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Tunnel under a mountain pass at adjoining valley floor level
Different types of tunnels. Number one shows a base tunnel
A base tunnel is a type of tunnel, mainly a railway tunnel, that is built through the base of a mountain pass. This type of tunnel typically connects two valleys at about the same altitudes.[1]
When originally constructed, classical railway lines through mountainous terrain tried to minimize tunneling, due to technical limitations and expense, and therefore required long and steep gradients and many curves, or even spirals. Tunnels were generally short and much higher up the mountain. Such tunnels are sometimes also called culmination tunnels, especially in the presence of a base tunnel through the same mountain massif.
The base tunnels take the opposite approach, minimizing or eliminating gradients and curves with the consequence of having longer tunnels but shorter total distances to travel.
This allows for higher speeds and lower energy costs.
Schematic representation of a normal base tunnel construction method in Europe; they have two tubes connected every few hundred meters in order to enable evacuation in case of emergency [image shows an evacuation station of the base tunnel Gotthard, the longest railway tunnel in the world – 57 km (35 mi)]
Some of the best-known base tunnels are (with length, opening and location):
^"LZMK: tunel" (in Croatian). enciklopedija.hr. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016. ... prema dubini u terenu: niskoležeći (bazni) tuneli, tuneli koji spajaju dvije doline približno iste nadmorske visine, visokoležeći kratki vododijelni tuneli s usponima s obiju strana i prijelomom nivelete u sredini tunela te niskoležeći dugi vododijelni tuneli s jednim nagibom.
The Gotthard BaseTunnel (GBT; German: Gotthard-Basistunnel, Italian: Galleria di base del San Gottardo, Romansh: Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard) is...
A basetunnel is a type of tunnel, mainly a railway tunnel, that is built through the base of a mountain pass. This type of tunnel typically connects two...
The Brenner BaseTunnel (German: Brennerbasistunnel; Italian: Galleria di base del Brennero) is a 55-kilometre-long (34 mi) railway tunnel under construction...
The Semmering BaseTunnel is a railway tunnel under construction between Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag in Austria underneath the Semmering Pass. The existing...
The Ceneri BaseTunnel (CBT, Italian: Galleria di base del Monte Ceneri) is a Swiss railway basetunnel in the canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte...
The Apennine BaseTunnel, alternatively known as the Grand Apennine Tunnel, is a railway basetunnel 18.507 kilometres (11.500 mi) long on the Bologna-Florence...
The Furka BaseTunnel is a Swiss railway basetunnel on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's Furka–Oberalp line, an east–west railway connecting the cantons...
not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be...
The Zimmerberg BaseTunnel (ZBT) is a railway tunnel under the Zimmerberg mountains in Switzerland. Phase I of the tunnel was opened to traffic during...
The Pajares BaseTunnel is a twin pair of railway tunnels beneath the Puerto de Pajares pass in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain. The 24,667 m (80,928 ft)...
longest main-line railway tunnel after the Gotthard BaseTunnel in Switzerland, opened in 2016. The tunnel was constructed using conventional construction...
This list of longest tunnels ranks tunnels that are at least 13 km (8.1 mi) long. Only continuous tunnels are included. Pipelines, even those that are...
The Gotthard Tunnel (German: Gotthardtunnel, Italian: Galleria del San Gottardo) is a 15-kilometre-long (9.3 mi) railway tunnel that forms the summit of...
the two other being railway tunnels, the Gotthard Tunnel (1882) and the Gotthard BaseTunnel (2016). All three tunnels bypass the Gotthard Pass, an important...
Channel Tunnel (French: Tunnel sous la Manche), sometimes referred to informally as the Chunnel, is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35 mi) undersea railway tunnel, opened...
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. Tunnels are excavated through hard rock, wet or dry soil...
the Simplon Tunnel was also the lowest direct Alpine crossing for 110 years, until the opening of the Gotthard BaseTunnel in 2016. The tunnel has a maximum...
railway tunnels of the world, excluding subway tunnel sections. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tunnel. List of long railway tunnels in China...
materials science. Existing major tunnels, such as the Channel Tunnel, Seikan Tunnel and the Gotthard BaseTunnel, despite using less expensive technology...
(8,186 ft) long tunnel under the village of Hauenstein. Between 1912 and 1916 a new line with an 8,134 m (5.054 mi) long basetunnel was built further...
construction of the 27.3 km Semmering basetunnel. This tunnel will bypass 41 km of the Semmeringbahn. The tunnel is expected to open in 2030, with a total...
of tunnels in Switzerland includes all notable road, rail, waterway, or other tunnels in Switzerland. List of tunnels by location List of tunnels in the...
making it the world's second deepest operational tunnel after the Gotthard BaseTunnel. The Mont Blanc Tunnel was originally managed by the two building companies...
Rail Tunnel (1882), the Gotthard Road Tunnel (1980) and the Gotthard BaseTunnel (2016). With the Lötschberg to the west, the Gotthard is one of the two...
expected to finish by the end of fiscal year 2026. Construction of a basetunnel on the Yamagata Shinkansen is proposed, with JR East having undertaken...
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