The Elbe tunnel (Elbtunnel) in Hamburg: Part of German Autobahn

The 3.1 km long Elbe tunnel is a subterranean river crossing located in Hamburg, Northern Germany for the Autobahn 7. Opened in 1975, it is a significant achievement in road infrastructure. This video shows a drive through the tunnel and offers information on how the tunnel works thanks to modern technology.

[@DrCassette]

NOTE: This video was recorded at 60 frames per second while the electronic traffic signs are operating on 50 Hz. Of course in real life there is no visible flickering.

[@clydesight]

BIG Thumbs UP! I love this video! I think you may be onto something - making travel videos with a engineering/tech focus. Please make more! Thanks!

[@DrCassette]

Thank you :) I really don't know if there will be any more videos like this. We don't have a lot of sites like this around here and I don't travel a lot.

[@SBHSGA]

Looks remarkably like the 710 in Los Angeles - on a cloudy day of course. And less the tunnel! Great video!

[@andrejjuricic4292]

Nice short education movie! Thumbs up :)

[@DrCassette]

Thank you :)

[@alexkennel5373]

Well spoken. Thank you very much.

[@nathanhoward6472]

Yes, I found it very interesting. I watched several times to absorb all the information. Looks like you could have a secondary career as a virtual guide.

[@DrCassette]

Thank you :)

[@jp040759]

Great job on the history lessons also.

[@John-vo1cc]

Great video, we pass it on our journeys to Denmark. Once we had to stop at the deepest point between two lorries, because one lane had to be cleared for fire engines that had to pass. (Happily no accident seen). I was glad we could continue after some minutes...

[@AttilaSVK]

What an interesting departure from your regular topics. Well done! :)

[@DrCassette]

Thank you :)

[@jp040759]

I thought this was very interesting. Especially the vehicle height detector concept. Simple idea and saves lots of problems by stopping drivers from doing something they would never normally think of.

[@johnschroeder6288]

Liked it!

[@DrCassette]

Thank you :)

[@EnisSokolowsky]

Überholverbot ist auch kein Thema in Hamburg 😂😂😂. Danke für das Video

[@dykodesigns]

I’ve driving through it once or twice on route to denmark.

[@ElectoneGuy]

I've only been through two tunnels: the Windsor, Ontario - Detroit, Michigan tunnel under the Detroit river that connects Canada and the USA; and the Lincoln Tunnel which enters/exits Manhattan Island, New York.

[@cupidmacintosh1477]

Woah awesome video! I love the way you did the voice over. Good music and cool accent.

[@DrCassette]

Thank you :)

[@iamrichrocker]

typical German quality..no trash noted..cool Audi wagons and hot hatches...and decent driving manners....nice video...

[@cascade3769]

Apart from 2 cars changing lanes without indicating.

[@TheChipmunk2008]

Fascinating to see how it's done in Germany. The idea of the radio stations having transmitters in the tunnel is interesting. I believe some stations do that in the blackwall tunnel here in the UK also, using a 'leaky feeder' form of antenna. Is the same used there do you know?

[@DrCassette]

I don't know what type of antenna they use, but a 'leaky feeder' would make sense considering the length of the tunnel.

[@Lachlant1984]

We have a similar emergency broadcast system in the CityLink owned tunnels here in Melbourne. I believe the tunnels are fitted with loudspeakers, but they also broadcast messages over AM and FM so you clearly hear the message on your car's radio.

[@TheSignatureK]

Sehr gut

[@Annahannahannah]

Would be nice to visit these plases again. Only dont want drive alone as anytime. :(

[@Lachlant1984]

Thanks so much for doing this, I find it most interesting. The Elbtunnel kind of reminds me of the Bernley and Domain tunnels here in Melbourne actually, unlike the Elbtunnel, they're privately owned so drivers must pay a toll to use them. Are you going to do other videos like this one?

[@DrCassette]

I really don't know if there will be more videos like this. There are not too many sites like this and I don't travel a lot.

[@kuw5369]

Great Video!

[@bardofhighrenown]

What camera did you use to film this? Excellent low light performance!

[@DrCassette]

This was recorded on a Panasonic Lumix FZ1000.

[@twowheelvalle]

Tolles Video

[@DrCassette]

Danke :)

[@hans-galaxyleser1150]

Question, what size containers can go over?

[@rahimctguerr]

This is a great video. Wanna a make a similar video like yours. How long is this tunnel?

[@DrCassette]

I mentioned this twice in the video...

[@pliedtka]

Thanks. Can you comment on speed limits in Germany - many people in North America think German drivers can put pedal to metal on Autobahns and rules are liberal. From what I know rules are very strict and not all section of motorways have unrestricted speed limit. In Canada, other than British Columbia speed limit is 100km/h, however most people would go 110-120km/h without Police giving speeding tickets, however driving 20km above the posted limit, it's asking for trouble.

[@DrCassette]

Only those sections of the Autobahn that lead through remote areas have no speed limit. In urban areas, near junctions, slip roads and when surrounding landscape demands relatively tight curves, there are speed limits. Commonly, the speed limit is either 180 km/h, 120 km/h or 100 km/h. At present, a lot of speed limits are in place due to damaged road surface and / or construction work. In such cases the speed limit can be as low as 50 km/h. In the video, the speed limit in the Elbe Tunnel had been set to 80 km/h. This is to increase the density of traffic in the tunnel. More cars per hour can get through the tunnel with a lower speed limit because the safe distance between the cars can be shorter. Due to tolerances in the speedometer and the radar equipment used to measure vehicle speed, generally it's OK to drive 10 km/h above the limit. Penalties for speeding can be a fine for minor violations, but in more severe cases you can loose your driver's license for a certain period of time. You may need to go through a psychological assessment to get your license back. And when your speeding caused an accident, you are in serious trouble. Recently, two persons involved in an illegal car race that resulted in the death of an uninvolved person have been convicted of murder.

[@pliedtka]

+DrCassette Two weeks ago I attended funeral - on second day of Easter at night teenager, a Chinese international student driving BMW at double the 50km/h speed limit, T boned a Toyota Corolla. The two people died within 2 min after the accident. I used to ride motorcycles, have screws in my knee after older man cut me off. Some people are very lucky, some not, try figure out.

[@relusrmf1]

too bad that many lanes are many times closed and the complete city get paralyzed. A new tunnel is required :(

[@DrCassette]

For as long as the Greens are part of the city government, a new tunnel is not going to happen.

[@Timm.402]

Dieses Englisch „Autobahn“

[@DrCassette]

Deutsche Begriffe spreche ich meist auch deutsch aus. Da muss man sich ja nicht verstellen.

[@samanli-tw3id]

Auf einglisch sagt man „motorway“

[@boomerangfishact6754]

⁠​⁠@@samanli-tw3idAuf Englisch sagt man Autobahn. Jeder englischsprachiger kennt den Begriff. Dafür ist Deutschland bekannt.

[@alcoholisfreedrink]

These electronic traffic signs are so cool. Never seen any of these. Never seen autobahn too. Nice vid.