MODANE, France — The French and Italian transport ministers on Tuesday launched construction of a 32-mile tunnel under the Alps that will allow a high-speed rail link between the two countries, reports a wire service.
Under pouring rain Tuesday, Jean-Claude Gayssot and Pietro Lunardi drilled the first holes of the tunnel — which will be longer than the Channel Tunnel — linking the French city of Lyon and Turin in Italy.
The project took on new urgency following a deadly 1999 fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel, a key road link between the two countries, which cut off traffic for three years and showed the need for more transport options. A smoking truck sparked the fire.
The Alpine passage reopened to car traffic on March 9 but remains closed to trucks. Gayssot on Tuesday declined to provide a date for when trucks might resume the crossing.
Italy and France have long been studying plans for a high-speed train between Lyon and Turin in order to ease traffic on overburdened highways and in Alpine tunnels.
The line is to carry both passengers and freight and will cut the journey time between the two cities by more than half. The massive project is expected to be completed by 2012.