Australian Science Illustrated – Issue 51 2017

AS VERLAG

52 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED

THE WORLD'S

LONGEST

TUNNEL

In the 1960s, European

rail traffic increased

tremendously. The old

St. Gotthard tunnel had

to be replaced, but

decades of preliminary

studies were required,

before the construction

of the new, 57-km-long

Gotthard Base Tunnel

began in 1999. The

railway tunnel

consists of two tubes

cutting through the

Alps 600 m below the

old one. In December

2016, the tunnel was

opened to traffic.

The first test train passed through the new

tunnel in the summer of 2016.

SCANPIX

The Alps are a geographic

obstacle dividing Europe. The

trip from Switzerland to Italy

goes via the 2,100+ -m-high St.

Gottard Pass, and even in the

summer, the clattering mail

coach ride is not a very pleasant

one. During the winter, snow

makes the route dangerous and

almost impassable. At worst,

the narrow corridor is

completely closed.

MOUNTAIN RANGE DIVIDES EUROPE

1850

In the winter, the trip across the snowclad St. Gotthard Pass is an unpleasant and

dangerous affair.

THE ST. GOTTHARD TUNNEL

POLFOTO/ULLSTEIN BILD

When the tunnel had finally been

completed, an endless row of steam

engines roared through it.

FROM THE

SCIENTIFIC

ARCHIVES

PRESENT STATUS

TECHNOLOGY TUNNELS