love all your content give all of us inspiration and giving us more knowledge regarding architecture, urban planning and engineering. Thank you so much @The B1M
As an Italian who has followed this project for a long time, a couple of extra info: - the french "appear" to be paying less for the big tunnel, but that's because the rail connection between Lion and the tunnel itself is much longer and therefor more expensive - the No TAV movement started out as a small local protest which had legitimate points: for example, massive viaducts were initially planned which would've ruined the landscape and also they planned to dig trough a portion of mountain full of asbestos. These points were valid and in fact changes to the project were made that ultimately result in a better railway. The problem was that the movement soon attracted violent rioters (no global, antifa and stuff) which clashed very very heavily with the police and disrupted the works (equipment and sites were set ablaze) and the legitimate points degenerated into generic ones such as "it's useless" "it costs too much". The worst of it has passed, but the No TAV movement grew into a national one that kind of opposes all major infrastructure works, often with violent protests. - the government that was elected in Italy in 2018 contained a party, called 5 Stars, which was against the project and tried doing all kind of bureaucratic mess to stall the project. That's partially why the italian side works are behind schedule. Some positive came out of this too tough: they kept saying the project costed too much as a way to stop it, so the EU called their bluff and said they were gonna pay a larger share. So now the project is cheaper for both Italy and France. They ultimately failed to stop it because stopping it would violate an international treaty signed in the 90s: the Treaty for the Protection of the Alps mandates that all member states should transfer as much traffic as possible, especially freight, from trucks to rail in order to reduce pollution and vehicle movements. Backing out of international treaties is very hard in the Italian law apparatus, so stopping the project was basically impossible.
i dont understand trying to stop high speed lines (redirection is ofcourse okey) Its not like human and cargo transport is going stop increasing. It will just clog the road networks, spraying the wider world with toxic gass and rubber debris. and ultimately spill over onto other smaller roads not designed to handle the influx of traffic. or worse, spill over onto airplanes.
To explain the Brenner Base Tunnel thing: We were careful to say that the Mont Cenis Base Tunnel will be the longest *single* rail tunnel in the world. The Brenner Base Tunnel will become the world's longest underground rail *connection* when it links up with an existing tunnel (built back in 1994). The new tunnel section at Brenner is 55km, while the new tunnel at Mont Cenis will be 57.5km. When it's fully connected to the older tunnels, Brenner overall will be 64km. We know our tunnels. We've made like a 100 tunnel videos this year already. Fast becoming the definitive video channel for tunnels.
As someone who worked in the Brenner Base Tunnel obviously I'd like the bragging rights of the world's longest tunnel. But I have to admit as a single tunnel from entrance to exit it is not. Combined with the other tunnel it still counts but it is two seperate tunnels that are connected underground after all. Anyways all of these projects are incredible pieces of engeneering.
57km is INSANE! I went through a tunnel in Norway that was roughly 25km~ long and it already felt like an eternity underground. What a claustrophobic nightmare, I love it!
Gotthard base tunnel is also 57km long and yes it is about 20min in the dark but very smooth ride so you never feel really uncomfortable. Did it many times and it's much faster than taking the car to go to Italy from the north.
We have the 57km Gotthard railway tunnel in Switzerland, it was finished in 2016, it was built to connect the north of the country more quickly to the southern part of the country. Trains can travel up to 250 kmh in the tunnel, the construction was expensive and took quite a few years to complete as they had to drill through granite and other types of rock.
I used to work in a gold mine where people spent 12 hours shifts underground. It takes a special breed of person to spend that long underground with no awareness of the outside world. They can be quite.... strange, but are generally lovely people.
@@keaton718typical walking speed for a hiker is ~4km per hour. So, you can theoretically do these kinds of tunnels in less than a day. There's actually sports events like "Mammutmarsch" that do long hikes like that and they do finish within 24hrs.
I’m 15y old African origin boy living in Europe for almost four years now and I respect the hard work of the western people, I mean the way they working everyday so hard just to make everything goes right as plan and the effort absolutely makes me want to learn more and get my degrees and go back to my country and develop there too.
And never forget they built their wealth and empire on slavery, resource stealing, and destabilization of the African continent. But yes is good if you plan to go back home to help in the development of the continent.
Good luck Ismael, a good education is a great thing, even more so when it is focused on a subject you have a passion for. All the best with your studies.
I was talking to an American friend recently, who in November had traveled by rail through most of Western Europe, and he was in awe at the quality, frequency and the massive network of trains in Europe compared to the States. And Europe is just getting started.
There just isn't enough support for rail. The opposition for proposed projects and funding is quite strong. People just don't believe enough people will use them to justify the cost and don't want their taxes paying for something they'll never use.
The French high speed train TGV has a line Paris-Lyon and then Paris is connected with London, Brussels and Amsterdam through Eurostar. In Italy there are trains going 300+ km/h from Turin all the way to Rome. This tunnel is amazing because it could connect Italy with high speed trains with Paris, London, Brussels and Amsterdam. Regarding this opposition and similar ones in other big projects, I really don't get it. You propose a highway, they don't like it. They are against aviation, now they are against underground trains as well? Should we bring horse chariots back so that they are happy?
Occasionally I’m tempted to ask opponents why they aren’t joining the Amish. Another line of reasoning is: “Why can’t everything stay as it is? I’m fine with what I have.” There are two main problems with this, climate change and many others not being content with what they have.
Same with the Tesla factory near Berlin, where so called environmental groups tried to block the project (insane!) and got money from VW. It is silly to state that there are only very few trains per day, as with a high speed train the acceptance to travel by train could significantly increase. The project would make sense even if the sole purpose was to get the trucks crossing the alps off the road.
To be honest seeing massive and impressive infrastructure projects like this being undertaking just leaves me in awe and I personally think infrastructure in general to be a very exciting and also very beneficial thing long term or those affected
Tunnel month is back on! All we need now is another three videos in a row about tunnels! Looks like Fred, Luke and Liam are going to have to come up with a new name for the rail line on the poddy!
Can't believe how far this channel has come over a short period, it's obviously the voice backed up with awesome visuals and packed with information in a short video. Forgot to add at the end, I LOVE IT :)
As someone who spent most of his working life (40+ years) at the sharp end of tunnel construction, on 4 continents and 50+ countries, I love to see more tunnels being built. I just wish the B1M would go into a bit more detail so that the general public would get a fuller picture of the complexities of tunnel construction - especially soft and mixed ground tunnelling. It's a fascinating subject and more people may be drawn into tunnelling if they knew how many facets there are to it.
