What is a tunnel? It’s basically a hole in something that requires an entrance and an exit in order to be classed as a tunnel, otherwise its just a hole! But how long do you think the worlds longest tunnel is? 5 miles, 10, Maybe 50 miles long? If you said almost 100 miles long you might be close…
10 – Beijing Subway Line 10, China – Length: 57,100 meters (35.5 miles)
Wiki info: Line 10 of the Beijing Subway is the second loop line in Beijing’s rapid transit network as well as the longest and most widely used line. The line is 57.1 km in length and runs entirely underground through Haidian, Chaoyang and Fengtai Districts, either directly underneath or just beyond the 3rd Ring Road. The Line 10 loop is situated between two and six kilometres outside of the Line 2 loop, which circumnavigates Beijing’s old Inner City. Every subway line through the city centre intersects with Line 10, which has 24 transfer stations along the route, and 45 stations in all.
9 – Gotthard Base Tunnel, Switzerland – Length: 57,104 meters (35.5 miles)
Wiki info: The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened on 1 June 2016, and full service began on 11 December 2016. With a route length of 57.09 km (35.5 mi), it is the world’s longest and deepest traffic tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. It lies at the heart of the Gotthard axis and constitutes the third tunnel connecting the cantons of Uri and Ticino, after the Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel.
8 – Guangzhou Metro Line 3, China – Length: 60,400 meters (37.5 miles)
Wiki info: Line 3 of the Guangzhou Metro or Southern-Northern Express Line (Chinese: 南北快线; pinyin: Nán Běi Kuài Xiàn) is a 67.3-kilometer (41.8 mi) rapid transit line connecting Panyu Square to Tianhe Coach Terminal. The entire line, including all track and stations, is located in underground tunnels. Its 60.4 km (37.5 mi) main branch, excluding the 6.9 km (4.3 mi) branch between Tianhe Coach Terminal and Tiyu Xilu, is the longest continuous subway tunnel in the world, and the longest rail tunnel of any kind (surpassing the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland).
7 – Tunel Emisor Oriente, Mexico – Length: 62,500 meters (38.8 miles)
Wiki info: The Emisor Oriente Tunnel, also known as the Tunel Emisor Oriente, Eastern Discharge Tunnel, Eastern Wastewater Tunnel, and East Issuing Tunnel, is a wastewater treatment tunnel in Mexico City, Mexico. At 62,500 m (38.8 mi), it is the sixth longest tunnel on Earth. It was constructed between 2008 and 2014 using a tunnel boring machine. Serving a population of 20 million, it runs from Mexico city to the Atotonilco Wastewater Treatment Plant in Hidalgo state. It runs at a maximum depth of 200 metres below ground level and has a discharge capacity of 150 m3/s. This tunnel will help prevent flooding and serves as an alternate exit for the Emisor Central, another drainage tunnel.
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6 – Neelum Jhelum HydroPower Tunnel, Pakistan – Length: 68,000 meters (42.3 miles)
Wiki info: The Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower Plant is part of an under-construction run-of-the-river hydroelectric power scheme in Pakistan, designed to divert water from the Neelum River to a power station on the Jhelum River. The power station is located in Azad Kashmir, 42 km (26 mi) south of Muzaffarabad, and will have an installed capacity of 968 MW. Construction on the project began in 2008 after a Chinese consortium was awarded the construction contract in July 2007. The first generator is scheduled to be commissioned in July 2017 and the entire project is expected to be complete in December 2017.
5 – Bolmen Water Tunnel, Sweden – Length: 82,000 meters (51.0 miles)
Wiki info: The Bolmen Water Tunnel (Swedish: Bolmentunneln) is a water supply tunnel, 82 km (51 mi) long. It goes from the lake Bolmen in Kronoberg County to the province of Skåne, all in Sweden, and it serves around 700,000 people with drinking water. It has a cross section area of 8 m², a diameter of almost 3 m. About 2 m³/s is transported through the tunnel, although the capacity is 6 m³/s. The tunnel was built during the period 1975 to 1987.
4 – Orange–Fish River Tunnel, South Africa – Length: 82,800 meters (51.4 miles)
Wiki info: For many years, large areas in the Eastern Cape experienced severe water shortages because of little rainfall in the arid Karoo. The situation was aggravated by the reduction in capacity of many of the existing dams due to heavy silt deposits. The Orange-Fish Tunnel, together with its network of canals, weirs and balancing dams, has enabled these areas to be restored and has made the irrigation of thousands of hectares of additional land possible. The main purpose of the tunnel is to divert water from the Gariep Dam to the Eastern Cape for irrigation, household and industrial use.
3 – Dahuofang Water Tunnel, China – Length: 85,320 meters (53.0 miles)
Wiki info: The Dahuofang Water Tunnel, located in Liaoning Province, China is an 85.3 kilometers (53.0 mi) tunnel eight meters in diameter which provides water from the Dahuofang Reservoir to the cities of Shenyang, Fushun, Liaoyang, Anshan, Panjin, Yingkou, and Dalian. As of 2014 it is the third longest tunnel in the world. Boring of the tunnel began in September 2006, was completed in April 2009, and cost 5.2 billion yuan (about $750 million).
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2 – Päijänne Water Tunnel, Finland – Length: 120,000 meters (74.6 miles)
Wiki info: The Päijänne Water Tunnel, located in Southern Finland, is the world’s second longest tunnel (after the Delaware Aqueduct in the USA). It is 120 kilometers (75 mi) long and runs 30–100 meters under the surface in bedrock.[1][2] The purpose of the tunnel is to provide fresh water for the million plus people in Southern Finland in the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Kerava, Kauniainen, Kirkkonummi, Sipoo, and Tuusula. The former Porvoo Rural Municipality, now merged with the municipality of Porvoo, also took part in the building of the scheme but has never drawn water from it for domestic use.
1 – Delaware Aqueduct, US – Length: 137,000 meters (85.1 miles)
Wiki info: The Delaware Aqueduct is the newest of the New York City aqueducts. It takes water from the Rondout Reservoir through the Chelsea Pump Station, the West Branch Reservoir, and the Kensico Reservoir, ending at the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, New York. The aqueduct was constructed between 1939 and 1945, and carries approximately half of the New York City water supply of 1.3 billion US gallons (4,900,000 m3) per day. At 85 miles (137 km) long and 13.5 feet (4.1 m) wide, the Delaware Aqueduct is the world’s longest tunnel.
