The audacious underground mega tunnels redrawing the railway map of Europe | CNN

Europe wants to lure more people away from short-haul airlines and onto high-speed trains between its major cities. And as more and more travelers discover the joys of long-distance rail, there’s everything to play for. But there’s one big problem: geography. Europe is a continent with mountain ranges slicing through it and seas severing countries from each other. And unlike planes, trains can’t simply skim over it all. That’s why some of the world’s biggest and most daring construction projects are currently cutting, drilling and blasting their way through mountains that were once traversed only by the brave or the foolhardy. The next decade will see the world’s longest rail tunnels completed in Austria, France and Italy, with the aim of revolutionizing rail connectivity between northern Europe and the industrial hubs of northern Italy. Billions of dollars are being invested in record-breaking tunnels and new approach lines to raise speeds and increase freight capacity on long-established corridors through the Alps. Meanwhile, Denmark has long been tackling the seas, transforming rail and road travel with a chain of tunnels, artificial islands and soaring bridges linki