I would love to hear more! Seems like you have a lot of insight. What kind of job were you doing? I'm currently working my way to to become an engineering geologist so tunnel construction is a big part of that.
Have a look on some videos from the channel of the company Marti Gruppe, like the one on the Ritom Pumped Storage Plant Project. They are great and of an exceptional quality for company videos. Like a documentary, with loads of 3D graphics and views. Usually construction / boring companies produce short videos that can be interesting but are quite self promoting without much value for the general public outside of real fans of the subject. But the Marti Gruppe videos are really something else, especially the one I mentioned. (They had 2.7M views on this one as of today and they deserve it). It's some the best documentaries on tunnel boring projects I've seen yet. It would be absolutely amazing if the companies or agencies in charge of the huge projects currently being built (like the Grand Paris Express) could do something like that for their respective projects. The B1M and the Marti Gruppe should do something together, I'll be in awe...
International rail travel in Europe still sucks compared to domestic rail travel unfortunately. The main thing politicians talk about regarding the Brenner base tunnel is cargo trains
Thanks for covering this project. Your videos are always fascinating, and the comments helped me know more about the problems faced by the project in my country🇮🇹
I happy to see this project getting the spotlight. I have lived in Turin for the past 18+ years and I have seen this project gradually move forward with baby steps while getting hounded by the NoTAV movement.
I really appreciate how you treat the opposition to these projects with respect. It's easy to look at ones like this where they have been accommodated already and still are hardline against anything at all being done, and just dismiss them because of it. But you always take the time to acknowledge their concerns and present them without judging. That's not easy to do and I respect it.
Your videos are gem to all civil engineer aspirants, provides a lot of valuable insight to civil engineering projects and the challenges to overcome to accomplish the project. Thank you very much.
I've been wainting for this video for ages!! Used to live in Turin, where part of my life still is, and I now live in Lyon!! And as crazy as it can be, I don't take "high speed" train to go there, I take the bus which is the same time (4h+) but way less expensive... And problem is, friday night, after a week of work, I can't go much further than Turin, because the last trains take off when I arrive. Having a real high speed train would be a game changer! Also, on a cultural note, Turin and Lyon have really lots on common, but it is astonishing how few the two cities know each other!
@@gillian67ecIt's just a friendly rivalry for the most part. As an Italian, I am yet to see any other Italian that doesn't love French cheese and wine.
Keep on watching The B1M and you'll find lots of amazing content to follow from this and other similar/related channels! This is the good part of TH-cam, which nourishes people's minds with amazing content and high-level discourse about actual important topics!
@@odynith9356 Because these are the heritage of India, and is a function of the language. We still have English names like Robertsganj, Forbesganj, Lansdowne, English Bazaar, etc.
Hey Fred, Can you do a video specifically covering the raise boring machine? It seems like a really cool, and super unique piece of engineering/construction equipment. Perhaps lump it in with a few other very specialized pieces of construction equipment? Cheers!
Love all of your videos man, I was so stoked to see a new one because I've seen the rest so many times 🤣 Great content as always, you and the team do amazing work. I look forward to watching you track the buildout of this massive European transit network!
You should do a video on the de-construction of the Champlain bridge in Montreal, Qc, Canada. It's a 3,5km 6 lane 50 years old highway bridge, over one of the biggest river and shipping lane in Canada, but that had to be replaced due to its deteriorating condition. However rather than blowing it up (or quickly demolishing it), they de-construct it piece by piece, to try and reuse its components, and to limit environmental impact as much as possible. A show on the French national broadcast channel (Radio Canada) followed this process and filmed impressive shots that you could likely use for a video.
The problem are all the Nimbys and "green" lobby groups protesting and sueing the shit out of everything. Especially the ones doing it for allegedly "environmental concerns".
@@Tokru86 Yes, in Germany the always find an animal anywhere which now must be protected. Doesn't matter if we destroy the world with climate change. So the left is eating itself way too often.
@@xXDESTINYMBXx The Germans build their own base tunnel so they give it some extra traffic by finding insurmountable impediments on the link to the Swiss route.
@xXDESTINYMBXx There are currently three other construction sites in Italy besides the Turin - Lyon tunnel: the Brenner tunnel, the Genoa pass tunnel and the Naples - Bari tunnel, all of which are more than 30 km long and very expensive
As always, excellent video, guys. I've always had an interest in architecture and construction and I really look forward to your podcast and the accompanying videos each week. Love how when you're comparing your videos, Fred, you stretch out your words. Compleeted, Ventilationn, finish iin 2022, much better than 1,000's of videos on other channels that have no character.
I'd like this channel to go into more details of the wonderful machines that build the things this channel talks about. Maybe it could be a separate series. For example, that ventilation shaft drill which drills upwards and excavates at the same time, how does it do that? Also I'd like to see vids that answer basic questions, like how do they insure the holes 'pilot' down the planned lined. If you bore from both ends, how to make the tunnels meet? But not just boring, even things like answering basic questions about how buildings are built would be fascinating to see, and this channel would do an amazing job of it as well.
57.1km rounded up and it was finished in under 17 years. Meanwhile over over 20 years after planing has started the other tunnels aren't anywhere close to completion
I'm confused. Is the island of Malta going to get a tunnel or bridge connection with the mainland or am I understanding incorrectly how this network operates? I find information about this project remarkably difficult to find. Edit. It'll be shipping routes. Still, amazing Europe is doing all of this, here we can't even get a 900 km high speed line between our two biggest cities to alleviate one of the busiest plane routes in the world.
The sea floor between Malta and Sicily the Malta Plateau is 150m deep and the islands at their closest is 80km. Not bad but not great for building any tunnel, I think you'll start getting into atmospheric issues and pressure if that deep. You'd need a pressurized train for people to not get the bends when it rises back to the surface. And from what I can see about the areas around the Malta Plateau seems to be 800m to 1,500m deep. Plus earthquakes since Malta is supposedly OK but southern Sicily is in a seismic zone.
Hi Fred and Team, as a Pole I'm very interested in projects that concern my country, I was wondering if there will ever be a video in the future about Rail Baltica, Solidarity Transport hub, Carpathian highway, or high speed trains in Poland?
@@AE-bh5zs Rail baltica is a high speed (low end of high speed but still faster than American trains) that connects Estonia all the way to Poland with planned extensions eventually to Finland below the baltic sea. Not sure if this is what you're referring to
th-cam.com/video/0Vgi7rHNvXw/w-d-xo.html It falls through and is cleared from below. You may want to turn off the sound and set to 2x speed. The demonstration is clear but ponderous on that link.
