webfact Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Swiss inaugurate $12 billion rail tunnel, world's longestGENEVA (AP) — It's taken 17 years and cost 12.2 billion Swiss francs (about $12 billion) but Switzerland is finally ready to inaugurate the world's largest railway tunnel.The ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the 57-kilometer (35.4 mile) tunnel through the Alps will be greeted with great fanfare with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy on hand.The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic and draw cargo from pollution-spewing lorries trucking between Europe's north and south. Once it opens for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel will take up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day.The Gotthard Base Tunnel eclipses Japan's 53.8-kilometer Seikan Tunnel as the world's longest and burrows deeper — 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) — than any other rail tunnel. -- (c) Associated Press 2016-06-01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKr Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 That is a long walk in case of a Train breakdown.Having said that, it probably will work like a swiss watch.Amazing engineering.How to get fresh air in there ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatewash Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 How to get fresh air in there ? Ventilation tunnels and 3.5m diameter jet fans: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocacoc Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Great work. Congratulation. Very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocacoc Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 (edited) How to get fresh air in there ? Ventilation tunnels and 3.5m diameter jet fans: Is this the same voice like here? Serious? lol Edited June 1, 2016 by alocacoc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitrevie Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 It must be wonderful to have a government prepared to finance projects on this scale in order to improve their infrastructure and environmental impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grouse Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Yes, long term capital investment. Why can't UK do that anymore? Private Finance Initiatives? Bullshit! Crap road infrastructure. Cheap nasty airports. Embarrassing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocacoc Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 (edited) Edited June 1, 2016 by alocacoc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsetBkk Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Yes, long term capital investment. Why can't UK do that anymore? Private Finance Initiatives? Bullshit! Crap road infrastructure. Cheap nasty airports. Embarrassing It helps if you stay away from expensive wars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerangutang Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 The Swiss spend $12 billion building a tunnel which connects. Trump wants to spend twice that much building a wall which restricts (spoiler alert; it won't work). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerome2 Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 It is meant for rail transport of iternational trucks transit through Swizerland and cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfact Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 World’s longest and deepest train tunnel opens in SwitzerlandGENEVA: -- The world’s longest and deepest train tunnel has opened.Switzerland’s Gothard tunnel is part of a high-speed rail network that will eventually stretch from the Italian city of Genoa in the south of Europe up through Germany as far as the Dutch city of Rotterdam.But the section penciled in for Germany’s Rhine valley has not even passed the planning stage. It is about 20 years behind schedule.A point that was perhaps lost on the German chancellor, Angela Merkel who said: “This [tunnel] is of course a wonderful example for how you can travel even more easily from Italy via Switzerland along the Rhine northwards all the way to the Netherlands. This will bring together many people, this will bring together cultures, this will strengthen our connections and I think that is wonderful.”A spectacular show by acrobats celebrated the new Swiss tunnel which opened ahead of schedule. -- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-06-02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) post removed. Edited June 2, 2016 by canuckamuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansnl Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Yes, long term capital investment. Why can't UK do that anymore? Private Finance Initiatives? Bullshit! Crap road infrastructure. Cheap nasty airports. EmbarrassingIt helps if you stay away from expensive wars. It certainly helps if you stay away as far as possible, in projects like these and many others, from privatisation, the "market", or whatever lovely name you can bestow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4evermaat Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) Has it been tested against earthquakes or flooding? Interested to see footage on how to test that. Edited June 2, 2016 by 4evermaat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiandrew Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 The idea was to remove all the heavy trucks from having to travel through the Swiss city's. Bless all those that worked on this marvellous modern, forward thinking engineering feat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie61 Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) Great work. Congratulation. Very impressive. What I like best is that the decision was made by a popular referendum: democracy at its best! Edited June 2, 2016 by eddie61 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitrevie Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Great work. Congratulation. Very impressive. What I like best is that the decision was made by a popular referendum: democracy at its best! I agree, but some times it isn't always the case. If you recall the project that finally joined the North Sea to the Black Sea the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal faced tremendous opposition when it was announced. But thankfully Kohl and Strauss took all the political flak and went ahead with the project. It has brought tremendous benefits to many communities along that route, provided many jobs and improved the environment in many areas. In London Ken Livingstone a man I don't often agree with fought to have the Olympics in London and he was quite open about it. He had no interest in the Sport but knew that bringing it to London would regenerate that area and reclaim an industrial wasteland. Go to that area of London today and it has done just that. There are times when politicians take unpopular decisions that turn out to be right in the long term, long after they have left office and no longer get the credit their decision deserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now