Engineers have drilled through the last remaining rock to complete the world's longest tunnel, under the Swiss Alps. The 10m-diameter drill-head tore through the rock yesterday to cheers and applause from watching workers. The 35 mile Gotthard rail tunnel has taken 14 years to build and is not likely to open before the end of 2016. But it is expected to revolutionize transport across Europe, providing a high-speed link between the north and south of the continent. Eventually, trains will travel through it at speeds of up to 155mph. Journey times between Zurich and Milan are likely to be slashed by as much as 1.5 hours. The 9.8bn Swiss franc ($10.3bn) project will take up to 300 trains each day underneath the Alps. The length of the Gotthard tunnel exceeds the 53.8km Seikan rail tunnel linking the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and the 50km Channel Tunnel linking England and France.
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