Could you do a video about Cargo sous Terrain in Switzerland? The goal is to remove traffic from road as well as the avoid additional traffic above the ground. It's interesting because the environmental impact should be reduced and the project automate the traffic of goods. City logistics should be reformed along the project as well.
I like the idea and hope it gets built, but its currently just in geological exploration phase. I think in the end it will fail, mainly due to lack of funds since it's a private company and a lot of nimbys.
@@RC2225 funding is not fully clear, perspectives aren't bad though. The other point, nimby's, I cannot see because it's a 100% underground project just connecting already built infrastructure. Nimby's are called nimby's because they don't accept slightly worse conditions in their area, here they won't have any disadvantages, neither for funding nor for value of property or life quality in general
Love the video, and RE the value of the tunnel - Almost any large construction project built to optimize transport has been a massive success over a long time. Sure it takes forever when building it, costs billions, delayed by years at times, risk of corruption, but once it is done and Operations have been smoothed out, usually it is just one long surplus giving project that maybe has to spend 10-15 yrs to pay for itself but it usually lasts 50-100+ yrs without major maintainance, so economically alone it is worth it. And then there is the economic stimulus of such a project on the trade and economy of the users which is usually not measured in, which is billions+ again.
True! Consider that utilities often are granted authority to issue bonds over 40 years for major power projects. Something like this that vastly reduces the carbon footprint of travel by air? It's a no-brainer.
@@sm3675 you are. Poland's motorway network will be largely complete by 2030. Via baltica, via carpathia finished. Romanias motorway network at least a third of the way done. Bulgarias finished. Most likely schengen for romania/bulgaria by then. Maybe hsr from budapest to cluj or timisoara. Maybe hsr from nis to sofia to edirne. Eu membership for serbia, montenegro and other macedonia. Hopefully hsr from vienna to krakow. Not to mention the average pole should be as well off as tye average brit by then, if current trends continue.
So let me get this straight: France and Italy are building a HSR line that includes a massive base tunnel for far less than CAHSR? The US seriously needs to address the systemic issues with infrastructure projects here.
TBF, if you build a sandcastle in Central Europe and leave it alone for a few moments, there will be a committee planning a tunnel under it by the time you get back. they just can't help themselves. that gives them a huge amount of experience
I'd like to know the amount of fuel and CO2 emission that goes into building these mega-tunnels and how long it takes for the reduced travel distance to pay it off.
@@cartmann227 Are they considering the fuel/CO2 of the workers driving in to work on it? The cost to build and transport the equipment? How about the CO2 of the citizens driving to their jobs to earn the $9B it cost? I think the fuel/CO2 cost is a whole lot higher than advertised.
@@Kragatar bro wtf, why would the include that? Workers would be driving to work anyway, just to another job and location, same goes with the equipment, it would have been sold anyway and used for something else.
It’s because the US is an oligarchy as Bernie Sanders says all the time. Like Russia, it is run to benefit a tiny minority and these projects benefit the many.
@@rutessian We have to think bigger at European level and not small in terms of individual countries. Federal taxes in the US can pay for a project that might benefit only California, but it is worth implementing it. Its a matter of perspective.
I work and live part time in Val Cenis, in the Maurienne valley. I don't have a problem with it but: calling it a 'high speed line' is silly. And the claimed time savings are crazy: the main passenger train that goes through the old tunnel (Paris-Milan service) could go ~2 hours faster tomorrow if we wanted to by ditching around 7 (yes SEVEN) intermediate stops on what is supposed to be a flagship, high speed service. It takes around 5 hours to get to Modane from Paris, the start of the current tunnel, and that could be cut down to 3ish hours simply by taking the direct route and not stopping at every bloody station. No idea about how much time can be saved on the Italian side, probably a large amount. Us locals who take this train regularly know this, so spending billions and billions for a quoted time saving that can already be made with scheduling changes is a bit of a hard sell. As for the environmental impact, it's not a strip mall where we need to turn half the valley into concrete. No problem with the environmental side. This is the cost of progress, this needs to be built but they need to be realistic about what it's going to do: making it easier to carry more freight on rails through the valley. The Tunnel Du Frejus is ancient. And of course hard core leftists/antifa/black bloc hate shite like this so make it their mission to ruin everyone's day, including people like me who live in the vicinity and have genuine, reasonable concerns.
If you wanted to only connect Paris and Milan you can already do that. It's called a flight. A train running that whole distance without any stops in between is as dumb as it gets. Good luck ever filling that with passengers.
@@Tokru86 Don't see how a fast through train couldn't be scheduled around local runs. Whether it would be profitable, I don't know, but the airways also get crowded.
Yeah it's already there but : From Paris the trains run on the HSL to Lyon then on the Lyon Eastern high-speed bypass that goes under Lyon LYS airport then just a little South of Lyon they exit the HSL towards the East on the conventional network. From there they have to meander the valleys of the Alps to climb to the current tunnel, then it's the same descending like a serpent on the Italian side then they continue to Turin, and there they can hop back on the HSL to Milan. Surely it's shorter than trains running at conventional speeds but it's still quite long. The project sets a path that's going to be almost entirely on HSL from end to end : a new HSL linking the Paris Lyon Marseille HSL to the base tunnel and if I recall correctly also a HSL stretch between the base tunnel and Turin. It's going to have significantly shorter journey times than today, especially the direct nonstop Paris Turin or Milan trains. We might see tons of Fashion Week trains running the great seasonal fashionistas migration in the future. 🤣
Love how humans can do the impossible all the time, transcontinental railways, transport tunnels under the English Channel, and now tunnel under whole mountain ranges
2:42 the original "corridor 5" was not actually from Spain to Hungary, but from Lisbon to... KIEV. I heard of that around 2005, and for me this says a lot about the current war.
You’re saying the Swiss are better at it,don’t think so. The Swiss could not function if not for tunnels,it’s a land locked nation at the base of the alps. Numerous foreign countries contributed to the Swiss network from the start,
On their way to vacation in Italy last year, my parents by accident got caught in a no-tav protest on the highway. People suddenly blocked the highway and their car was wrecked with stones and pipes. They thought they were being robbed and feared for their lives. We only later found out it was a protest. I love traveling Europe by train, and however impressive, this project will always have a sour taste for us. And any sympathy we could have for the motivation of that no-tav group is permanently gone.
oh damn, they ruined your parents afternoon. Yeah these protesters deserved to have their area destroyed. How did they dare disturbing tourists vacation ??
