Any chance this is all part of a Chinese equivalent to an “April Fools” joke?
(debunk mode on)
Somebody pleaaaaaaase look at a seafloor map before making pronouncements about seismic zones and plate tectonics?
Google Maps will suffice. See that loooong drop-off that swings across the Pacific below Alaska? That’s the Aleutian Trench. That’s your “seismic zone”. All the earthquakes/volcanoes/tectonic hanky-panky occur there.
The Bering Strait is that insignificant-looking gap between Alaska and Russia hundreds of miles (at least) north of that area. This link, if built, will be firmly on the North American Plate a good thousand miles or so (uneducated guess) before it leaves Russia (really–look up “North American Plate” on Wikipedia–there’s even diagrams and stuff).
Oh, and the Chinese/Russians won’t have to build it all the way into the CONUS–there’s a CN branch at Fort Nelson, BC that has long been considered the best place to build a proposed link to the Alaska RR from Canada, whether or not China/Russia eventually build anything up there (or don’t).
Regardless of what those articles blather on about “high-speed”, this link would be a FREIGHT line, with the possibility for passenger service thrown in for the locals along the way. High-speed?..well, yes–compared to a container ship (it’s been in the news for at least a year now that the container ship companies have been slowing their ships to save on fuel expenses). This railroad if built, would be a middle option between the “slow(er) boat from China”, and expensive air-freight, not to mention becoming the biggest “mover of stuff” within the Yukon territories, not to mention between Canada/Alaska and points west.
The tunnels themselves aren’t going to be the most difficult/expensive part–getting up there and back down is. Assuming the expense doesn’t stop this scheme in it’s tracks (heh, heh), well China (and maybe Russia) are the one’s footing the bill here, and person
A high speed rail line from China to the US? But not IN the US – there will be a huge slowdown crossing the border into the US because Federal policy does not encourage travel other than with cars or airplanes. Sorry, the Feds will not stand for it.
It is always good to have a good laugh, and this is it. The environmental impact in Alaska alone are probably enough to shelve it, not to mention the lack of any population centers for a good potion of the route.
Sounds like an April fools joke.
I looked to see if the posting date was April 1.
Mr. Norton shows just how ridiculous he is. He claims America can’t do this because we’ve gone “socialist.” Yet it’s being proposed by a country that’s even further left, communist China.
interbering.com sorry for the double post, darn spell check anyway. Also there was another group based in London years ago, something like: “interhemisphericberingstraightbridgeandtunnelgroup” check the Web. …
How many freight trains would it take to equal “one” of those mega sized container ships, and how fast does a train make the trip versus the container ship? “Who” is going to be the first volunteer to drive a train through that tunnel, 62, 125 or however many miles long it is through an earthquake zone, 50 feet below the ocean surface, in one of the roughest ocean areas to navigate, maybe “Who Zin Tow”. Could the bottom of a ship hit the top of this tunnel, assuming its built out of rectangular sections dropped down and assembled underwater? How many tracks will it be? If they think it will need 4 tracks, then build 8 because in a few years they will be saying they needed 8 tracks.
Why worry about the Chinese railway, by the time it takes to build, the Chinese will own the USA.
Patrick C. Jones nails the idea fatally to the wall perfectly. The seismic protections would tax engineering and budget beyond anything approaching reality. Besides, Sarah Palin wouldn’t stand for an Alaska terminal, either… (EG).
This is not a new idea; it is over 130 years old. As Andy Tubbs mentioned, see: http://www.interbering.com/Roads-and-Railroads-to-Siberia.html for more details.
I have several stock and bond certificates from the Trans Alaska-Siberian Railway Company from 1906 or thereabouts. These are historic collectible items of railroad scripophily. The amount of money to be raised was $6,000,000 for preliminary studies. The proposed project was rejected by Czar Alexander III.
This would need to be a 4 track mainline to the liwer 48. Maybe wal mart and the big box stores will kick in a few trillion. So the panama canal widening is just a waist? What do we do with all the un used ships?
Their has been some thought and investigation into an undersea tunnel linking Alaska & Siberia for a number of years, using Big Domede & Little Domede Islands as staging posts. Extreme Engineering documentaries on [I think] Discovery Channel have detailed the proposal and some of the associated problems to be overcome. {Google ‘Bering Sea Railway’ for some more details.
Adrian Rose.