Images highlighting some of the more unusual moments of the opening ceremony for the Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland. A year has passed since Switzerland inaugurated the world’s longest railway tunnel: the 57-kilometre-long Gotthard base tunnel. 17 km long, it is also among the world's longest road tunnels with bi-directional traffic. The world's longest tunnel opens in Switzerland The world’s longest train tunnel officially opened on Wednesday under the Swiss Alps, aiming to ease transit in the heart of Europe. It is nowadays the fourth longest tunnel. With 57 kilometers / 25.5 Miles it is the longest rail tunnel on the planet and a true masterpiece of engineering. https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/europe/switzerland-longest-tunnel-gotthard The construction for what is now the world's longest tunnel began all the way back in 1996. The longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world, Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel stretches 35.5 miles (57km) and whisks passengers deep under the Swiss Alps. The longest tunnel is currently in Norway with 24.5 km length. In response to the automobile boom in Switzerland and other things, the Swiss government gave approval in July 1969 for the construction of the 17-kilometre Gotthard Road tunnel.The tunnel would be longer than any existing road tunnel, and would provide a year-round road link from the Swiss Plateau to southern Switzerland, and from northern to southern Europe as well, to be used in … Longest tunnels. More ambitious tunnel projects are in the pipeline. Gotthard Base Tunnel (railway tunnel, open on 1 June 2016, 57 km) Lötschberg Base Tunnel (railway tunnel, 34.6 km) Simplon Tunnel (railway tunnel, 19.8 km) Vereina Tunnel (narrow gauge railway tunnel with car transportation, 19 km) Gotthard Road Tunnel (road tunnel, 16.9 km) See also: List of tunnels in Switzerland. A train drives past the northern gates of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel near the town of Erstfeld, Switzerland May 31, 2016. When the Gotthard tunnel was opened to the public on September, 5 1980 after more than 10 years of construction work, it was the longest road tunnel in the world. It measures 57 km in length (35-mile) and is situated 2.3 km deep under the Swiss Alps. The Gotthard Road Tunnel in the Swiss Alps is one of the narrowest arteries on the transit corridor between North and South Europe. Switzerland has inaugurated Gotthard Base Tunnel, staging a massive celebration to honor the longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world. 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