The B1M - There is a large project underway in Virginia US to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. A TBM is also being used and has been named Mary. A video on this project would be very informative, especially for those of us who are local to the project.
Seems like with so many of these huge public works projects there's lots of resistance up front (often resulting in constructive criticisms) but 10 years after it's completed people wonder how they lived without it. Really, there's not much of a good argument to get freight off of trucks and on to trains. If the people get to move around a bit faster, then that's a bonus.
Most of the world: investing a lot of money into expanding and improving rail infrastructure some countries: rail infrastructure? What's that? We only know adding another lane to the road :D
Interesting video! As both France and Italy use the Euro and no-one for miles around use the $, it would have been less confusing to quote the costs in Euro.
How come the US cannot afford tunnels like this? I would love to see what a base tunnel under the Grapevine in Southern California would cost versus how much money and time would be saved. There are undoubtedly other places in the US where base tunnels might likewise save a lot of time and money. Perhaps under the Sierras in Northern California to Nevada?
When the gen. pop. of California is apparently being fleeced by all and sundry building the new underground line there at over $1bn/mile, I wouldn't hold your breath. Adjusting for today's prices, the very first underground line ever built ~ the Metropolitan railway in London ~ cost £128m or $153m/mile 160 years ago. Armed with this gem, next time you happen to be at a 'meet the builders' type of public meeting/schmooze-fest, why not subtly toss this hand grenade of a fact into the smug group of them and smile as they fumble to provide a meaningful response?
2:26 a route from finland down to italy. Yeah, as a finn, that's not going to happen. We apparently can't get a single new line between tampere and helsinki to work, and the helsinki-tallinn tunnel is forever iced and probably buried at this point, so an even longer helsinki-turku-stockholm route is highly unlikely.
Great video as usual. I have always been in awe about those non engineers who know more than the engineers who accomplish these feats daily. I those people want money spent elsewhere the should throw their hats into the political ring and see how that works for them.
love all your content give all of us inspiration and giving us more knowledge regarding architecture, urban planning and engineering. Thank you so much @The B1M
Appreciate your comment but it's becoming ridiculous for B1M to always pinning comments congratulating himself.
@@ci-cy3ww i agree, kinda cringe
but....there is an $887 billion military budget...think of the modernization of the missile system and the new nuclear bomber fleet
The Long and Winding road.. that'at leads to nowhere.
Don't forget us Geologists ;)
As an Italian who has followed this project for a long time, a couple of extra info:
- the french "appear" to be paying less for the big tunnel, but that's because the rail connection between Lion and the tunnel itself is much longer and therefor more expensive
- the No TAV movement started out as a small local protest which had legitimate points: for example, massive viaducts were initially planned which would've ruined the landscape and also they planned to dig trough a portion of mountain full of asbestos. These points were valid and in fact changes to the project were made that ultimately result in a better railway. The problem was that the movement soon attracted violent rioters (no global, antifa and stuff) which clashed very very heavily with the police and disrupted the works (equipment and sites were set ablaze) and the legitimate points degenerated into generic ones such as "it's useless" "it costs too much". The worst of it has passed, but the No TAV movement grew into a national one that kind of opposes all major infrastructure works, often with violent protests.
- the government that was elected in Italy in 2018 contained a party, called 5 Stars, which was against the project and tried doing all kind of bureaucratic mess to stall the project. That's partially why the italian side works are behind schedule. Some positive came out of this too tough: they kept saying the project costed too much as a way to stop it, so the EU called their bluff and said they were gonna pay a larger share. So now the project is cheaper for both Italy and France.
They ultimately failed to stop it because stopping it would violate an international treaty signed in the 90s: the Treaty for the Protection of the Alps mandates that all member states should transfer as much traffic as possible, especially freight, from trucks to rail in order to reduce pollution and vehicle movements. Backing out of international treaties is very hard in the Italian law apparatus, so stopping the project was basically impossible.
Many thanks for the info!
Thank you for the info! Local knowledge like this really improves the perspective with the context.
Thank you friend!
i dont understand trying to stop high speed lines (redirection is ofcourse okey) Its not like human and cargo transport is going stop increasing. It will just clog the road networks, spraying the wider world with toxic gass and rubber debris. and ultimately spill over onto other smaller roads not designed to handle the influx of traffic. or worse, spill over onto airplanes.
5 Stars movement is basically against everything. It's a cancer of our country.
To explain the Brenner Base Tunnel thing: We were careful to say that the Mont Cenis Base Tunnel will be the longest *single* rail tunnel in the world. The Brenner Base Tunnel will become the world's longest underground rail *connection* when it links up with an existing tunnel (built back in 1994). The new tunnel section at Brenner is 55km, while the new tunnel at Mont Cenis will be 57.5km. When it's fully connected to the older tunnels, Brenner overall will be 64km.
We know our tunnels. We've made like a 100 tunnel videos this year already. Fast becoming the definitive video channel for tunnels.
Love the Tunnel Videos!
Thanks for the information.
"The definitive video channel for tunnels" 🤣🤣
As someone who worked in the Brenner Base Tunnel obviously I'd like the bragging rights of the world's longest tunnel. But I have to admit as a single tunnel from entrance to exit it is not. Combined with the other tunnel it still counts but it is two seperate tunnels that are connected underground after all.
Anyways all of these projects are incredible pieces of engeneering.
who cares which is the longest. TUNNELS!
57km is INSANE! I went through a tunnel in Norway that was roughly 25km~ long and it already felt like an eternity underground. What a claustrophobic nightmare, I love it!
Gotthard base tunnel is also 57km long and yes it is about 20min in the dark but very smooth ride so you never feel really uncomfortable. Did it many times and it's much faster than taking the car to go to Italy from the north.
We have the 57km Gotthard railway tunnel in Switzerland, it was finished in 2016, it was built to connect the north of the country more quickly to the southern part of the country. Trains can travel up to 250 kmh in the tunnel, the construction was expensive and took quite a few years to complete as they had to drill through granite and other types of rock.
I used to work in a gold mine where people spent 12 hours shifts underground. It takes a special breed of person to spend that long underground with no awareness of the outside world. They can be quite.... strange, but are generally lovely people.
To put it in perspective, if you walked one kilometre an hour it would probably take like weeks to walk through it all.
@@keaton718typical walking speed for a hiker is ~4km per hour. So, you can theoretically do these kinds of tunnels in less than a day. There's actually sports events like "Mammutmarsch" that do long hikes like that and they do finish within 24hrs.
