Russian Tunnel to America

Posted by Amanda Kendle Apr 28, 2007

It's no sure thing, but Russian businessmen and a few ministers have been making announcements about a project to build a tunnel under the Bering Strait to join far eastern Russia to North America. The main purpose of the tunnel would be to transport oil and gas to the US, but there would also be fibre-optic cables and a high-speed train line.

When I read about this idea recently, my immediate thought was this: wow, something even bigger than the Trans-Siberian! And sure enough, there is talk of creating a network that would enable you to get on a train in New York and then, traveling via Canada, end up in Russia and connect to the Trans-Siberian railway. How long would a journey like this take? Given that Vladivostok to Moscow already takes a week, presuming you don't get off anywhere, then we're talking about a fairly serious trip.

But don't put the New York to Moscow route on your dream wishlist too soon. While some officials seem to be quite sure it's a concrete plan, the list of important people who've never heard about it is quite long, and includes the whole of Canada (where rail corridors would be needed through British Colombia), and high-level officials from the Russian pipeline monopoly TransNeft. We'll wait and see.