Swiss Mark Opening of World’s Longest and Deepest Rail Tunnel
Switzerland will celebrate an engineering marvel 20 years in the works on Wednesday: the debut of the world’s longest and deepest railroad tunnel.
The new tunnel through the Alps is 35.5 miles long, exceeding by 2 miles the current record-holder, Japan’s Seikan Tunnel. Some sections lie a record 1.4 miles beneath the mountain’s peak.
The tunnel will carry 325 passenger and freight trains a day, with each trip taking 20 minutes at speeds up to 150 mph. The goal is to reduce heavy auto traffic that creates pollution.
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