The world's ten longest rail tunnels in operation, ranked by total continuous tunnel length in kilometers.
Quick answer: 1. Gotthard Base Tunnel, 2. Seikan Tunnel, 3. Channel Tunnel, 4. Yulhyeon Tunnel, 5. Shanghai Airport Link Tunnel, 6. Songshan Lake Tunnel, 7. Shenzhen-Hong Kong Tunnel, 8. Lotschberg Base Tunnel, 9. Koralm Tunnel, 10. New Guanjiao Tunnel.
Railway tunnels are among the most ambitious pieces of civil engineering ever built, boring straight through mountain ranges and beneath seas to shave hours off a journey. This list ranks the ten longest rail tunnels currently in operation by their total continuous length, from Switzerland's record-holding Gotthard Base Tunnel down to the high-altitude bores of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Whether you are a railfan, an engineering enthusiast, or just curious how far a train can travel without ever seeing daylight, these are the tunnels that redefined what rail can do. Recent additions from China, South Korea, and Austria show how quickly the record book is being rewritten.
At 57.09 km it is the world's longest railway tunnel and the deepest traffic tunnel, running up to 2,450 m below the Swiss Alps. It opened in 2016 as the centerpiece of the New Rail Link through the Alps.
This 53.85 km tunnel connects Honshu and Hokkaido beneath the Tsugaru Strait, with 23.3 km of it running undersea. It held the title of world's longest railway tunnel from 1988 until the Gotthard Base Tunnel opened in 2016.
Linking Folkestone in the UK and Coquelles in France, its 50.46 km length includes a 37.9 km undersea section — the longest underwater tunnel stretch in the world. It opened in 1994.
South Korea's longest railway tunnel at 50.3 km, it opened in December 2016 on the SRT high-speed line serving Seoul's Suseo station.
Opened in 2024 on the line connecting Shanghai's Hongqiao and Pudong airports, this 40.188 km bore is one of the longest railway tunnels built in China.
At 38.813 km, it was long the longest railway tunnel on mainland China's national network, running beneath Dongguan in Guangdong province.
This 35.655 km tunnel carries the high-speed link into Hong Kong's West Kowloon terminus. It opened in 2018 as part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
Part of Switzerland's New Rail Link through the Alps, this 34.576 km tunnel opened in 2007 — nine years ahead of its sister Gotthard Base Tunnel.
Austria's longest railway tunnel at 32.9 km, it opened in 2025 on the Koralm high-speed line linking Graz and Klagenfurt.
On the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Railway, this 32.645 km tunnel opened in 2014 to replace the original, shorter Guanjiao tunnel.
| # | Name | country | opened | railwayLine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gotthard Base Tunnel | Switzerland | 2016 | New Gotthard railway (NRLA) |
| 2 | Seikan Tunnel | Japan | 1988 | Kaikyo Line / Hokkaido Shinkansen |
| 3 | Channel Tunnel | France / United Kingdom | 1994 | High Speed 1 / LGV Nord |
| 4 | Yulhyeon Tunnel | South Korea | 2016 | Suseo-Pyeongtaek High-Speed Railway |
| 5 | Shanghai Airport Link Tunnel | China | 2024 | Shanghai Airport Link Line |
| 6 | Songshan Lake Tunnel | China | 2016 | Dongguan-Huizhou Intercity Railway |
| 7 | Shenzhen-Hong Kong Tunnel | China / Hong Kong | 2018 | Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link |
| 8 | Lotschberg Base Tunnel | Switzerland | 2007 | Lotschberg line (NRLA) |
| 9 | Koralm Tunnel | Austria | 2025 | Koralm Railway |
| 10 | New Guanjiao Tunnel | China | 2014 | Qinghai-Tibet Railway |
Tunnels are ranked by total continuous railway tunnel length in kilometers, longest first (rank 1 = longest). Inclusion is limited to rail tunnels in operation, ranked by the total continuous tunnel length as reported by the operator or primary references. Bored twin-tube tunnels are counted by their route length. Lengths and dates are drawn from Wikipedia's "List of longest railway tunnels" and the dedicated articles for the individual tunnels; figures reflect published route lengths (e.g. the Gotthard Base Tunnel's 57.09 km route figure).
The Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is the world's longest railway tunnel at 57.09 km. Opened in 2016, it is also the deepest traffic tunnel, running up to 2,450 m below the surface of the Alps.
The Channel Tunnel between the UK and France has the longest undersea stretch of any tunnel, with 37.9 km of its 50.46 km length running beneath the sea. Japan's Seikan Tunnel has a longer overall length but a shorter undersea section of 23.3 km.
The Seikan Tunnel in Japan is 53.85 km long and connects Honshu and Hokkaido, while the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is 57.09 km. The Seikan Tunnel held the record for the world's longest railway tunnel from 1988 until Gotthard opened in 2016.
Tunnels are ranked by total continuous railway tunnel length as reported by the operator or primary references. Bored twin-tube tunnels are counted by their route length rather than the combined length of both tubes.