Imagine with the ability to reach Recent York from London in only one hour.
That fever dream could someday be possible after a proposal to construct a 3,000-mile trans-Atlantic train tunnel connecting the cities resurfaced online.
The proposal isn’t recent, nevertheless it was once considered unimaginable attributable to the length and sum of money needed to construct it.
Elon Musk has also chimed in on the thought – writing on X that his company, The Boring Company, could complete a transatlantic tunnel for ‘1000 times less money’.
Recent developments in technology starting from vacuum tube technologies and pressurised vehicles mean the journey could eventually develop into reality, albeit with a big price tag.
Estimates of the development costs of a tunnel running through the Atlantic Ocean have topped £15 trillion.
If the ideas for the project eventually go forward, it could mean Londoners could hop on a train to Recent York and get across the pond in only one hour.
It is also more environmentally friendly and cut down on heavy air pollution created by air travel.
The proposed trains would travel through pressurised tunnels where, with no wind resistance, they might reach speeds of three,000mph.
The technology is comparable to that of superloop trains, which Swiss engineers trialled and claimed could ‘change the longer term of travel.
Several different providers have tried – and failed – to develop hyperloop technology over time.
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Among the obstacles include maintaining the vacuum system, capsule propulsion systems, scalability, safety and economic viability amongst others.
A comparable structure to the proposed underwater train tunnels, but much less high-tech, is the Channel Tunnel, which links the UK and France.
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Despite the fact that it’s lower than 40 miles long, it took six years to construct.
Some engineers have suggested constructing the proposed Atlantic tunnel beneath the thick ocean floor, while others consider suspending it with cables or stilts can be preferable.
The Channel Tunnel only reaches 245 feet below the surface, however the proposed trans-Atlantic train could go much deeper.
Similar ideas for underwater tunnels first emerged within the 1800s.
In 1802, French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier proposed an idea for a tunnel between France and England, lit by oil lamps and even mentioning a man-made island between the channels to ‘change horses’.
The Chunnel isn’t pressurised, nevertheless, and contrary to popular belief, it actually allows water to leak in before pumping it away.
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