deep inside the world\'s longest tunnel

This is an almost finished emergency station, part of the safety function of the world\'s large Gotthard tunnel project
Longest tunnel 57 kilometers long
The project is part of a system that will cut heavy truck traffic by half in the Swiss Alps.
Daniel Terdiman/cnet sedrun, Switzerland--
Within a kilometer of the Alps, I was nearly 800 metres from the ground, dark.
I dropped at 14 metres per second.
But this is not a story about fire and sulfur.
This is the story of the longest tunnel construction in the world, a New 57-kilometer tunnel
The flat rail line deep in the Swiss Alps is scheduled to open in 2017, hoping to double the cargo capacity of the key lines from Zurich to Milan.
And the biggest in Switzerland-
Ecological Engineering.
A cbs News poll showed controversial police footage showing mass power outages among protesters in Hong Kong.
The 4 billion effort aims to reduce the number of heavy trucks crossing the Swiss Alps by half, while also greatly reducing the actual charges on these important roads and reducing the pollution that is being discharged in the region.
Photo: shovel a shovel and build the longest tunnel in the world, although the idea of building a flat railway line under Gotthard massif was first proposed in 1947, it was also approved by the Swiss government in 1962 and began careful planning in 1992.
In 1998, the last of the five plebiscites became a reality (
None of them received less than 65% approval)
A series of taxes-
Oil, trucks and people\'s purchases ---
Plans to pay the full cost for the new tunnel system.
\"This is a gift from the Swiss generation to ourselves,\" Yves Bonanomi said . \" In addition to geological research for this huge effort, he escorted journalists, politicians, and through the maze of buildings and other VIPs here.
I\'m here for the first stop of my 2011 road trip and I\'m sure Bonanomi will knock me out of the standard drop
Under bright orange overalls, safety helmets, emergency backpacks and lights, I will see for the first time one of the biggest infrastructure initiatives in Swiss history. 1.
The 3 million truck officially called the new railway crossing the Alps a drive to cut one by half.
Every year, 3 million heavy trucks carry goods through these amazing mountains.
There\'s a century today. plus-
An old railway line runs through these high passes, but it forces the train to navigate the hairy curve and climb hundreds of meters before returning again.
Through the construction of the Gotthard Foundation tunnel and its accompanying 15-
Kilometers of tunnel (
Opening in 2019)
Switzerland is expected to reduce truck traffic to 650,000 vehicles per year, and cargo traffic will double from 20 million tons per year to 40 million tons.
This is due to the fact that the flat, mostly straight-way tunnels will be able to handle faster freight trains, as well as longer freight trains, with capacity per train increasing from 2,000 tons to 4,000 tons.
The top speed will be up to 155 miles per hour.
In addition, these tunnels will make the train schedules of passengers in Switzerland and Italy more closely together, thus making more routes between Zurich and Milan possible.
While the Ceneri tunnel is a major component of a large project, it is the Gotthard Tunnel and its world --
The length of the record, which attracted most of the interest.
There are good reasons.
It\'s not just a long tunnel.
In fact, because of safety and efficiency problems, the planners designedby-side one-
The entire system, including cross-tunnels, ventilation tunnels, and emergency stations, needs to dig 151 metres.
2 kilometers in Ulpu, Switzerland.
Because the goal of the project is to reuse nearly 100% of the excavated soil and rock, which means that Switzerland has a stable source of concrete and gravel material for filling old quarries and gravel pits, and the construction of dams.
Bonanomi says there is plenty of room to set up an island bird sanctuary in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. Side-by-
Side tunnel instead of planning a single, two
The Swiss planner decided to build a parallel track tunnel. way.
This is in part for efficiency, but also for safety: The train is only going in one direction and there is little chance of a catastrophic head --on collision.
But design is more than just two. by-side tunnels.
There are also two cross tunnels that allow the train to switch sides in the event of an accident or repair, in addition, two emergency stops 20 kilometers apart, passengers can quickly and safely escape from the burning train and enter a special passage to the side tunnel, and the rescue will come soon.
The station is large enough to accommodate up to 1,000 passengers and to take advantage of the over-voltage system where smoke is unable to enter the escape passage.
