Now Finland is starting studies to build a 92KM ( ~57.5 miles ) tunnel linking Finland to Estonia. 30 minute transit time. Gotthard eat your heart out. Cost estimate 9 -13B Euros. Now compare that to NY Gateway 2 tunnel bores. This may be to be just a single bore proposal but who knows ? Trafffic studies could determine what trackage needed but a mid tunnel passing siding might enable scheduling 30 minute different direction headways instead of 1 hour change of direction. Now if fleeting not envisioned. 2 passing sidings would allow 20 minute headways. Studies will be interesting.
A lot faster than a ferry and no ice to worry about.
This is probably a “politician’s project”, i.e. a hugely expensive folly designed to show that a particular politician has “vision”, etc.
The Gotthard Tunnel is a solution to the problem of increasing traffic across the heart of Europe. Finland and Estonia in contrast are at the edges of Europe.
The selection of this pair of countries to be linked by a tunnel might have more to do with a political desire to unite two linguistically-similar countries. Finnish and Estonian are both members of the small Finno-Ugric language family. In Soviet times, Estonian people could get, and understand, Finnish TV.
Cost Estimate: 9-13 Euros? I wonder…
It seems that the current rate of i Euro to 1 U.S.Dollar is @
1 EUR =1.05825USD according to this website
@ http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?From=EUR&To=USD
and it seems safe to say that these (Political 1st estimates of costs on one of these MEGA Construction Projects) generally, seem to miss their first estimates, by very large amounts(?)
(ie:) The Channel Tunnel ) Cost in British Pounds was 4.65 B and took 6 years to build- 1988/94 and was over original estimates by 80% {In today’s that’s 12 B).
The Gotthard Base Tunnel ( @57 km length) took 17 years to complete and cost 11 B Euros. Entered service in December 2016. With its construction’ enhancements’; Costs were estimated at approx 23 Bn ( Swiss Francs?).
What would it cost to build awesome, hi-tech ferry boats instead?
A more salient question - has there EVER been a big ticket major construction project that was ever finished under the ‘first projected’ estimated cost of the project.
Which leads to the next questions: How much FREIGHT traffic now moves by rail between Estonia and Finland? [billio’s guess: next to none]. And how many people hop the ferries betweenTallinn and Helsinki? Enough to justify the upper end of the cost estimate for a railway tunnel?
Just wondering…
A corrolary question - How many ferry’s have sunk operating between Finland and Estonia. I think I recall at least one and I suspect there have been others.
Somebody over there peddling a lightly used TBM, used by little old ladies on an occasional Sunday dig?
It will be interesting to see what gauge this ends up being with the planned standard gauge Rail Baltica project. Maybe 4-railed dual gauge. A lot of this seems to be the avoidence of Russia.
Wouldn’t that be a bit uncomfortable for the ride? 'Seems like a Catalina might make more sense, but that’s just me.
Sure, there’s that, but couldn’t you pretty much build an unsinkable one for 9-13B Euros? Come to think about it, how much would it cost to buy Estonia?