The Seikan Tunnel in Japan is the recollective burrow with an subaquatic segment in the world , measuring a totality of 53.85 klick ( 33.4 miles ) in length , around 23.3 kilometers ( 14.5 miles ) of which is under the seabed .
With the underwater section located 100 meter ( 328 feet)belowthe seabed of the Tsugaru Strait , the Seikan burrow is also the second long railway tunnel in the humans , beaten only by the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps . The longer railroad track burrow in Switzerland , however , channels through mess , not the Davy Jones’s locker .
TheChannel Tunnelbetween France and the UK is thelongestunderwater burrow in the world , with an undersea section that ’s 38 kilometers ( 23 mile ) long . However , the Seikan Tunnel – include division not under the sea floor – is long overall and deeper
It took many decade to getthis engineering megaprojectoff the land . A critical moment in its origin hap in 1954 , when Typhoon Marie strike Japan and sink five ferryboat boats crossing the Tsugaru Strait . In total , 1,430 people lost their lives .
shake by the maritime tragedy , Japanstarted to explore safe options for mass transportation across the Tsugaru Strait . In 1955 , the Japanese National Railways launched a study to see whether a tunnel beneath the epithelial duct would be feasible .
Excavations began in1964 , but the project was interpenetrate with mischance . It was n’t until 1971 that building on the independent Seikan Tunnel began . The main tunnel breakthrough was attain in 1985 and it was last opened in 1988 . Part of the construction also involved two undersea stations , one on the coast of each island .
All in all , the burrow ’s expression cost an eye - watering ¥ 689 billion ( around $ 4.6 billion ) . Some estimates put the build at ¥ 1.1 trillion ( $ 7 billion ) , although it ’s unclear where this figure amount from . Either way , the undertaking cost a netherworld of a lot of money .
Fortunately , the Seikan Tunnel is well - used . It’sestimatedthat around 50 train travel through the tunnel per sidereal day , including both load and rider services . It ’s even capable of supporting Japan ’s famous Shinkansen bullet trains , which have a top hurrying of 320 km ( 199 Swedish mile ) per hour .
The Seikan Tunnel allows passenger to travel from Tokyo to Hakodate , one of the main cities on Hokkaido , on a route ring theHokkaido Shinkanse . The journey via the Seikan Tunnel accept just over 4 minute and price ¥ 23,120 ( $ 150 ) .
By 2030 , Japan hopes to extend this route all the fashion to Sapporo , the uppercase of the craggy northerly island Hokkaido . This journey is set to take roughly 5 hours .
