After 14 years of digging, breakthrough nears for the world's longest tunnel stretching 35.4 miles under the Alps

The drilling of the longest railway tunnel in the world will be completed today, 14 years after it began.

The last few yards of rock will shortly be removed, opening the 35.4-mile Gotthard Base link through the Swiss Alps which will allow trains to transport goods and passengers to and from Italy - and shave an hour off journey times.

The £624m tunnel through the Gotthard massif, including the 8,200ft Piz Vatgira, is part of a larger project to remove heavy goods vehicles from roads in a bid to preserve Switzerland's pristine Alpine landscape.

Nearing completion: The Gotthard Base Tunnel will be opened at both ends when crews break through the last section on Friday, making it the world's longest tunnel at more than 35 miles long

A graphic from the original plans which shows how the different sections of the mountain were tunnelled through