Sychrovský tunel Railway tunnel

Sychrovský tunel is a single-track railway object in the cadastral territory of Radimovice on the Turn Header of Sychrov Station. On the route Pardubice - Jaroměr - Liberec represents a major technical work of the 19th century, which in the past held the record as the longest tunnel in the Czech Republic.

The tunnel was connected to the development of rail transport and intensive industrialization in the mid-19th century. In 1854, the Liberecka entrepreneurs applied for a concession to build a railway from Liberec to Pardubice. Franz Joseph I. awarded it by letter dated 15 June 1856 to the entrepreneurs Liebieg, Lann and the brothers Klein. The entire construction and operation was provided by the company South North German connecting track. The route was opened in stages: Pardubice - Josefov section in 1857, Josefov - Turnov in 1858 and Turnov - Liberec section in 1859.

They started building the tunnel in July 1857. The stamping took place at the same time on both sides in a rocky massif and the rupture took place on 8 October 1857. Although the object was originally designed as a two-track, it was operated as a one-track. The tunnel is eight meters wide. They used the extracted stone to create the embankment on the north side, which led to the viaduct, and on the south side to the forest.

There was an accident during the stamping itself. Due to poor ventilation, the gases that ignited caused the explosion have accumulated.

During the operation, the tunnel was repeatedly repaired. The largest bailout took place in 1969-1973. During this period, they retrofitted it with sandstone and brick strips. The granite bands were carefully rearranged and formed a 20 cm thick concrete casing in the unscathed part after the construction. During these reconstruction the length of the object was extended to 640.21 meters.

The tunnel is currently at an altitude of 335 metres. Trains go through it at 100 km / h. In 2020 it was classified among the 14 longest tunnels in the Czech Republic.

Sychrovský tunel proves the technical progress and complexity of the construction works at the time. It is a valuable object for railway infrastructure history lovers, which remains a functional part of the transport network even after more than 160 years.