The World's Longest Tunnel, Step by Step

A giant drill makes drillholes to be filled with explosives at the construction site for the Gotthard Base Tunnel on April 19, 2007 near Sedrun, Switzerland. Deep beneath the Alps, the Swiss set out to build a high-speed rail link between Zurich and Milan. At 35 miles, te Gotthard Base Tunnel would be the world's longest tunnel.

The Sedrun entrance to the St. Gotthard tunnel, designed to increase rail capacity for freight and passengers through the Alps and between northern Europe and Italy

A miner prepares a stone wall for detonation at the construction site for the Gotthard Base Tunnel on April 19, 2007 near Sedrun, Switzerland.

The lift entrance to the 35-mile railway tunnel.

A view inside the tunnel. Yes, it's a long way down there.

Workers descend in a lift.

A giant drill prepares drillholes to be filled with explosives at the construction site for the Gotthard Base Tunnel on April 19, 2007 near Sedrun, Switzerland. A key feature of the project, which is new to alpine transport, is the fact that the entire railway line will stay at the same altitude of 1,650 feet above sea level. This will allow trains using the line to reach speeds of 149 mph, reducing the travel time between Zurich and Milan from today's four hours to just two-and-a-half.

A worker installs metal bars along the railway tunnel.

A Chinese journalist takes a picture of the 35-mile railway tunnel under construction in the Alps at Sedrun on May 6, 2009.

A worker installs metal bars along the 57-kilometre (35-mile) railway tunnel under construction in the Alps at Sedrun on May 6, 2009. The new St. Gotthard tunnel is expected to be the world's longest when completed. The 18.6 billion Swiss franc (11 billion euros, 15.7 billion dollars) Alptransit project, which is now due to be completed in 2016, is meant to increase rail capacity for freight and passengers through the Alps and between northern Europe and Italy. AFP PHOTO/SEBASTIEN BOZON (Photo credit should read SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images)

The break trough of the second shaft of Gotthard Tunnel is pictured on October 15, 2010

A giant drilling machine completes the world's longest tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps during a ceremony on October 15, 2010, 30 kilometres (19 miles) from one end and 2,000 metres below the mountains near Sedrun. By the time it opens for service in 2017, the 57-kilometre (35.4-mile) long Gotthard tunnel, it will exceed Seikan rail tunnel linking the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and the world's longest road tunnel of Laerdal in Norway, paving the way for continuous high-speed rail travel between northern and southeastern Europe. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo credit should read FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Workers celebrate the break trough of the second shaft of Gotthard Tunnel on October 15, 2010.

Miners celebrate after a giant drilling machine punched its way through a final section of Alpine rock to complete the world's longest tunnel, after 15 years of sometimes lethal construction work

SEDRUN, SWITZERLAND - OCTOBER 15: Workers celebrate the break trough of the second shaft of Gotthard Tunnel on October 15, 2010 in Sedrun, Switzerland. The world's longest tunnel, which has been under construction for 14 years, is not expected to open for service until at least the end of 2016. (Photo by Samy Golay/TiPress/Getty Images)

Miners celebrate after a giant drilling machine completed the world's longest tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps during a ceremony on October 15, 2010, 30 kilometres (19 miles) from one end and 2,000 metres below the mountains near Sedrun. By the time it opens for service in 2017, the 57-kilometre (35.4-mile) long Gotthard tunnel, it will exceed Seikan rail tunnel linking the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and the world's longest road tunnel of Laerdal in Norway, paving the way for continuous high-speed rail travel between northern and southeastern Europe. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo credit should read FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

A new record is in the books. The Gotthard tunnel now exceeds the Seikan rail tunnel linking the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. More importantly, it paves the way for continuous high-speed rail travel between northern and southeastern Europe.