sites simultaneously: Erstfeld, Amsteg, Sedrun, and Faido.
Who paid for the Gotthard tunnel?
Swiss taxpayers
Split-screen TV images Wednesday showed two trains in opposite directions entering and leaving the tunnel entrances nearly simultaneously. The project, funded in part by Swiss taxpayers and fees on trucks, received financial support and industrial know-how from around the European Union.
How many people died building the Gotthard Base Tunnel?
Nine workers died in accidents while the tunnel was under construction. Four were Germans, three Italians, and one each came from South Africa and Austria, according to German news agency dpa. They are commemorated by a plaque near the northern end of the tunnel, Swiss media report.
Can you drive through the Gotthard tunnel?
The Gotthard Tunnel is the core and culminating point of the A2 motorway in Switzerland, running south from Basel through the tunnel down to Chiasso on the border with Italy. Traffic flows through only one tunnel, which carries traffic both ways, with each direction allocated one lane.
Where is the Gotthard Pass?
southern Switzerland
Gotthard Pass, Italian Passo del San Gottardo, German Sankt Gotthardpass, mountain pass in the Lepontine Alps of southern Switzerland, an important motor and railway route between central Europe and Italy. The pass lies at an elevation of 6,916 feet (2,108 metres) and is 16 miles (26 km) long.