At 450 feet per minute, it's a 5-minute trip to the bottom. My headlight shines on the balance weight as it passes by on its way up. We slow as we near the bottom. The air is a humid, sticky 82 degrees. A bit more crashing on the alignment pins again.
Hazy light enters the cage.
The door opens into a long tunnel that disappears into the distance. The thought of an earthquake and all of this collapsing on itself crosses my mind. This is not a place for the claustrophobic . The ventilation system is a roar around us. It's sound will be with us throughout the 10 miles of tunnels.