I’m 15y old African origin boy living in Europe for almost four years now and I respect the hard work of the western people, I mean the way they working everyday so hard just to make everything goes right as plan and the effort absolutely makes me want to learn more and get my degrees and go back to my country and develop there too.
And never forget they built their wealth and empire on slavery, resource stealing, and destabilization of the African continent. But yes is good if you plan to go back home to help in the development of the continent.
You should go back to Africa and help your people. I did the same.
good luck with the degrees
Good luck Ismael, a good education is a great thing, even more so when it is focused on a subject you have a passion for.
All the best with your studies.
@@spixy16 Sure. Thanks
I was talking to an American friend recently, who in November had traveled by rail through most of Western Europe, and he was in awe at the quality, frequency and the massive network of trains in Europe compared to the States. And Europe is just getting started.
The USA is all about wealthy individuals. Screw the common good or the planet...
Meanwhile the States are stuck in 1920 and refuse to get with the times
@@smith2354 1920? Back then they had pretty good rail network
@@smith2354 more like stuck in the 60s
There just isn't enough support for rail. The opposition for proposed projects and funding is quite strong. People just don't believe enough people will use them to justify the cost and don't want their taxes paying for something they'll never use.
I like trains 🚂
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The French high speed train TGV has a line Paris-Lyon and then Paris is connected with London, Brussels and Amsterdam through Eurostar. In Italy there are trains going 300+ km/h from Turin all the way to Rome. This tunnel is amazing because it could connect Italy with high speed trains with Paris, London, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Regarding this opposition and similar ones in other big projects, I really don't get it. You propose a highway, they don't like it. They are against aviation, now they are against underground trains as well? Should we bring horse chariots back so that they are happy?
Occasionally I’m tempted to ask opponents why they aren’t joining the Amish. Another line of reasoning is: “Why can’t everything stay as it is? I’m fine with what I have.” There are two main problems with this, climate change and many others not being content with what they have.
There are always some people who are against progress, if we listened to them we'd still be in trees in Africa...
Exactly. Luckily the EU understands the worth and is paying extra to secure the future of the project
Aso dont forget the wine train which was suppose to be finished last year but its still going ahead London Bordeaux direct
Same with the Tesla factory near Berlin, where so called environmental groups tried to block the project (insane!) and got money from VW. It is silly to state that there are only very few trains per day, as with a high speed train the acceptance to travel by train could significantly increase. The project would make sense even if the sole purpose was to get the trucks crossing the alps off the road.
220 km/h, 57km through a mountain!, this will be a game changer for travel in the area and make long distance journeys more appealing
Yeah but to be fair it is still 15 min underground
To be honest seeing massive and impressive infrastructure projects like this being undertaking just leaves me in awe and I personally think infrastructure in general to be a very exciting and also very beneficial thing long term or those affected
USA dragging our feet again. Why can’t we all agree we need to spend a crap ton of money on our crumbling infrastructure? It’s maddening.
Same
Tunnel month is back on! All we need now is another three videos in a row about tunnels! Looks like Fred, Luke and Liam are going to have to come up with a new name for the rail line on the poddy!
I suggest terzo valico del Giovi
Can't believe how far this channel has come over a short period, it's obviously the voice backed up with awesome visuals and packed with information in a short video.
Forgot to add at the end, I LOVE IT :)
As someone who spent most of his working life (40+ years) at the sharp end of tunnel construction, on 4 continents and 50+ countries, I love to see more tunnels being built.
I just wish the B1M would go into a bit more detail so that the general public would get a fuller picture of the complexities of tunnel construction - especially soft and mixed ground tunnelling.
It's a fascinating subject and more people may be drawn into tunnelling if they knew how many facets there are to it.
I would love to hear more! Seems like you have a lot of insight. What kind of job were you doing?
I'm currently working my way to to become an engineering geologist so tunnel construction is a big part of that.
Hear hear!
Have a look on some videos from the channel of the company Marti Gruppe, like the one on the Ritom Pumped Storage Plant Project.
They are great and of an exceptional quality for company videos. Like a documentary, with loads of 3D graphics and views.
Usually construction / boring companies produce short videos that can be interesting but are quite self promoting without much value for the general public outside of real fans of the subject.
But the Marti Gruppe videos are really something else, especially the one I mentioned. (They had 2.7M views on this one as of today and they deserve it).
It's some the best documentaries on tunnel boring projects I've seen yet.
It would be absolutely amazing if the companies or agencies in charge of the huge projects currently being built (like the Grand Paris Express) could do something like that for their respective projects.
The B1M and the Marti Gruppe should do something together, I'll be in awe...
@@KyrilPG thanks
Trains are extremely expensive. They should build roads for cars.
I'm french living in this area and appreciated your video well done on that subject for the whole world! merci
Another high quality video from B1M
Great project to connect to magnificent countries 🇫🇷❤🇮🇹
Anything that improves travel is welcome, Thanks for the video B1M.
Except if it runs alongside your house.
International rail travel in Europe still sucks compared to domestic rail travel unfortunately. The main thing politicians talk about regarding the Brenner base tunnel is cargo trains
Thanks for covering this project. Your videos are always fascinating, and the comments helped me know more about the problems faced by the project in my country🇮🇹
This is one of my favorite youtube channels.. I always love watching videos on humanity pushing the frontier with large scale mega-projects.
Great video, always interesting to know what's going on with construction around the world and how they compare to eachother!
Fred is the only mountain that never stands in the way of construction...
The first response to PB-Trinity's comment (above mine) is a bot, report it and, please, never click on thoose links.
@@justeunfan3364 Looks like TH-cam took care of this one for once.
Billy and Ethel too
@@MacCionnaith bahahaha, no way, I came here to say Billy too!
I happy to see this project getting the spotlight. I have lived in Turin for the past 18+ years and I have seen this project gradually move forward with baby steps while getting hounded by the NoTAV movement.
I really appreciate how you treat the opposition to these projects with respect. It's easy to look at ones like this where they have been accommodated already and still are hardline against anything at all being done, and just dismiss them because of it. But you always take the time to acknowledge their concerns and present them without judging. That's not easy to do and I respect it.
Your videos are gem to all civil engineer aspirants, provides a lot of valuable insight to civil engineering projects and the challenges to overcome to accomplish the project. Thank you very much.
I've been wainting for this video for ages!! Used to live in Turin, where part of my life still is, and I now live in Lyon!!
And as crazy as it can be, I don't take "high speed" train to go there, I take the bus which is the same time (4h+) but way less expensive... And problem is, friday night, after a week of work, I can't go much further than Turin, because the last trains take off when I arrive. Having a real high speed train would be a game changer!
