Do You Know the Three Railway Tunnels ?

Seikan Tunnel (Japan)

The Seikan is a railway tunnel in Japan, but what makes it unique is the fact that a 23-kilometer (14.2 miles) stretch of the tunnel is 140 meters (460 feet) below sea level.

Until the Gotthard Base Tunnel came along, it was the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world.

It spans the Tsugaru Strait, connecting Aomori Prefecture on the island of Honshu to the island of Hokkaido.

Work on the tunnel started in 1964 and was completed in 1988.

seikan tunnel

Length: 53 kilometers (32.9 miles)

Fast fact: In 1976, construction workers hit a patch of soft rock and water gushed into the tunnel at a rate of 80 tons per minute. The leak took two months to fix.

Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (Shanghai)

This underwater Chinese tunnel is short and sweet, but spectacular and slightly strange.

It spans the Huangpu River and connects Shanghai's Bund to Lujiazui, location of the Pearl TV tower.

Passengers were originally going to be ferried from one side to the other on a moving walkway, but automated cars were installed instead.

Length: 646.7 meters (2,122 feet)

Fast fact: A company that had worked with Disney was originally supposed to help design the tunnel, but was deemed too expensive.

Instead a Shanghai-based company created the tunnel's psychedelic lights and trippy audio-visual effects.

The ride is apparently meant to represent a journey to the core of the earth.

Channel Tunnel (UK and France)

Connecting the United Kingdom with continental Europe (it has entrances/exits in Folkestone, Kent, and Pas-de-Calais in northern France), the tunnel has the world's longest undersea section -- 37.9 kilometers (23.5 miles).

Though a marvel of the modern age, it wasn't a new idea when it was built.

French engineer Albert Mathieu proposed a tunnel under the English Channel in 1802, although his plans included an artificial island mid-channel where horse-drawn carriages could make maintenance stops.

"This tunnel defined the term 'mega project,'" says Matt Sykes, tunnel expert and director at engineering company Arup.

"It fundamentally changed the geography of Europe and helped to reinforce high speed rail as a viable alternative to short-haul flights."

channel tunnel

Length: 50 kilometers (31 miles)

Fast fact: Though both the English and French put in work to build the Channel Tunnel, the English side tunneled a greater distance.

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