The Bering Sea Tunnel?

[Displaced Flames fan]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe....ap/index.html

Would anybody else be a bit nervous about being underwater for an hour or more in an area of high seismic activity?

Still, very ambitious and interesting project.

[Cowboy89]

If you want to know what it'll be like just type in Russian Tunnel on to YouTube and you'll see what will result.

[ken0042]

I was watching something on Discovery Civilization about a high speed train connecting London and New York- using an undersea tunnel. They said that one of the true tests of such an endevour would be building this tunnel.

IIRC one of the challenges is the fact that it will partially be suspended midway under water; as opposed to the Chunnel which is completely under the sea bed.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

If you want to know what it'll be like just type in Russian Tunnel on to YouTube and you'll see what will result.

Holy crap....

Locke.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

First the Chunnel, and now the Bunnel. I can't wait to see what exciting izations of the word tunnel the world's engineers can come up with next.

That all being said, it's an interesting concept, but the only hiccup I can see is that you'd essentialy be building a tunnel from nowhere to nowhere. Honestly if you're going to export goods, it seems that shipping them to Alaska then to Siberia isn't the best option. As for oil and gas pipelines, you'd be building a pipeline between two areas that have great reserves, but are currently restricted by a means to move the product, so I don't see much benefit from that either.

Edit: That all being said, I so go ahead and build it.
Take that nature, who's running the show now????
And once the tunnel is built we'll put a man on the moon!!!!
You hear that moon? You're next!

[Thunderball]

One word... why?

The bering strait is 600 miles away from anything remotely major, that being Anchorage. On the other side, Magadan and Yakutsk are over a thousand miles away, and both are about the same size as Regina.

The only possible use would be tourism and shipping. But with shipping, is it really any quicker or more efficient than an ocean liner?

Sounds like an international white elephant to me.

[Knut]

Lets build a tunnel to the middle of the earth so that we can meet to mole people....

[RougeUnderoos]

That raises the prospect of some tantalizingly exotic routes -- train riders could catch the London-Moscow-Washington express, conference organizers suggested.

How long has mankind been waiting to make such an incredible journey? Probably not long. That "express" would take about six weeks.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

One word... why?

The bering strait is 600 miles away from anything remotely major, that being Anchorage. On the other side, Magadan and Yakutsk are over a thousand miles away, and both are about the same size as Regina.

The only possible use would be tourism and shipping. But with shipping, is it really any quicker or more efficient than an ocean liner?

Sounds like an international white elephant to me.

I think many people thought the same thing about tramscontinental railroads in the 19th century too.

Not saying you're wrong, but I don't think it's crazy to suggest that growth as a result is a possibility.

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

One word... why?

The bering strait is 600 miles away from anything remotely major, that being Anchorage. On the other side, Magadan and Yakutsk are over a thousand miles away, and both are about the same size as Regina.

The only possible use would be tourism and shipping. But with shipping, is it really any quicker or more efficient than an ocean liner?

Sounds like an international white elephant to me.

But can't you then cut the time it takes to load, unload the cargo at each end? I am no logistics expert, but it may be cheaper, and possibly the same amount of time to do the train route, rather than the sea route.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

One word... why?

The bering strait is 600 miles away from anything remotely major, that being Anchorage. On the other side, Magadan and Yakutsk are over a thousand miles away, and both are about the same size as Regina.

The only possible use would be tourism and shipping. But with shipping, is it really any quicker or more efficient than an ocean liner?

Sounds like an international white elephant to me.

Actually should Siberia and other Eastern Russian areas expand development of natural resources this will be a very viable shipping route with oil pipelines, trainlines and a highway. Many Natural resources such as Timber, Oil and Gas, Mining metals, etc are in relatively unexplored Eastern Russia. There isn't an economic case for this now, but in 30 years time there just might since North America is a net consumer of resources as opposed to a producer. We will have depleted much of our domestic supplies of these resources by then. It would be faster when the resource comes directly from Eastern Russia.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

Actually should Siberia and other Eastern Russian areas expand development of natural resources this will be a very viable shipping route with oil pipelines, trainlines and a highway. Many Natural resources such as Timber, Oil and Gas, Mining metals, etc are in relatively unexplored Eastern Russia. There isn't an economic case for this now, but in 30 years time there just might since North America is a net consumer of resources as opposed to a producer. We will have depleted much of our domestic supplies of these resources by then. It would be faster when the resource comes directly from Eastern Russia.

