March 13: The world's longest undersea tunnel inaugurated

The Seikan Tunnel is a 53.85 km railway tunnel in Japan, with a length of 23.3 km underground.

This is the longest undersea tunnel in the world, although the Channel Channel between England and France has a longer subterranean section. It runs below the Tsugar u Strait, connecting Honshu island with Hokkaido island .

Seikan has become a great work of modern times

The survey began in 1946, and 25 years later in 1971, construction began. Seikan Tunnel has a total length of 53.85km. In it, 23.3 km is underground in the Tsugaru Strait, connecting Aomori district on Honshu island with Hokkaido island. This road is 9.3m wide, 7.85m high, located at a depth of 240m below sea level. This is part of the Kaikyo Line, owned by the Japan Railway Technology, Transport and Technical Bureau and is operated by Hokkaido Railway Company.

The Seikan Tunnel is the world's largest deep tunnel.

To build this tunnel, Japanese engineers and workers have encountered many difficulties. During the first phase, due to complicated geological conditions, many consecutive incidents, they were unable to use the drilling machine to clear the tunnel. However, with the relentless efforts of the Management Board and the workers' teams, the construction of the tunnel was completed in 1985. By March 13, 1988, Seikan Tunnel was officially put into use. . With a total cost of 38 538.4 billion (about US $ 3.6 billion), this road has become one of the largest construction funding projects in the world .

Shortly after being put into operation, the Seikan Tunnel greatly contributed to the economic, cultural and social development of Honshu and Hokkaido islands. All rail transport operations between the two islands go through this tunnel. The route has welcomed millions of passengers, transporting thousands of tons of goods each year. The travel time between the two islands is also significantly shortened to 2.5 hours.

However, in the late years of the 20th century, the frequency of trains passing through this tunnel began to decrease. According to economic experts, the main reason is due to the tunnel using a narrow rail system, low traffic speed, high transportation costs . These factors have reduced its competitiveness with other modern transportation means such as aviation, long-distance sea transportation .

Seikan connects Honshu and Hokkaido islands.

In 2005, after the Hokkaido Shinkansen high-speed rail project was started, the Seikan tunnel began to be renovated and upgraded. And as planned, by 2016, this route will connect to the Shinkansen system. With a speed of 140km / h, the Hokkaido Railway Company hopes the Seikan Tunnel will be one of the most attractive transportation routes in Japan.

Currently, the development of low-cost air transport and long-distance shipping has made the Seikan tunnel work only at a relative level. However, with a length of 23.3km and a record depth of 240m under the sea, Seikan Tunnel is still the longest and deepest train tunnel in the world , being one of the remarkable successes. of Japanese science and technology in the twentieth century.

As a result of the twentieth-century science and technology, Seikan Tunnel today still serves daily travel needs of the people of Honshu and Hokkaido islands. In the near future, the tunnel will welcome Shinkansen high-speed trains, further confirming the unique advantages of railway traffic in the twenty-first century.