ZURICH — Switzerland's Gotthard Base Tunnel, which will result in the longest rail tunnel in the world and required nearly 20 years of construction, opened on Wednesday, TheWall Street Journal reported.
The 35-mile tunnel should eventually help slash travel time between Zurich and Milan, and shuttle twice the roughly 9,000 people currently traveling between northern and southern Europe across the trans-Alpine route within the next decade, according to the report.
Credit Suisse Group AG estimates the new tunnel cost $12.3 billion to complete. While funding was raised through Swiss taxes and duties, its construction relied on workers from a mix of other countries including Italy and Germany, according to the Journal.
