The world's first undersea tunnel was unveiled by Turkey on October 29, 2013, on the 90th anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. Termed as the Bosphorus Tunnel Project, this tunnel will connect the two continents, Europe and Asia.
Three tracks for commuter, freight and high-speed trains have been laid withinn the tunnel. The number of commuters the train service can carry each hour, stands at a whooping 1,50,000.
Construction on the tunnelwas done by the Japanese-Turkish consortium, with funding coming from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The JBIC is said to contribute 735 million euros ($1 billion
Designed to withstand earthquakes, the tunnel’s entire length is 13.6 km. The sub-sea section runs for 1.4 km, at a depth of around 55 metres under Turkey's Bosphorus Strait. Seen here is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, Turkish Prime
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, Tukey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, right, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, second right, and Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan listen to speeches
The tunnel, called the Marmaray was inaugurated at a news conference in Marmaray in Istanbul. Seen here is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands after the news conference.
The idea was first envisioned by Ottoman sultan Abdoul Medjid in 1860, but it was not feasible at that time due to insufficient technical equipment.
Construction on the tunnel began in 2004, and was set to be completed by 2008. But the project was delayed because of archaeological excavations.
The Bosphorus Strait is a stretch of water that has always marked the dividing line between Asia and Europe.
The Bosphorus Tunnel Project: Turkey's undersea tunnel