Karawanken Tunnel (railway)

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The northern entrance to the tunnel
The northern entrance to the tunnel

The Karawanken Tunnel (German: Karawankentunnel, Slovene: Predor Karavanke) is the fourth longest railway tunnel in Austria and the longest in Slovenia with a length of 7,976 m. The railroad passes under the Rosenbach saddle between Rosenbach in southern Austria and Jesenice in northern Slovenia. The tunnel was an important part of the Karawanken Railway, which was - together with the Bohinj Railway - built to connect the port of Trieste with Klagenfurt, the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria.[1]

Between 1867-1918 Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was Austria's first seaport and the principal outlet for the ocean trade of the monarchy, but it did not have adequate railway communication with Austria's interior. To give a great impetus to the trade of Trieste in particular and to the over-sea trade of Austria in general, it was decided in 1901 to build the Karawanken Railway connecting Trieste and Klagenfurt. The railway was built over and through the Karawanken mountains, Europe's longest (120 km (70 mi) long) mountain range on the border between current Slovenia and Austria. The Karawanken Tunnel was opened on October 1, 1906.

Today the tunnel is still important for the international train traffic. It is passed by more than 80 trains a day.

[edit] References

  1. ^ NEW LOAN RAISES EIB LENDING FOR SLOVENIAN MOTORWAYS TO EURO 550 MILLION. | Article from European Report | HighBeam Research

1. European Report Date: December 4, 1999 – [1]