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World's longest railway tunnel to open after 17 years of construction: Trains in Switzerland [tr]
UK Daily Mail ^ | May 24, 2016 | John Hutchinson

Posted on 05/24/2016 10:09:11 AM PDT by C19fan

The world's longest railway tunnel is set to open in just over a week - after some 17 years of construction. Measuring 35.4-miles in length, the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) is 7,545 feet below the Gotthard massif, cutting through the Swiss Alps. The tunnel was first conceived in sketch-form in 1947 but construction began 17 years ago. It consists of two single-track tunnels connecting Erstfeld (Uri) with Bodio (Ticino) and passing below Sedrun (Graubünden).

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Travel
KEYWORDS: alps; bodio; erstfeld; europeanunion; gbt; gotthardbasetunnel; gotthardmassif; graubunden; infrastructure; nato; sedrun; switzerland; ticino; train; tunnels; uri; williegreen
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Saw programs about this tunnel on NatGeo and/or similiar channels. Very impressive and given this is a Swiss project built right. $350 MM per mile of tunnel seems like a pretty good price. I think the 2nd Avenue subway being constructed in NYC is over $2 billion per mile.
1 posted on 05/24/2016 10:09:11 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

when I was a little kid the 6 miles of new tunnel under Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps in New Zealand was a wonder to behold...

It was fascinating taking the train to Christchurch while Dad commented on the construction etc..

What would Dad say to this ???

:)


2 posted on 05/24/2016 10:14:07 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: C19fan

It will handle freight and passenger trains. I assume no hazmat.


3 posted on 05/24/2016 10:22:07 AM PDT by umgud
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To: C19fan

There’s a tunnel for a cog train up to the Zugspitze my team rode on in the early 70s....long and pretty neat. It went to the Schneefernerhaus Haus Hotel/Ski resort. From there we went higher via a cable car to the US Military comm installation.


4 posted on 05/24/2016 10:24:28 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: C19fan

GottHard? Hehe.


5 posted on 05/24/2016 10:25:31 AM PDT by jaydubya2
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To: C19fan

California high speed rail is being built on level, open land at a cost of $550m per mile.

About $300m per mile is going to graft.


6 posted on 05/24/2016 10:29:46 AM PDT by MeganC (The Republic of The United States of America: 7/4/1776 to 6/26/2015 R.I.P.)
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To: C19fan

Probably not good for those of us with varying degrees of claustrophobia.


7 posted on 05/24/2016 10:30:46 AM PDT by bubbacluck (America 180)
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To: C19fan

Choo-choos through Khazad’Dum!

They should name one engine Gandalf and the other Aragorn!

They will guide you through the depths of Moria!


8 posted on 05/24/2016 10:41:17 AM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: MeganC
California high speed rail is being built on level, open land at a cost of $550m per mile.

Which is why it is called either the

Crony Express or the Browndoggle.

9 posted on 05/24/2016 10:42:18 AM PDT by cicero2k
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To: bubbacluck

My claustro isn’t as bad as it used to be (I think), I drive through highway tunnels all the time but for seventeen miles?

Omar & Achmed must be getting ideas.


10 posted on 05/24/2016 10:47:51 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam. Buy ammo.")
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To: elcid1970

This one is 35 miles.

No thanks.

.


11 posted on 05/24/2016 10:49:35 AM PDT by Mears
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To: C19fan

Seems like an obvious target for Muslim terrorists. Hopefully they’ve got precautions in place.


12 posted on 05/24/2016 10:53:01 AM PDT by Theo (No tagline for now.)
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To: jaydubya2

Evidently quite a massif one at that!


13 posted on 05/24/2016 11:21:11 AM PDT by Hatteras
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To: elcid1970

I went through the Chunnel back in 1995. It is 20 plus miles and to me it felt like a subway ride and due to the high speed of the trains you go through it fairly fast.


14 posted on 05/24/2016 11:29:37 AM PDT by xp38
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To: Tennessee Nana

I drove through the Arthur’s Pass tunnel in 2013, and again in 2014. Very cool. And drippy. haha


15 posted on 05/24/2016 11:44:24 AM PDT by Zeppelin (Keep on FReepin' on...)
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To: Tennessee Nana
What would Dad say to this ???

Sounds like he'd have a hard time talking through his big grin.

16 posted on 05/24/2016 11:46:53 AM PDT by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: C19fan

Seventeen years? Then entire First Transcontinental Railroad didn’t take 6 years and was done by hand and sticks of dynamite.


17 posted on 05/24/2016 11:51:22 AM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: MeganC

Pelosi’s husband...


18 posted on 05/24/2016 11:51:33 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: C19fan

Nothing more than a terrorist target. Enjoy your nerve gas attack...but don’t worry, there’s not many Muslims in Europe....


19 posted on 05/24/2016 12:14:55 PM PDT by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: WKUHilltopper

And, as proof they are not racist, Muslims will be put in charge of security.


20 posted on 05/24/2016 12:22:11 PM PDT by odawg
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