Tunnels and underground excavations



Great tunnels of the world
tunnel location length

km       miles
use notes
Seikan Japan 53.9 33.5 1988 railway passes under stormy Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido
Channel Tunnel
England-France 50.5 31.4 1994 railway passes under the English Channel between Folkestone, England, and Calais, France
Switzerland 34.6 21.5 2007 railway rail link under Lötschen Pass between Bern and Valais cantons
Iwate-Ichinohe Japan 25.8 15.7 2002 railway carries the Tohoku high-speed line through mountains between Tokyo and northern Honshu
Lærdal Norway 24.5 15.3 2000 highway carries the main cross-country highway through the mountains in central Norway
(Great Shimizu)
Japan 22.2 13.8 1982 railway on the Joetsu high-speed line across Honshu between Tokyo and Niigata
Simplon II Italy-Switzerland 19.8 12.3 1922 railway rail link under the Simplon Pass, the traditional divide between northern and southern Europe
Simplon I Italy-Switzerland 19.8 12.3 1906 railway rail link under the Simplon Pass, the traditional divide between northern and southern Europe
Vereina Switzerland 19.1 11.9 1999 railway rail link under the Flüela Pass between the upper Rhine and lower Engadin valleys
(New Kanmon)
Japan 18.7 11.6 1975 railway carries the Sanyo high-speed line under Kanmon Strait between the islands of Honshu and Kyushu
Great Apennine Italy 18.5 11.5 1934 railway rail link through mountains between Bologna and Florence
Qinling China 18.5 11.5 2001 railway traverses the Qin (Tsinling) Mountains, the historic barrier between northern and southern China
St. Gotthard Switzerland 16.9 10.5 1980 highway links Uri and Ticino cantons under the St. Gotthard Pass
Haruna Japan 15.4 9.6 1982 railway on the Joetsu high-speed line across Honshu between Tokyo and Niigata
Severomuiskiy Russia 15.3 9.5 2003 railway link on the Baikal-Amur railway in the Russian republic of Buryatia
St. Gotthard Switzerland 15.0 9.3 1882 railway carries the Zürich-Milan line under the St. Gotthard Pass between Uri and Ticino cantons
Mount MacDonald British Columbia,
14.6 9.1 1988 railway carries the Canadian Pacific Railway under Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park
Dayaoshan China 14.3 8.9 1988 railway carries a dual-track line through the Nan Mountains, northern Guangdong province
Arlberg Austria 14.0 8.7 1978 highway provides a road link under the Arlberg Pass between Tirol and Vorarlberg provinces
Hokuriku Japan 13.9 8.6 1962 railway on the Hokuriku line along the Sea of Japan
Mount Cenis France-Italy 13.7 8.5 1871 railway carries the main Paris-Turin line through the Alps at the Fréjus Pass
Hex River South Africa 13.4 8.3 1989 railway penetrates the mountains between the Hex River valley and the Great Karoo upland
Fréjus France-Italy 12.9 8.0 1980 highway carries the Lyon-Turin highway through the Alps at the Fréjus Pass
Cascade Washington, U.S. 12.5 7.8 1929 railway penetrates the Cascade Range, linking the American Midwest and Pacific Northwest
Mont Blanc France-Italy 11.6 7.2 1965 highway road link between Haute-Savoie, France, and Valle d’Aosta, Italy, under Europe’s highest peak
(100 of 17,603 words)

tunnels and underground excavations
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Harvard
  • Chicago
You have successfully emailed this.
Error when sending the email. Try again later.
Email this page