The Simplon Tunnel is a 20km long Alpine railway tunnel that connects the Swiss town of Brig with Domodossola in Italy, though its relatively straight trajectory does not run under the Simplon Pass itself. It actually consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 20 years apart. For more than half a century it was considered to be the longest tunnel in the world. The Simplon tunnel was constructed between 1898 and 1906 and the second tube of the tunnel was completed in 1922. Improvements to the road alternatives, including the Simplon Pass itself (which was systematically upgraded in the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with an increase in motor vehicle engine power), led to a steady decline in use of the rail shuttle option, and the service was withdrawn in 1993. However, the car carrying train service was reinstated in December 2004: the journey time is twenty minutes and trains currently operate during working hours approximately every 90 minutes.
The Simplon Tunnel is a 20km long Alpine railway tunnel that connects the Swiss town of Brig with Domodossola in Italy, though its relatively straight trajectory does not run ...
under the Simplon Pass itself. It actually consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 20 years apart. For more than half a century it was considered to be the longest tunnel in the world. The Simplon tunnel was constructed between 1898 and 1906 and the second tube of the tunnel was completed in 1922. Improvements to the road alternatives, including the Simplon Pass itself (which was systematically upgraded in the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with an increase in motor vehicle engine power), led to a steady decline in use of the rail shuttle option, and the service was withdrawn in 1993. However, the car carrying train service was reinstated in December 2004: the journey time is twenty minutes and trains currently operate during working hours approximately every 90 minutes.
