Switzerland has just completed work on the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is 35 miles long and now the world's longest tunnel.The train tunnel was designed to make it easier and faster for both passengers and freight to traverse part of Europe's most populated stretch, which starts in Northern England and curves down into Northern Italy. Now train travelers can get from Zurich to Milan in only 2.5 hours, going straight under the Alps instead of over them.
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The tunnel began construction in 1996, and has cost Switzerland $10.3 billion dollars. More than 28 million tons of earth was excavated from the site.The previous record holder for longest tunnel was the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, which connects the island of Honshu to the island of Hokkaido. That tunnel is only a measly 14.5 miles long.This promotional video was posted to YouTube last year by Siemens and gives a good idea of what the excavation process was like, as well as touting the safety measures built into the tunnel in case of emergency.In addition to relieving traffic conditions and shortening travel times, the tunnel will hopefully reduce the amount of harmful emissions that could threaten the Alpine ecosystem.