Also, on a cultural note, Turin and Lyon have really lots on common, but it is astonishing how few the two cities know each other!
@@gillian67ecIt's just a friendly rivalry for the most part. As an Italian, I am yet to see any other Italian that doesn't love French cheese and wine.
This is the only place I get up to date construction news from around the world. It's just not reported on local or national news channels.
Having taken the train from turin to paris last month, I must say, this tunnel will be amazing, issues aside
If you put the issues aside, everything is amazing.
I don't know why, but videos like this make me relax. The best therapy youtube has to offer for me. Thank you 🙂
Love this channel its so grown up for TH-cam just superb
Keep on watching The B1M and you'll find lots of amazing content to follow from this and other similar/related channels! This is the good part of TH-cam, which nourishes people's minds with amazing content and high-level discourse about actual important topics!
Please make the next video on the mountainous rail projects of India: the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, the Jiribam-Imphal line, etc.
Would love to hear more about them too.
As a European, we never hear about stuff from India and a lot of "building-stuff" happens there!
Why are these names always so complicated in india
@@odynith9356 Because these are the heritage of India, and is a function of the language. We still have English names like Robertsganj, Forbesganj, Lansdowne, English Bazaar, etc.
Hey Fred,
Can you do a video specifically covering the raise boring machine? It seems like a really cool, and super unique piece of engineering/construction equipment. Perhaps lump it in with a few other very specialized pieces of construction equipment?
Cheers!
All of this new rail work in Europe is very exciting; I'm just sad that Kraftwerk isn't around anymore to write music about it
Love all of your videos man, I was so stoked to see a new one because I've seen the rest so many times 🤣 Great content as always, you and the team do amazing work. I look forward to watching you track the buildout of this massive European transit network!
Impressed by this project. Not as impressed as I am of the channel. Really taking off now. Well deserved guys. Fred! Your a great presenter.
Signifigantly cheaper per mile than UKs HS2 despite looking much more complex, longer, and tbh more cool sounding.
You should do a video on the de-construction of the Champlain bridge in Montreal, Qc, Canada. It's a 3,5km 6 lane 50 years old highway bridge, over one of the biggest river and shipping lane in Canada, but that had to be replaced due to its deteriorating condition. However rather than blowing it up (or quickly demolishing it), they de-construct it piece by piece, to try and reuse its components, and to limit environmental impact as much as possible. A show on the French national broadcast channel (Radio Canada) followed this process and filmed impressive shots that you could likely use for a video.
Great content, as usual. Thank you for giving us this amazing insight into the world of construction.
Worth mentioning that the Swiss Gotthard tunnel can‘t be fully used due to the extremely slow german buildout of connecting lines😢
The problem are all the Nimbys and "green" lobby groups protesting and sueing the shit out of everything. Especially the ones doing it for allegedly "environmental concerns".
@@Tokru86 Yes, in Germany the always find an animal anywhere which now must be protected. Doesn't matter if we destroy the world with climate change. So the left is eating itself way too often.
When even Italy can get their pants up to build it before the Germany
@@xXDESTINYMBXx The Germans build their own base tunnel so they give it some extra traffic by finding insurmountable impediments on the link to the Swiss route.
@xXDESTINYMBXx There are currently three other construction sites in Italy besides the Turin - Lyon tunnel: the Brenner tunnel, the Genoa pass tunnel and the Naples - Bari tunnel, all of which are more than 30 km long and very expensive
As always, excellent video, guys. I've always had an interest in architecture and construction and I really look forward to your podcast and the accompanying videos each week. Love how when you're comparing your videos, Fred, you stretch out your words. Compleeted, Ventilationn, finish iin 2022, much better than 1,000's of videos on other channels that have no character.
These videos always give me something to look forward to in the middle of the week. Thanks for making Wednesdays much more interesting 👍
I'd like this channel to go into more details of the wonderful machines that build the things this channel talks about. Maybe it could be a separate series. For example, that ventilation shaft drill which drills upwards and excavates at the same time, how does it do that? Also I'd like to see vids that answer basic questions, like how do they insure the holes 'pilot' down the planned lined. If you bore from both ends, how to make the tunnels meet? But not just boring, even things like answering basic questions about how buildings are built would be fascinating to see, and this channel would do an amazing job of it as well.
The B1m is the my favourite you tube channel
Love this channel, content is always brilliant 👍
Thank heavens for projects that stretch human collaboration and ingenuity. I love it. I hope I live long enough to use it.
Very good as usual 👍
we did 54km here in switzerland - north to south - the NEAT New Gotthard Tunnel - saw it from the inside just before it was opened - crazy work
57.1km rounded up and it was finished in under 17 years. Meanwhile over over 20 years after planing has started the other tunnels aren't anywhere close to completion
Why no video about the Gotthard Base Tunnel or Neat? It is already built, in use and is a engineering marvel.
I worked as an Engineer in this project a couple of years ago. Still one of the highlights of my career.
Europe is building high speed railway lines like the US built interstate highways back in the 1950s. It's that big of a boom of construction
The Brenner Base Tunnel will be 64km when complete, the 55km tunnel is the shorter option from Franzensfeste to Innsbruck.
I'm confused. Is the island of Malta going to get a tunnel or bridge connection with the mainland or am I understanding incorrectly how this network operates?
I find information about this project remarkably difficult to find.
Edit. It'll be shipping routes.
Still, amazing Europe is doing all of this, here we can't even get a 900 km high speed line between our two biggest cities to alleviate one of the busiest plane routes in the world.
Shipping route must also be used for Turku to Stockholm part on the ScanMed corridor
The sea floor between Malta and Sicily the Malta Plateau is 150m deep and the islands at their closest is 80km. Not bad but not great for building any tunnel, I think you'll start getting into atmospheric issues and pressure if that deep. You'd need a pressurized train for people to not get the bends when it rises back to the surface. And from what I can see about the areas around the Malta Plateau seems to be 800m to 1,500m deep. Plus earthquakes since Malta is supposedly OK but southern Sicily is in a seismic zone.
There is no demand for a tunnel to Malta. But maybe fast ferries.
@@dg-hughes For sure, that's why I was so surprised as it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.
I only looked yesterday to see if you have already uploaded a video about it and now it's uploaded 👌
As a fellow guy named Fred, having the boring machine named Federica is awesome to see.
