The Soumagne Tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, with a length of . Built on the

HSL 3 The HSL 3 (, , ) is a Belgian high-speed rail line. It connects Liège to the German border near Aachen. The high-speed track length is . The line was technically completed in October 2007; however, it did not come into operation until 14 June ...

line of the Belgian

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

service for Brussels-Liège-Cologne, the tunnel was completed in 2004. The new line was opened on June 12, 2009. The tunnel links the Liège conurbation with the Herve plateau at a depth of . Construction and outfitting of the tunnel took place from 2001 to 2005, with the first trains passing through in 2009. The entrances are at and

Soumagne Soumagne (, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On September 1, 2008, Soumagne had a total population of 15,894. The total area is 27.14 km2 which gives a population density of 585 inhabitants per k ...

. The tunnel passes under

Chaudfontaine :''Chaudfontaine is also a brand of mineral water, owned by The Coca-Cola Company.'' Chaudfontaine (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Chaudfontaine had a total population of 21,012. ...

Fléron Fléron (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Fléron had a total population of 16,088. The total area is which gives a population density of 1,172 inhabitants per km2. Fléron is ea ...

, and . The bored section is , extended by covered sections of respectively 177 and 388 m. Dozens of geological layers of differing hardness had to be tunnelled through, lime layers needing to be blasted through with dynamite. The tunnel reaches a depth of 127 m in some areas; it has an average ramp height of 1.7%, with a maximum of 2% at the entrance in Soumagne. The free space profile in the tunnel is approximately , which restricts speeds to .

References

{{authority control Railway tunnels in Belgium Tunnels completed in 2004 Buildings and structures in Liège Province Chaudfontaine Soumagne

See also

References