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This news item on swissinfo.org caught my attention this morning. My jaw hit the desk in amazement. This is one to watch over the next few years.
David
David
Swiss plan tunnel under Strait of Gilbraltar
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It's one thing building a tunnel between Britain and mainland Europe but it's another between Spain and Morrocco. Is there enough trade to pay for It?
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i am not holding my breath. they havent done a feasability study yet. i believe the area is riddled with granite and isnt there a fault line in there too?
not the best area for building long rail tunnels!!
are spain really wanting a rail link with all the immigration problems it intails?
its a nice idea but i really dont think this is going to happen any time soon,
Peter
not the best area for building long rail tunnels!!
are spain really wanting a rail link with all the immigration problems it intails?
its a nice idea but i really dont think this is going to happen any time soon,
Peter
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They would be mad. There is a fault line and not only that a bit of a crumple zone as Africa pushes north into Europe. I don't think Spain would want this at all.
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I think the Swiss have an addiction to building tunnels. It starts in childhood as they watch the big cheeses being cut and they see the holes. As the eat the cheese, something the cows ate (and if you've been to the demonstration creamery in Gruyere, you'll know that Swiss cows eat a very wide variety of stuff) triggers a reaction in the brain that says "holes are good; must make more holes". The Swiss alps are rapidly reaching saturation (or maybe that's desaturation) with tunnels, so they have to look elsewhere for bigger, deeper, more challenging places to dig.
David
David
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QUOTE (Doug @ 1 Oct 2006, 19:15) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I've heard about this before. The issue as stated above is the amount of traffic that it would carry. Is there a ferry service over the route and how many people travel that route to warrant a tunnel?
I've been on the ferry which goes to Morocco. This route is nothing like as busy as the Channel. Mainly day trippers popping iover to see Tangiers. I really don't think there's the traffic to warrant such a huge investment.
I've been on the ferry which goes to Morocco. This route is nothing like as busy as the Channel. Mainly day trippers popping iover to see Tangiers. I really don't think there's the traffic to warrant such a huge investment.
Spain has a 5' 3" track gauge.
The Swiss have overlooked this.
As did Hitler during the war when he planned on using the European rail system to send the Nazis through France and Spain by train down to fortress Gibralter. Several months of planning and negotiations with the Spanish and then the penny dropped!
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The Spanish were definitely not about to allow Hitler use of Spanish rolling stock for this purpose!
Happy modelling
Gary
The Swiss have overlooked this.
As did Hitler during the war when he planned on using the European rail system to send the Nazis through France and Spain by train down to fortress Gibralter. Several months of planning and negotiations with the Spanish and then the penny dropped!
The Spanish were definitely not about to allow Hitler use of Spanish rolling stock for this purpose!
Happy modelling
Gary
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As previously mentioned linking 2 differant continental plates with a tunnel is a lot more of an engineering challenge than the channel tunnel was and as for the implications for increased numbers of asylum seekers well !
If the Swiss want to build a tunnel how about linking up Holyhead with Dublin? (gauge issues again
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Or Germany with Italy directly linking up two large EEC members. No refugee problems there!
Happy modelling
Gary
Or Germany with Italy directly linking up two large EEC members. No refugee problems there!
Happy modelling
Gary
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>Or Germany with Italy directly linking up two large EEC members. No refugee problems there!
They are /almost/ doing that with the new Simplon basis tunnel which is due to open for traffic around about 2012 if I remember correctly.
David
They are /almost/ doing that with the new Simplon basis tunnel which is due to open for traffic around about 2012 if I remember correctly.
David
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They probably want to stick with the Alps. Boring tunnels under the sea is a different story all together especially with continental fault lines going through them. Then again maybe they see that as a challenge.
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>Then again maybe they see that as a challenge
I think they have run out of alp.
>Boring tunnels under the sea
There's not much to see...
but seriously folks, the guy leading the design team was involved in the Channel tunnel so he ought to know. He is also 82 which makes me wonder if he will get to see if completed. The chief engineer of the Simplon was killed during construction.
David
I think they have run out of alp.
>Boring tunnels under the sea
There's not much to see...
but seriously folks, the guy leading the design team was involved in the Channel tunnel so he ought to know. He is also 82 which makes me wonder if he will get to see if completed. The chief engineer of the Simplon was killed during construction.
David
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There's just so many reasons why this is not a good idea. The list is endless.
Boring (haha) thing to model anyway, a 40 km tunnel...not likely on appear on my layout. (but a 40 km fiddleyard/storage area - now that would be useful!
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) I can't believe that it makes economic sense to Spain or Morocco!
From the BBC:
QUOTE It is hoped that funding can be raised via two publicly owned companies in Spain and Morocco, as well as financial support from the European Union.
Really - I would have thought private companies would be desperate to fund this...look at the fortune Eurotunnel didn't make
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Goedel
From the BBC:
QUOTE It is hoped that funding can be raised via two publicly owned companies in Spain and Morocco, as well as financial support from the European Union.
Really - I would have thought private companies would be desperate to fund this...look at the fortune Eurotunnel didn't make
Goedel
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I find it very hard to believe that Morocco and Spain, neither of which could be described as affluent nations, could raise the finances for such a project and I see absolutely no reason why the European Union should finance it.
Anyway, what purpose will it serve, getting tourists across to Africa for a day trip, who does that benefit? Certainly not the EU. I'd have thought that a mini-cruise on the ferry was more fun than half an hour in a tunnel for the tourists. Freight traffic tends to be road based rather than rail so does it make a significant difference - a few hours on a ferry or a couple of hours, including loading/unloading, by tunnel? The break on the boat is usually welcomed by the truckers.
Both ferry and tunnel would still need customs checks which add significantly to the time factor. As stated elsewhere there is the issue of track gauge, so any rail freight would require transhipment or re-wheeling, it is not a matter of through freight trains as is with the Chunnel.
Anyway, what purpose will it serve, getting tourists across to Africa for a day trip, who does that benefit? Certainly not the EU. I'd have thought that a mini-cruise on the ferry was more fun than half an hour in a tunnel for the tourists. Freight traffic tends to be road based rather than rail so does it make a significant difference - a few hours on a ferry or a couple of hours, including loading/unloading, by tunnel? The break on the boat is usually welcomed by the truckers.
Both ferry and tunnel would still need customs checks which add significantly to the time factor. As stated elsewhere there is the issue of track gauge, so any rail freight would require transhipment or re-wheeling, it is not a matter of through freight trains as is with the Chunnel.
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It seems absolute madness, not only is it expensive and difficult but there is very little traffic to justify it. There is also the illegal immigrant issue. Who is going to pay for this?
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