1-151-945 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Opening of the Mont Cenis railway tunnel linking France and Switzerland: the inauguration train passing through, September 1871. The Mont Cenis Tunnel was built between 1857 and 1871 to provide a rail link beneath the Alps connecting France and Italy. The 8 mile-long tunnel was the first rock tunnel of its type and represented a landmark achievement in civil engineering. Its construction owed much to the pneumatic drill invented by Germain Sommeiller, the tunnel's engineer.