What is seen here is the fork in the road where the train can continue in the direction they are going, or switch to the crossing tunnel.
This is expected to be completed with one of the two 1 for maintenance
Tunnel, or when an accident occurs.
Daniel teidman/CNET has a separate passage connecting 40 metres between tunnels every 325 metres, and if a damaged train cannot reach an emergency station, allow people to take it and escape to a safe place.
Finally, there is a ventilation tunnel above the emergency station, designed to be 250 m³ per second, inhaling smoke from the burning train, and it is believed that in the event of a fire, this function can clear the air in seconds and protect anyone in the area from smoke inhalation.
At Sedrun, this is the third road between the entrance of the Erstfeld Tunnel (to the north)and Bodio (to the south)
Double 800-meter-
A high well down one kilometer from the mountain.
One is for workers and other guests, and the other is for transporting equipment and other materials.
Most of the machinery used in the tunnel is sent as a whole, but some are too big to fit in the elevator and must be sent and assembled in the parts below.
A layer of 57 layerskilometer-
Of course, long tunnels through high mountains are not easy.
This is not the same either.
That\'s because there are many kinds of rocks to dig.
Everyone has their own personality.
While most of the rocks dig up to 20 metres a day, some are very vulnerable ---
And require steel arch support immediately to avoid tunnel collapse-
1 m per day is possible.
After the tunnel was dug out, a huge tunnel was used.
The new opening adds three boring machines.
The first is the drainage layer, then the waterproof layer that does not penetrate, and finally the protective film is added.
On top of that, a layer of concrete is smoothed and then cleaned many times to make sure the space is ready to install electronics and other sensitive equipment.
One of the main advantages of smoothing the interior of the tunnel is that it reduces air resistance, which in turn reduces the heat generated by the train while crossing.
In addition, the smooth lining is also expected to promote natural air circulation, reduce humidity and minimize groundwater penetration.
Because the tunnel had to be completely dry before installing the mechanical and electrical equipment, Bonanomi said that the staff had removed about 2.
So far, the area of waterproof materials has reached 5 million square meters.
Unfortunately my visit came too late to see the tunnel
Boring Machine because its work is done.
Bonanomi explained that these days the workers are busy adding lining to some sections and will do so next year, but on top of that, the main construction work is almost done.
Then there are the installation, testing and other steps of specialized mechanical and electrical equipment, which will be carried out before the tunnel is opened to traffic.
\"It is possible to bump the train off the track\" while creating a separate Cross tunnel where the train can enter in the event of maintenance or accident, it seems to be the construction of another tunnel, bonanomi explained, with additional complications.
Perhaps the most interesting thing, he said, is that the cross tunnel creates such a large air pressure, and if it is not blocked, \"it will bump the train off the track,\" Bonanomi said.
This means that at each end of the cross section, huge doors will be installed, completely cutting off the air.
The doors will be large and it takes five minutes to open or close and can be managed remotely from the control center at the south entrance of the tunnel.
When Bonanomi took me through the tunnel, he was particularly excited to show me a specific element of the building.
This is actually a large cave for the Sedrun train station built near the tunnel.
This station called Porta Alpina can be run on the passenger train from Zermatt to St.
In theory, the Moritz line can see 3,000 people a day during the ski season.
But this is only a vision for the future.
There is no plan to build a railway station in the near future.
In fact, Bonanoni says it will be closed once the cave is dug and cleaned up.
So why do you do this?
Bonanomi said that my idea is that if such a station is needed, it will not be possible to dig out the caves in the future, so it is decided to invest now and do the main part of the work.
It\'s \"probably for the next generation,\" he said \".
However, if it is really open, it is likely to be the farthest underground railway station in the world and the highest railway station in Shanghai.
However, whether the station is built or not, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is one of Switzerland\'s largest infrastructure projects ever, and if it runs as planned, it can teach the rest of the world how to avoid a developing problem.
While the project is costing billions of dollars, it should not bear any debt, and it is actively dealing with a problem if it is not controlled, it may result in increased costs for unmaintained transportation and transportation of goods through central Europe.
But more importantly, it is the longest tunnel in the world.
800 m from the Alps.
How cool is this?