The B1m is the best of you tube
Hi Fred and Team, as a Pole I'm very interested in projects that concern my country, I was wondering if there will ever be a video in the future about Rail Baltica, Solidarity Transport hub, Carpathian highway, or high speed trains in Poland?
It would be amazing to see a video on Rail Baltica on here!
Tell us a bit about it? I'm in the USA and would love to see decent passenger rail somewhere beyond the NYC-DC corridor!
@@AE-bh5zs Rail baltica is a high speed (low end of high speed but still faster than American trains) that connects Estonia all the way to Poland with planned extensions eventually to Finland below the baltic sea. Not sure if this is what you're referring to
Another belter & you make these videos easy to understand 👏👍🙏
How does the "raised boring machine" remove the debris it's boring through? Does it fall through down the shaft or is it somehow brought up?
th-cam.com/video/0Vgi7rHNvXw/w-d-xo.html
It falls through and is cleared from below. You may want to turn off the sound and set to 2x speed. The demonstration is clear but ponderous on that link.
Great to Marco Chitti featured!
Could you do a video about Cargo sous Terrain in Switzerland? The goal is to remove traffic from road as well as the avoid additional traffic above the ground. It's interesting because the environmental impact should be reduced and the project automate the traffic of goods. City logistics should be reformed along the project as well.
I like the idea and hope it gets built, but its currently just in geological exploration phase. I think in the end it will fail, mainly due to lack of funds since it's a private company and a lot of nimbys.
@@RC2225 funding is not fully clear, perspectives aren't bad though. The other point, nimby's, I cannot see because it's a 100% underground project just connecting already built infrastructure. Nimby's are called nimby's because they don't accept slightly worse conditions in their area, here they won't have any disadvantages, neither for funding nor for value of property or life quality in general
Oh wow I need to go back and watch that video on the train from Helsinki to Valletta, amazing. This video was great, thanks!
Hey guys, have you ended memberships? Great video as always!
Appreciate this great quality of your content without any shady ads. Great thing you went for 4K videos ;)
So it's much cheaper to literally drill through a mountain in Europe than build a fast-ish train from London to Leeds?
It depends on who you allow to do the budgeting.
It also depends on how many houses you need to demolish.
Listening to you narrate this video was an education as always.
Love the video, and RE the value of the tunnel - Almost any large construction project built to optimize transport has been a massive success over a long time.
Sure it takes forever when building it, costs billions, delayed by years at times, risk of corruption, but once it is done and Operations have been smoothed out, usually it is just one long surplus giving project that maybe has to spend 10-15 yrs to pay for itself but it usually lasts 50-100+ yrs without major maintainance, so economically alone it is worth it.
And then there is the economic stimulus of such a project on the trade and economy of the users which is usually not measured in, which is billions+ again.
True! Consider that utilities often are granted authority to issue bonds over 40 years for major power projects. Something like this that vastly reduces the carbon footprint of travel by air? It's a no-brainer.
Neat how Europe is always upgrading the infrastructure and in North America we hope the bridges don’t collapse
Continental Europe by 2030, will be a very exciting place to live.
2030 The Great Reset: You Will Own Nothing, and You Will Be Happy.
@@yemenita you people have been saying that for decades and it’s never come to pass
@@darthmaul216 it's already happened, and you didn't notice
Eastern Europe is also part of Continential Europe. Why aren't we included?
@@sm3675 you are. Poland's motorway network will be largely complete by 2030. Via baltica, via carpathia finished. Romanias motorway network at least a third of the way done. Bulgarias finished. Most likely schengen for romania/bulgaria by then. Maybe hsr from budapest to cluj or timisoara. Maybe hsr from nis to sofia to edirne. Eu membership for serbia, montenegro and other macedonia. Hopefully hsr from vienna to krakow. Not to mention the average pole should be as well off as tye average brit by then, if current trends continue.
My friend from Italy is working in this tunnel. He sent me some blasting videos in the tunnel.
So let me get this straight: France and Italy are building a HSR line that includes a massive base tunnel for far less than CAHSR? The US seriously needs to address the systemic issues with infrastructure projects here.
When one party says the only way to move people is cars, it is hard to get consistent funding for rail.
I thought it was general knowledge that infrastructure projects and military projects in the US get skimmed of the top like 80 to 90%.
TBF, if you build a sandcastle in Central Europe and leave it alone for a few moments, there will be a committee planning a tunnel under it by the time you get back. they just can't help themselves. that gives them a huge amount of experience
@@EnPapX Hahahahaha good one
I guess that's the benefit of building a tunnel under empty mountains and not having to purchase the land from privates.
7:35 why would you dig a hole by pulling dirt up like that vs digging from top down?
I'd like to know the amount of fuel and CO2 emission that goes into building these mega-tunnels and how long it takes for the reduced travel distance to pay it off.
7.6 years
@@cartmann227 Are they considering the fuel/CO2 of the workers driving in to work on it? The cost to build and transport the equipment? How about the CO2 of the citizens driving to their jobs to earn the $9B it cost? I think the fuel/CO2 cost is a whole lot higher than advertised.
@@Kragatar bro wtf, why would the include that? Workers would be driving to work anyway, just to another job and location, same goes with the equipment, it would have been sold anyway and used for something else.
Nice to see Marco Chitti in your video! I wish CNBC had consulted him on their "Track-less tram" video too!
Whenever I see these major infrastructure projects in Europe and Asia I weep for our heinous transport infrastructure here in the US…
But the USA has Freedom & Guns-!!!😏
Ain't it the truth!!!
It’s because the US is an oligarchy as Bernie Sanders says all the time. Like Russia, it is run to benefit a tiny minority and these projects benefit the many.
@@arunsoni26 How does it benefit someone from Poland or Germany who'll never use it, but his taxes will help pay for it?
@@rutessian We have to think bigger at European level and not small in terms of individual countries. Federal taxes in the US can pay for a project that might benefit only California, but it is worth implementing it. Its a matter of perspective.
As a student in Civil Engineering Technology this channel is the go-to for contruction video's... damn :p
I work and live part time in Val Cenis, in the Maurienne valley. I don't have a problem with it but: calling it a 'high speed line' is silly. And the claimed time savings are crazy: the main passenger train that goes through the old tunnel (Paris-Milan service) could go ~2 hours faster tomorrow if we wanted to by ditching around 7 (yes SEVEN) intermediate stops on what is supposed to be a flagship, high speed service. It takes around 5 hours to get to Modane from Paris, the start of the current tunnel, and that could be cut down to 3ish hours simply by taking the direct route and not stopping at every bloody station. No idea about how much time can be saved on the Italian side, probably a large amount. Us locals who take this train regularly know this, so spending billions and billions for a quoted time saving that can already be made with scheduling changes is a bit of a hard sell. As for the environmental impact, it's not a strip mall where we need to turn half the valley into concrete. No problem with the environmental side.
