A rail tunnel connecting the European and Asian parts of Istanbul is set to open in a few hours. The Bosphorus is not so wide, only about three kilometers or similar to many rivers that flow through cities, so in a way, it is odd that it took so long to build the rail connection. Initially the tunnel will only connect the two sides of the strait and relieve traffic on the two congested bridges of Istanbul, but the Turkish government imagines it eventually becoming a key link in a rail system extending from Europe to China and Japan. There is, everyone will agree, more work to be done.
Update: A short BBC News video showing the tunnel in operation: BBC inside new tunnel to link Europe and Asia shores