Like I said, the only good reason would be for shipping purposes. You're right about the long term potential.

As for transcontinental rail, the rationale was asserting sovereignty, as well as connecting remote areas. If Canada didn't build the CP line, a spur line from the Union Pacific might have made this Calgary, Montana rather than Calgary, Alberta. Nowadays, no one without a deathwish would challenge Russian or American sovereignty in that area. Growth could follow, but it would depend greatly on climate change, as the area is really too cold and remote to support much in the way of population.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

Like I said, the only good reason would be for shipping purposes. You're right about the long term potential.

As for transcontinental rail, the rationale was asserting sovereignty, as well as connecting remote areas. If Canada didn't build the CP line, a spur line from the Union Pacific might have made this Calgary, Montana rather than Calgary, Alberta. Nowadays, no one without a deathwish would challenge Russian or American sovereignty in that area. Growth could follow, but it would depend greatly on climate change, as the area is really too cold and remote to support much in the way of population.

This isn't about asserting any sort of soverignty in a nation-state sense, that comment was a relic of the 1800s. Look at CP Rail's bottom line, they turn a nice profit year-over-year. Why might you ask? Canada's port is clogged with shipping traffic and only a couple of major rail lines through the rockies. They enjoy nice shipping rates for the business they do. There is talk of there not being enough Pacific ports in Canada/US due to the rugged terrain. Most of the goods shipped through these ports is trade with Asia/Russia. A line connecting the two continents would be huge for shipping. Rail would be quicker for large volumes of goods as there is a limit to tanker capacity.The question would be whether or not it would be worth $100 Billion in capital cost and as an observant fellow CPer pointed out this is in an active faultline.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

This isn't about asserting any sort of soverignty in a nation-state sense, that comment was a relic of the 1800s. Look at CP Rail's bottom line, they turn a nice profit year-over-year. Why might you ask? Canada's port is clogged with shipping traffic and only a couple of major rail lines through the rockies. They enjoy nice shipping rates for the business they do. There is talk of there not being enough Pacific ports in Canada/US due to the rugged terrain. Most of the goods shipped through these ports is trade with Asia/Russia. A line connecting the two continents would be huge for shipping. Rail would be quicker for large volumes of goods as there is a limit to tanker capacity.The question would be whether or not it would be worth $100 Billion in capital cost and as an observant fellow CPer pointed out this is in an active faultline.

You took what I said completely out of context. A previous poster said that a resident of the 1800s might have thought a transcontinental railroad was a waste of time and money and wouldn't lead to much in the way of growth. I said the difference then was that they were concerned about asserting sovereignty then, which in some circles trumped the desire of growth and connectivity... where that is no longer an issue today... which is one reason for less government involvement in this potential project, and why this project is still 10-20 years from starting, and reliant greatly on political climate of that day, and environmental climate change and its possible effects.

[Sylvanfan]

What the hell it'll be cheaper to build it now than it will 120 years later when that part of the world is considered a tropical paradise . Of course I hope they take into account the extra hydrostatic loads for when the polar ice caps have melted and raised the level of the water.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

You took what I said completely out of context. A previous poster said that a resident of the 1800s might have thought a transcontinental railroad was a waste of time and money and wouldn't lead to much in the way of growth. I said the difference then was that they were concerned about asserting sovereignty then, which in some circles trumped the desire of growth and connectivity... where that is no longer an issue today... which is one reason for less government involvement in this potential project, and why this project is still 10-20 years from starting, and reliant greatly on political climate of that day, and environmental climate change and its possible effects.

My bad, sometimes I don't read all of the posts.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

If you want to know what it'll be like just type in Russian Tunnel on to YouTube and you'll see what will result.

haha awesome vid

[4X4]

With China working on first world status, this railway just might be a profitable venture. Of course, it takes money to make money...

[Winsor_Pilates]

so like a long version of this...
http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I664...BT_Aerial.html