{"id":172819,"date":"2025-09-27T18:20:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T18:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-worlds-longest-railway-tunnel\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T18:20:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T18:20:19","slug":"the-worlds-longest-railway-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-worlds-longest-railway-tunnel\/","title":{"rendered":"The world’s longest railway tunnel."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

China is the name that \u00a0comes to mind\u00a0 when talking about \u00a0megaconstructions\u00a0. The country has faced some of the most complex works of recent years and boasts \u00a0pharaonic projects\u00a0 such as the largest dam in the world and the most complicated tunnel. In this matter, \u00a0Europe\u00a0 is not far behind, with two notable projects aimed at becoming the longest tunnels in the world in different fields: the largest submerged tunnel, covering \u00a0120 kilometers\u00a0, and the world’s longest rail tunnel, the Brennero Base Tunnel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A \u00a02006 project\u00a0 finally yielding results.<\/p>\n

Brennero’s Base Tunnel<\/strong> is a monumental undertaking that has experienced numerous delays and changes in its estimated timeline and completion dates. Official construction began in 2007, yet the excavation did not commence until \u00a02015\u00a0. This tunnel is part of the \u00a0Scandinavia-Mediterranean European Corridor\u00a0 (or Scan-Med) and will connect the Munich-Verona axis. Its primary goal is to enhance communication among countries by overcoming a considerable natural barrier: the \u00a0Alps\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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This development is pivotal for improving the commercial and passenger railway networks in \u00a0Europe\u00a0, allowing trains to reduce reliance on airplanes as part of a larger decarbonization strategy. This will not only facilitate faster connections between \u00a0Germany\u00a0 and \u00a0Italy\u00a0 but also transfer much of the Alpine freight traffic from roads to rail. The resulting benefits include reduced traffic jams, lower CO\u2082 emissions, and a significant boost in logistics efficiency between \u00a0northern\u00a0 and \u00a0southern Europe\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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 <img alt=\"Italy's Colossal Build: The Messina Bridge\" width=\"375\" height=\"142\" src=\"https:\/\/i.blogs.es\/defd5c\/puente-de-messina\/375_142.jpeg\"\/><\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Colossal<\/strong> in scope, the Brennero Base Tunnel<\/a> will span a total length of \u00a064 kilometers\u00a0. Once operational, it will officially be the longest railway tunnel globally. The main section connecting \u00a0Fortezza\u00a0 in Italy and \u00a0Innsbruck\u00a0 in Austria will measure about \u00a055 kilometers\u00a0, comprising two parallel tunnels with a single route each.<\/p>\n
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These will be interconnected every \u00a0333 meters\u00a0 through service tunnels, allowing for safe evacuation in emergencies. A unique feature of this tunnel is that it will be designed as a \u00a0\u201cflat\u201d tunnel\u00a0, remaining at approximately \u00a0794 meters\u00a0 above sea level throughout the journey. This design minimizes energy consumption, as current trains navigating through the Alps often require several locomotives due to steep inclines.<\/p>\n
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Beyond transportation<\/strong>, the plan also allows for the passage of freight trains weighing up to \u00a03,000 tons\u00a0, alongside passenger trains capable of operating at high speeds, up to \u00a0250 km\/h\u00a0. Presently, the average speed is around \u00a050 km\/h\u00a0 due to geographical constraints. Furthermore, another tunnel with a \u00a0five-meter diameter\u00a0 will be situated \u00a0a dozen meters\u00a0 below the main tunnels, serving as an exploratory channel for geological research as well as enabling groundwater drainage.<\/p>\n
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Current State and Next Steps<\/strong>. Initially, the Brennero project was expected to be completed by \u00a02025\u00a0, but shifting circumstances have altered that timeline. The Alps pose significant challenges due to \u00a0subterranean failures\u00a0 and water bodies, impacting excavation techniques and approaches to tunneling under rivers and the Isarco. Administrative delays, especially between \u00a0Austria\u00a0 and \u00a0Italy\u00a0, have further complicated progress. The onset of the \u00a0COVID-19 pandemic\u00a0 also stalled work.<\/p>\n
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Consequently, the initial budget of \u00a0\u20ac6 billion\u00a0 has ballooned to about \u00a0\u20ac8.4 billion\u00a0. However, a green breakthrough occurred recently when advanced excavators like \u00a0Flavia\u00a0 significantly expedited tunneling. On \u00a0September 18\u00a0, Italian and Austrian excavation teams achieved a historical connection between the two countries.<\/p>\n
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While this milestone is commendable, substantial work remains in covering the tunnels, laying down rail infrastructure, and incorporating technical systems for ventilation and signaling.<\/p>\n
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 <img alt=\"Modern Tunnel Construction Equipment\" width=\"375\" height=\"142\" src=\"https:\/\/i.blogs.es\/763bc1\/xtk---plantilla-portada-dividida-3\/375_142.jpeg\"\/><\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Piercing the Alps<\/strong>, the target completion date is set for \u00a02032\u00a0, when the tunnel is expected to be operational for transporting goods and passengers. Notably, Brennero is not the only monumental project underway in the \u00a0Alpine region\u00a0; several others, including the \u00a0Mont Cenis\u00a0 tunnel, which will measure \u00a057.5 kilometers\u00a0 and connect \u00a0Lyon\u00a0 with \u00a0Turin\u00a0, and the \u00a0San Giardardo base tunnel\u00a0 at \u00a057.1 kilometers\u00a0, linking the Swiss towns of \u00a0Erstfeld\u00a0 and \u00a0Bodio\u00a0 are also in progress.<\/p>\n
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Moreover, there are additional tunnels, such as \u00a0Koralm\u00a0 (32 km), \u00a0Semmering\u00a0 (27 km), \u00a0Ceneri\u00a0 (14.5 km), and \u00a0L\u00f6tschberg\u00a0 (34.6 km). The common objective across these projects is to \u00a0facilitate transalpine transport\u00a0, effectively reducing CO\u2082 emissions while expediting the movement of both passengers and freight. As these ambitious undertakings progress, the focus remains on meeting construction timelines and delivering on their promises.<\/p>\n
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Images | BBT-SE<\/a><\/p>\n
In Xataka | Japan created an artificial peninsula to make an airport. You will soon have a submarine airport.<\/p>\n

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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China is the name that \u00a0comes to mind\u00a0 when talking about \u00a0megaconstructions\u00a0. The country has faced some of the most complex works of recent years and boasts \u00a0pharaonic projects\u00a0 such as the largest dam in the world and the most complicated tunnel. In this matter, \u00a0Europe\u00a0 is not far behind, with two notable projects aimed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":172820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[6749,1151,1072,166],"class_list":["post-172819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-longest","tag-railway","tag-tunnel","tag-worlds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}