[Article] Light visible at end of 34km cross-Europe train tunnel

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/10585864?view=Eircomnet&cat=Top%20Stories

Light visible at end of 34km cross-Europe train tunnel
From ireland.comSaturday, 16th June, 2007

SWITZERLAND: The world's longest overland tunnel for trains linking Europe's north and south was opened in Switzerland yesterday after eight years of construction.

Hundreds of officials and citizens gathered at the northern entrance of the 34km (21-mile) Lötschberg Tunnel, as the first train burst through a banner declaring "Lötschberg - connecting Europe", accompanied by fireworks.

The tunnel will trim the time trains take to cross between Germany and Italy from approximately 3½ hours to less than two. It will also get holidaymakers to Swiss ski resorts more quickly.

The trip from Bern, at the northern end of the tunnel, to Visp, near ski regions such as Switzerland's Zermatt and Italy's Courmayeur on the southern side of the tunnel, will be cut in half - to 55 minutes from 110.

The tunnel - which cost about 4.3 billion Swiss francs (€2.59 billion) - is longer than the current overland record-holder, Japan's 26.4km (16.4-mile) Hakkoda Tunnel.

It will come third overall, behind the underwater Seikan Tunnel, also in Japan, and the Channel Tunnel connecting France and the UK.

murphaph

We got about 6km for about a billion, right? They got 34km for 2.6 billion. I woder is it a smaler bore as it's a rail tunnel, but even so, seems pretty cheap for such a long distance.

dermo88

Thats down to economies of scale murphaph. We are likely to need 2 TBM's for the Interconnector Tunnel. We are tunneling under an old, medieval city, with wildly varying kinds of geology, compared to the Lotschberg Tunnel.

Its a single tunnel with a crossing loop in the middle. Its 35 track km. The Interconnector bores will amount to 12 track km, since its Double track. So its roughly the same.

nesf

murphaph wrote:

We got about 6km for about a billion, right? They got 34km for 2.6 billion. I woder is it a smaler bore as it's a rail tunnel, but even so, seems pretty cheap for such a long distance.

Overland versus underground plus land prices would depend on the route they could take.

Victor

murphaph wrote:

We got about 6km for about a billion, right? They got 34km for 2.6 billion. I woder is it a smaler bore as it's a rail tunnel, but even so, seems pretty cheap for such a long distance.

Smaller tunnel and probably much less fit out - trains tend to behave themselves much better than motorists.

murphaph

Yeah i'd say the fit out is the big difference actually. less need for the powerful ventilation fans etc. in a rail tunnel.

Winters

dermo88 wrote:

Thats down to economies of scale murphaph. We are likely to need 2 TBM's for the Interconnector Tunnel. We are tunneling under an old, medieval city, with wildly varying kinds of geology, compared to the Lotschberg Tunnel.

Its a single tunnel with a crossing loop in the middle. Its 35 track km. The Interconnector bores will amount to 12 track km, since its Double track. So its roughly the same.

Interconnector will be large single bore with wall/barrier down the center and metro north shall be dual bore with two simultaneous TBMs.

Winters

Winters wrote:

Interconnector will be large single bore with wall/barrier down the center and metro north shall be dual bore with two simultaneous TBMs.

IE state Interconnector to be twin bore now. Originally they had said single bore.