Switzerland opens world's longest tuel - CNET

Switzerland yesterday won another battle in its national obsession to conquer the Alps when it opened the 35-mile (57-km) long Gotthard Base Tuel.

Ruing roughly from north to south near the center of the mountainous nation, the rail tuel will provide a direct link between Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Genoa, Italy. Now the world's longest tuel, the Gotthard takes the number one slot from Japan's Seikan Tuel, which runs for 33.5 miles (53.9-km) between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido.

Once fully open in December, passengers trains will be able to travel from Zurich to Milan in two hours and 40 minutes, cutting one hour off the current time (the actual transit through the tuel will take about 17 minutes). The Gotthard will also carry freight trains, saving a long drive over Alpine roads by truck.

Construction on the Gotthard took 17 years and cost $12 billion (about £8.3 billion or AU$16.6 billion).