The Telegraph
Tunnel to link Britain and Northern Ireland edges closer with new study recommended
An undersea tunnel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will move a step closer this week when a Government review recommends a feasibility study into it. A major Union Connectivity review is expected to say that civil servants should formally appraise the plans for “a fixed link” between the two islands, most probably between Stranraer in Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland. The review by Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy is also expected to recommend a major upgrading of road and rail links between the four nations of the UK. The undersea tunnel – details of which were first disclosed by The Telegraph last month – has already won the enthusiastic private backing of both Boris Johnson, who first proposed a fixed link across the Irish Sea in 2018, and Alister Jack, the Scotland Secretary. The link – dubbed ‘Boris’s burrow’ – would be the same length as the Channel Tunnel and go some way to smoothing the flow of freight between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Sir Peter is understood to have rejected a bridge between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the grounds that it may have to be closed for a third of the year due to bad weather. There is also unexploded ordnance on the sea bed dating back to the Second World War which would be a risk to the structure and to the workers building it. The Hendy review is also expected to recommend a major…
