Switzerland, September 30: Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel being constructed in Switzerland. The length of the tunnel will be 57 Kilometre, where as it’s total length including tunnels, shafts and passages planned will be 153 Kilometre approx.
It will be the longest commissioned tunnel in the world after completion in 2017. The competition of this was projected in year 2015, but due to various delays it was thought to be completed not before 2018 in year 2007. But as the work progressing started at a higher pace than projected, it is supposed to be completed in 1017.
As on September 2009 the length almost 137.3 km of the tunnel was dug. The total cost of this project will be US$6.4 billion, and upon completion there will be some 200–250 trains running though it. It might also interest you that the total Volume of excavated rock is 26,500,000 tonnes.
AlpTransit Gotthard AG is responsible for construction of this longest tunnel in the world and it’s a subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways
—Agencies