This is the cost of progress, this needs to be built but they need to be realistic about what it's going to do: making it easier to carry more freight on rails through the valley. The Tunnel Du Frejus is ancient. And of course hard core leftists/antifa/black bloc hate shite like this so make it their mission to ruin everyone's day, including people like me who live in the vicinity and have genuine, reasonable concerns.
If you wanted to only connect Paris and Milan you can already do that. It's called a flight. A train running that whole distance without any stops in between is as dumb as it gets. Good luck ever filling that with passengers.
@@Tokru86 Don't see how a fast through train couldn't be scheduled around local runs. Whether it would be profitable, I don't know, but the airways also get crowded.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you
cant wait to take a high speed train from Paris to Milan
Yeah it's already there but :
From Paris the trains run on the HSL to Lyon then on the Lyon Eastern high-speed bypass that goes under Lyon LYS airport then just a little South of Lyon they exit the HSL towards the East on the conventional network.
From there they have to meander the valleys of the Alps to climb to the current tunnel, then it's the same descending like a serpent on the Italian side then they continue to Turin, and there they can hop back on the HSL to Milan.
Surely it's shorter than trains running at conventional speeds but it's still quite long.
The project sets a path that's going to be almost entirely on HSL from end to end : a new HSL linking the Paris Lyon Marseille HSL to the base tunnel and if I recall correctly also a HSL stretch between the base tunnel and Turin.
It's going to have significantly shorter journey times than today, especially the direct nonstop Paris Turin or Milan trains.
We might see tons of Fashion Week trains running the great seasonal fashionistas migration in the future. 🤣
Great video as always! Cheers!
Love how humans can do the impossible all the time, transcontinental railways, transport tunnels under the English Channel, and now tunnel under whole mountain ranges
Well China do it better at fraction of course.
@@peterlamin8363 China can do it better the Humans???? What are you trying to say?
@@Broken_Mesh Chinese aren't human. They are insect people. Everyone knows that.
I'll say it again: Engineering of any type is amazing... 😏
Agreed 🔥
2:42 the original "corridor 5" was not actually from Spain to Hungary, but from Lisbon to... KIEV. I heard of that around 2005, and for me this says a lot about the current war.
The Swiss watching French and Italians discovering base tunnels years later. 😂
You’re saying the Swiss are better at it,don’t think so.
The Swiss could not function if not for tunnels,it’s a land locked nation at the base of the alps.
Numerous foreign countries contributed to the Swiss network from the start,
@@quercus5398 Thank you for sharing your personal opinion.
@@nashtags Thank you,but it’s not that personal.
imagine the first time you get on a train through this tunnel instead of the old route. your mind will be blown be the travel time!
Still more interesting to go over the alps.
@@namenlos40 you don't go over the alps. You go in a small, extremely old tunnel 2 kilometers after that.
On their way to vacation in Italy last year, my parents by accident got caught in a no-tav protest on the highway. People suddenly blocked the highway and their car was wrecked with stones and pipes. They thought they were being robbed and feared for their lives. We only later found out it was a protest.
I love traveling Europe by train, and however impressive, this project will always have a sour taste for us. And any sympathy we could have for the motivation of that no-tav group is permanently gone.
oh damn, they ruined your parents afternoon. Yeah these protesters deserved to have their area destroyed. How did they dare disturbing tourists vacation ??
People tend to only care when they are directly impacted.
"You fear to go into those mines. They dug too greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness of..." /Almost Gandalf
The B1M - There is a large project underway in Virginia US to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.
A TBM is also being used and has been named Mary.
A video on this project would be very informative, especially for those of us who are local to the project.
For some reason I think tunnel boring machines should have male names
How much C02 was emitted during the build and when will the C02 and $ reach payback?
Seems like with so many of these huge public works projects there's lots of resistance up front (often resulting in constructive criticisms) but 10 years after it's completed people wonder how they lived without it. Really, there's not much of a good argument to get freight off of trucks and on to trains. If the people get to move around a bit faster, then that's a bonus.
Great project to connect to magnificent countries . Great project to connect to magnificent countries .
$27 Billion for the entire line and the HS2 for similar length £44 Billions
And the ecologists of France say that it costs too much?
NIMBYs are as noisy in France as in Anglo-Saxon countries
What I miss most in such kind of tunnel stories is where all the excavated material goes.
Most of the world: investing a lot of money into expanding and improving rail infrastructure
some countries: rail infrastructure? What's that? We only know adding another lane to the road :D
Interesting video! As both France and Italy use the Euro and no-one for miles around use the $, it would have been less confusing to quote the costs in Euro.
Clearly someone is having fun with the tunnel videos lol
Love you bro
How come the US cannot afford tunnels like this? I would love to see what a base tunnel under the Grapevine in Southern California would cost versus how much money and time would be saved. There are undoubtedly other places in the US where base tunnels might likewise save a lot of time and money. Perhaps under the Sierras in Northern California to Nevada?
When the gen. pop. of California is apparently being fleeced by all and sundry building the new underground line there at over $1bn/mile, I wouldn't hold your breath.
Adjusting for today's prices, the very first underground line ever built ~ the Metropolitan railway in London ~ cost £128m or $153m/mile 160 years ago.
Armed with this gem, next time you happen to be at a 'meet the builders' type of public meeting/schmooze-fest, why not subtly toss this hand grenade of a fact into the smug group of them and smile as they fumble to provide a meaningful response?
We spend 10’s of Trillions on Middle East wars. Why invest in infrastructure
US could tunnel under the Pacific Ocean but it's more profitable funding NATO advancement in Eastern Europe.
they are not building it under the grapevine but under the railroad between Palmdale and Burbank
a new $200 billion nuclear bomber fleet takes priority
Awesome to see my city (Lyon) in The B1M! :D
The best
2:26 a route from finland down to italy. Yeah, as a finn, that's not going to happen. We apparently can't get a single new line between tampere and helsinki to work, and the helsinki-tallinn tunnel is forever iced and probably buried at this point, so an even longer helsinki-turku-stockholm route is highly unlikely.
It already exists. At least for cargo and I think that is what he is referring to.
Great video as usual. I have always been in awe about those non engineers who know more than the engineers who accomplish these feats daily. I those people want money spent elsewhere the should throw their hats into the political ring and see how that works for them.