Apennine Base Tunnel
The Apennine Base Tunnel is a railway base tunnel 18.507 km (11.5 miles) long on the Bologna-Florence Direttissima line in central Italy. The tunnel was opened on 21 April 1934 shortening the rail connection by 35 km compared to the old Porrettana railway over the mountain range. At the time, it was the world's second longest tunnel after the Simplon Tunnel, and the longest built with double track; today it is the 16th longest in the world.
Features
The tunnel is 18.507 km long, the peak height is 328 metres above sea level and the maximum incline is 1,2%. It runs between the stations of San Benedetto-Castiglione and Vernio-Montepiano-Cantagallo.
In the middle of the tunnel there is a switch-over and a 450 m long non-public station accessible by an adit.
Train 904 bombing
On 23 December 1984 17 people were killed and 250 wounded by a bomb on the Naples-Milan Express, Train 904, which exploded in the tunnel. The attack is attributed to Cosa Nostra (the Sicilian Mafia).
The Italicus Express bombing in 1974 was on the same line, though not in the tunnel.
Literary references
The Apennine Tunnel is referred to and used as a plot device in Cabal by Michael Dibdin.
External links
- Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "The great Apennine Tunnel", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 320–330, illustrated description of the construction of the tunnel.