Russia-US rail tunnel

[jdcnosse]

Of course I know this will probably never happen, but I think it would be pretty cool.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15387714

Russian officials have backed the idea of a rail tunnel linking Russia and the US.It would run under the Bering Strait for 105km (65 miles) - twice the length of the UK-France Channel Tunnel.
The tunnel itself has been estimated to cost $10-12bn and to take 10-15 years to build.

But an additional 4,000km (2,485 miles) of new track would be needed to link it to Russia's rail network, plus another 2,000km (1,243 miles) to connect to existing services on the US side.

I mean just think about the ability to go all the way from LA or New York to London via the Trans-Siberian Railway. That would be one LOOOONG ride!

 

[Bob Dylan]

Of course I know this will probably never happen, but I think it would be pretty cool.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15387714

Russian officials have backed the idea of a rail tunnel linking Russia and the US.It would run under the Bering Strait for 105km (65 miles) - twice the length of the UK-France Channel Tunnel.
The tunnel itself has been estimated to cost $10-12bn and to take 10-15 years to build.

But an additional 4,000km (2,485 miles) of new track would be needed to link it to Russia's rail network, plus another 2,000km (1,243 miles) to connect to existing services on the US side.

I mean just think about the ability to go all the way from LA or New York to London via the Trans-Siberian Railway. That would be one LOOOONG ride!

And if it happens I bet rtabern and Mike will be on it! If they take AGR Points the_traveler would also be on it Roundtrip via Paris/Rome and points South and East! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[the_traveler]

Pigs will fly (on their own) and Buffalos will have real wings before those rail connections are made!

 

[Texan Eagle]

And Amtrak LD train from New York to London will still run all the way at 79 mph, have three or four equipment failures during one complete journey and arrive few hours days late

 

[Devil's Advocate]

$10-12 billion? That's barely the cost of a single nuclear reactor. I say we go for it!

 

[Gratt]

$10-12 billion? That's barely the cost of a single nuclear reactor. I say we go for it!

That is just the cost of the tunnel (which I doubt) to quote wikipidia on the Channel Tunnel In 1985 prices, the total construction cost was £4.650 billion (equivalent to £11 billion today), an 80% cost overrun."

They added it would be another 80-90 billion for Russia to build sufficient track to connect and handle the load of the tunnel.

For the American/Canadian side i bet the costs would be higher considering we are talking about going though the Alaskan Rockies and on to the Yukon.

So something along the lines of 200-300+ Billion? Yeah... If it is such a great idea give the Freight RR's a lease to any ROW they want along this path and let them build it. My bet is they wont try or they will go bankrupt before they are done.

 

[me_little_me]

Of course I know this will probably never happen, but I think it would be pretty cool.

http://www.bbc.co.uk.../world-15387714

Russian officials have backed the idea of a rail tunnel linking Russia and the US.It would run under the Bering Strait for 105km (65 miles) - twice the length of the UK-France Channel Tunnel.The tunnel itself has been estimated to cost $10-12bn and to take 10-15 years to build.

But an additional 4,000km (2,485 miles) of new track would be needed to link it to Russia's rail network, plus another 2,000km (1,243 miles) to connect to existing services on the US side.

Was the article written by Guest_USrail21_* ? Sounds like one of his ideas.

 

[oldtimer]

Pigs will fly (on their own) and Buffalos will have real wings before those rail connections are made!

Do you mean that those wings I was going to eat while watching DA BEAR on Monday night football aren't real? Then they must be artificial!

:help: :help: :help:

 

[oldtimer]

Of course I know this will probably never happen, but I think it would be pretty cool.

http://www.bbc.co.uk.../world-15387714

Russian officials have backed the idea of a rail tunnel linking Russia and the US.It would run under the Bering Strait for 105km (65 miles) - twice the length of the UK-France Channel Tunnel.The tunnel itself has been estimated to cost $10-12bn and to take 10-15 years to build.

But an additional 4,000km (2,485 miles) of new track would be needed to link it to Russia's rail network, plus another 2,000km (1,243 miles) to connect to existing services on the US side.

Was the article written by Guest_USrail21_* ? Sounds like one of his ideas.

Are you inferring that Guest_USrail21 has started a Russian infiltration of AU?

:giggle: :wacko:

 

[sitzplatz17]

The tunnel concept is new to me, I had read articles discussing the notion of a bridge across the bearing before.

Interestingly it seems that Russia is more gung-ho on the idea that the US ( surprise!!)

Nevertheless the shipping companies would be lobbying against any land connection asia way before this idea got any real traction.

 

[Anderson]

The tunnel concept is new to me, I had read articles discussing the notion of a bridge across the bearing before.

Interestingly it seems that Russia is more gung-ho on the idea that the US ( surprise!!)

Nevertheless the shipping companies would be lobbying against any land connection asia way before this idea got any real traction.

As it stands, Russia is currently springing for the line through Siberia to link to their side of things, so that part is likely going in. The Russians may have already set aside the money for the tunnel project itself.

So, if Russia continues to be awash in oil money (odds of this seem good), what are the chances that Russia simply decides to spring for a freight connection in the vein of China's HSR spending spree? Russia is...not exactly a poor country these days, and oil price pressure seems likely to keep helping them. Also, even simply transitioning to a "rail to Alaska, ship to Seattle" might knock a week off of shipping times (it's currently 3-4 weeks by ship, from what I can tell).

