A tunnel under the Tatar Strait

The Russian Ministry of Railways is thinking of building a tunnel under the Tatar Strait and it might launch the construction to link the Island of Sakhalin with Eurasia. If another tunnel were laid subsequently to link Sakhalin and the Japanese island of Hokkaido, then the contemplated intercontinental Amsterdam-Tokyo railroad would become reality. The longest segment of this route will be Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway.

Why do we need a tunnel under the Tatar Strait? To begin with, the tunnel will make the Amsterdam-Tokyo railroad the shortest, quickest, and most reliable route linking Eurasia and the Far East. Currently, goods shipped from Europe to Far Eastern destinations have to be carried round the Asian continent via the Indian Ocean — a sea route that takes at least a month to cover, to say nothing of the piracy of the southern seas.

Second, reliable service between the Russian Far East and Sakhalin and further on can draw freight operations from the sea routes, sharply increasing the turnover of the Trans-Siberian Railway. This means extra revenues for the Railways Ministry and the state budget.

The Tatar Strait tunnel is to be built at the strait's narrowest section — the eight-kilometer long Gulf of Nevelsk. The idea originally emerged decades ago, in the 1950s, but then it was assumed that a ferry service between mainland Russia and Sakhalin would be more economical. And now the ferries that have been in service for over 20 years have become obsolete and cannot cope with today's massive cargo flows.

Indeed, to build a tunnel in an area prone to quakes and in the unstable, "floating" bed of the Tatar Strait is an extremely laborious job. Construction will cost an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion, and will last four to five years. Besides, simultaneously with the construction of the tunnel, it will be necessary to build a highway and a railroad from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the Gulf of Nevelsky. New transport facilities will also have to be put up on Sakhalin. As soon as the Russians start the construction work, the Japanese will begin to lay an 18-km tunnel between Hokkaido and Sakhalin.

The project's designers have taken into account the experience of building the English Channel tunnel, which has been in service for a number of years. The Tatar Strait tunnel will accommodate trains as well as motor vehicles. Moreover, it will also have room for oil and gas pipelines. The existing pipelines from Sakhalin to Komsomolsk-on-Amur have been in use for 40 years. The tunnel's designers say there will be a safe distance between the tunnel for oil and gas lines and that for transport vehicles.

Before starting work on the tunnel, it must be conclusively established whether it will still be in demand in 15 to 20 years' time, when the chief commodity will be information. It must also be determined what types of cargo can go through the tunnel, and whether the existing maritime routes are not best for transporting certain types of cargo. And finally, we have to see whether it is expedient to have Japan as the terminus of the intercontinental highway, for there are other Asian countries, after all, which might be interested in the project.

via — через

to say nothing — не говоря о

piracy — пиратство

turnover — грузооборот

revenue — доход

cope with — справляться

prone — подверженный

floating — плавающий

to take into account — принимать во внимание

English Channel — Ла-Манш (пролив)

commodity — продукт

maritime — морской

expedient — целесообразный