subject: Seikan Tunnel: The Longest Tunnel in the World [print this page] The Seikan Tunnel connecting Hokkaido and Honshu. With almost 54 kilometers and is the longest tunnel in the world and connects the largest island of Japan with the second largest.
The Seikan Tunnel runs through the strait of Tsugaru. Over a length of 23 kilometers, it runs in the seabed and is located with 240 meters below sea level. The two stations on the northern and southern end of the tunnel will be complemented by two stations, Tappi and Yoshioka-Kaitei-Kaitai, which are located under the sea. From here you can visit the tunnel, and visit a museum.
The Seikan Tunnel connects the two main Japanese islands
The first attempts to combine the two islands of Honshu and Hokkaido by train, already to go back to 1946, when the first geological investigations were conducted. With the construction of the main tunnel was commenced in 1971 opened, the Seikan Tunnel was then finally in 1988. In addition to the main tunnel, there is a supply tunnel and a pilot tunnel. The trains run here with a top speed of 210 km / h.
Even the Channel Tunnel that connects England with France, can not by its length of 50 kilometers, and the speed of trains within the tunnel at 160 km / h to compete with the Seikan Tunnel. Until December 2017, the Seikan Tunnel is the longest underground structure can name the world. For then the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be finished and have a lead of three kilometers.
The longest tunnel in the world - until 2017
The outlook for the use of the Seikan Tunnel proved shortly after its completion in 1988 as outdated. Even today, flights between the Japanese islands are much faster and now also become cheaper, so that this imposing structure is less used than would be possible.