 

[Green Maned Lion]

From an economic standpoint it might be worth it to Russia

 

[George Harris]

This idea has been around for a long time. It resurfaces at irregular intervials. It usually exists in a logic-free zone. the tunnel itself is the easy and cheap part. Try this.

www.interbering.com

The following was a promoter of the idea about 15 years ago, or more. It still exists, but is listed as a non-profit organzation at teh following address.

Interhemispheric Bering Strait Tunnel & Rail Group

P.O. Box 210556

Anchorage, AK 99521

Anchorage County

 

[sechs]

I really think that it's cheaper to go with boats or planes, depending on your speed necessity.

 

[USrail21]

That is the stuff of science fiction

 

[SarahZ]

You couldn't pay me to ride on that train. I can't even drive through the Windsor Tunnel without a panic attack (claustrophobia), and that's only a few miles long.

 

[jdcnosse]

I just have a "dream" of riding the longest, or greatest continual distance by train that I can in the world. So if this actually was feasible, then could you imagine the amount of time you'd be on the train for! It'd be awesome.

 

[Anderson]

I just have a "dream" of riding the longest, or greatest continual distance by train that I can in the world. So if this actually was feasible, then could you imagine the amount of time you'd be on the train for! It'd be awesome.

If you're thinking of "longest distance on a single train", that's currently Moscow-Pyongyang. There are a bunch of reasons that might not be the safest train for an American to ride on...and after a couple of Austrians pulled it off, I think the North Koreans locked bookings up as tightly as they could.

 

[afigg]

I just have a "dream" of riding the longest, or greatest continual distance by train that I can in the world. So if this actually was feasible, then could you imagine the amount of time you'd be on the train for! It'd be awesome.

If you're thinking of "longest distance on a single train", that's currently Moscow-Pyongyang. There are a bunch of reasons that might not be the safest train for an American to ride on...and after a couple of Austrians pulled it off, I think the North Koreans locked bookings up as tightly as they could.

At 7 to 8 days and 9289 km, Moscow to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian would be a long ride. It would be a good idea to skip the last leg to Pyongyang if you have an American passport. The truly determined could take the Trans-Mongolian and Baikal Amur Mainline for the extra, um, Russia Guest Rewards points!

As for the rail tunnel under the Bering Straits, this qualifies as one of the least economically feasible rail extension ideas ever. There is the small matter of building an additional 4,000 km of new track and route on the Russian side through very harsh and remote terrain. The Russian did it for the Trans-Siberian Railway and the major branches, but there were good geo-political reasons for doing so.

On the US side, it would be interesting to read a rough draft plan and cost estimate for building a rail line from Canada through Alaska to the Bering Straits. Technically feasible these days - if the Swiss can build the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a tunnel can dug through just about any mountain range - but the price, after decades of studies are piled up, would have to be mind-boggling.

 

[jis]

Pigs will fly (on their own) and Buffalos will have real wings before those rail connections are made!

But when it happens, the_traveller will be there with sufficient AGR points to exploit the one remaining loophole to do the entire trip with a 2 zone award

 

[jis]

I just have a "dream" of riding the longest, or greatest continual distance by train that I can in the world. So if this actually was feasible, then could you imagine the amount of time you'd be on the train for! It'd be awesome.

If you're thinking of "longest distance on a single train", that's currently Moscow-Pyongyang. There are a bunch of reasons that might not be the safest train for an American to ride on...and after a couple of Austrians pulled it off, I think the North Koreans locked bookings up as tightly as they could.

Also for all practical purposes, that train really is a bunch of cars carried on various trains as through cars on certain days of the week. So it is not like it starts as a single trains and goes all the way. But yes, there is a single seat ride.

 

[Texan Eagle]

I just have a "dream" of riding the longest, or greatest continual distance by train that I can in the world. So if this actually was feasible, then could you imagine the amount of time you'd be on the train for! It'd be awesome.

Check out this map of a proposed Trans Asia Railway. If and when it is completed, you could probably start from London go upto Istanbul all across Europe then on through Armenia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia all the way to Singapore! If that's not your taste, you could probably alternately go from Istanbul across Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, all across China to Shanghai! Of course this may involve change of train somewhere owing to all the different track gauges in use but you could call it a single train journey from London to Singapore/Shanghai without having to take a flight, ship or bus (unless there are bustitutions

)

 

[The Davy Crockett]

A tunnel to nowhere, to link to the bridge to nowhere, so they go somewhere?

 

[jdcnosse]

I just have a "dream" of riding the longest, or greatest continual distance by train that I can in the world. So if this actually was feasible, then could you imagine the amount of time you'd be on the train for! It'd be awesome.

If you're thinking of "longest distance on a single train", that's currently Moscow-Pyongyang. There are a bunch of reasons that might not be the safest train for an American to ride on...and after a couple of Austrians pulled it off, I think the North Koreans locked bookings up as tightly as they could.

Haha yes I wasn't looking into going all the way into North Korea, well since you know...I'm American. lol

but no actually I was thinking of traversing the greatest distance by train (or multiple trains) but only in one direction. For instance San Diego to the northern-most stop on the east coast, or London to Vladivostok. All transportation has to be by train, and has to be going in the same general direction.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

It is feasible.