Seikan Tunnel
You included that Mickey Mouse Tunnel in London but not the Seikan Tunnel connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkeido? - The building of Seikan was one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.
When riding that tunnel by train you go 140 meters below the sea floor of the Pacific through solid granite.
Unitl the new Gotthard tunnel is finished Seikan will remain the longest tunnel in the world with a length of 54 km. The Channel tunnel just doesn't compare with a length of 50 km and a depth of just 75 meters and it was built through soft rock.
I have other issues with the listings in your book but I feel strongest about your non-inclusion of the
Seikan tunnel.
When riding that tunnel by train you go 140 meters below the sea floor of the Pacific through solid granite.
Unitl the new Gotthard tunnel is finished Seikan will remain the longest tunnel in the world with a length of 54 km. The Channel tunnel just doesn't compare with a length of 50 km and a depth of just 75 meters and it was built through soft rock.
I have other issues with the listings in your book but I feel strongest about your non-inclusion of the
Seikan tunnel.
Comment
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Comment by John Graham-Cumming on May 30, 2009 at 10:37am
- Thanks for the detailed post with that information. Definitely sounds like this needs to go on the shortlist for a possible volume 2. Thanks for taking the time to bring it to my attention.
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Comment by Harry Hansen on May 30, 2009 at 10:14am -
Seikan has 2 stations in the middle of the tunnel, aprox. 10 km apart.
Shokioka-Kaitai-Station serves as am emergency station leading to escape shafts.
Toppi-Kaitai-Station also serves as am emergency station, but it also houses the Seikan Museum detailing the history and function of the tunnel. During the incredibly difficult construction 33 men lost their lifes. - The escape shafts are enhanced by having exhaust fans to extract smoke, television cameras to route passengers to safety, thermal (infrared) fire alarm systems and water spray nozzles.
Even when the Gotthard (57 km) tunnel opens in 2017/18 Seikan will remain the longest undersea tunnel and, to the best of my knowledge, is the only tunnel having a museum 140 meters (560 ft) under an ocean. That's almost half the height of the Empire State building.
There are daily sightseeing trips down to the museum.
Construction commenced in January 1983 and the 2 rails tunnel under the Tsugura Strait opened
on March 13, 1988. By any measure of the imagination it was an incredible achievement to build the tunnel in a little over 5 years. The Channel tunnel took 6 years to built under much more favorable circumstances, although 10 men also lost their lifes during construction.
The Seikan has never had an accident or fire, whereas the Channel Tunnel already had 2 fired in 1996 and 2001. It has bugged me for long time that western countries simply have ignored the great achievement of the Seikan.
Presently only JR Express trains (180 km/hr) traverse the tunnel from Aomori on Honshu to Hakodate on Hokkaido. Shinkansen (Bullet Trains) service is slated to start in 2015.
Best etc
Harry Hansen
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- That's a good one. I included the Brunel tunnel for a number of reasons: its age, the associated museum and the fact that it's possible to go on a tour. Do you know if the Seikan Tunnel has any sort of visitor centre?
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Comment by Julie Steele on May 30, 2009 at 2:09am - Thanks for your input, Harry! As the editor for the book I can attest that John worked hard to cull the list of places down to the 128 that appear - there are many great places left for a sequel. :-) May I suggest you repost this suggestion in the forum under the "I can't believe XYZ isn't in The Geek Atlas" discussion?
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