Daishimizu Tunnel
Appearance
The Daishimizu Tunnel (大清水トンネル) is a railway tunnel on the Jōetsu Shinkansen on the border of Gunma Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
In 1978, the Dai-Shimizu tunnel was completed. This tunnel was dug for the Jōetsu Shinkansen that was to be completed in 1982. This tunnel was the world's longest tunnel at 22,200 m.[1] During the construction, a fire created a large amount of smoke in the tunnel, and 16 workers died from carbon monoxide poisoning.[2][3] When this tunnel was completed, the time between Niigata and Tokyo went down to approximately one hour and forty minutes, three hours faster than using the Jōetsu Line.[4]
Also, when this tunnel was built, natural water was found during construction, which is now sold in bottles.[5]