Boris Johnson’s tunnel plans between Scotland and Northern Ireland canceled | transportation policy

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A controversial plan to build a tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland before ground is reportedly broken has been abandoned, with the Treasury stressing spending.

The proposed link, described by Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings as “the world’s dumbest tunnel”, was valued at around £15 billion and backed by the prime minister.

But an unnamed government official with knowledge of the Treasury spending negotiations told the Financial Times that the plans were “dead, at least for now”.

The decision comes as the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is conducting a spending review ahead of submitting the fall budget on October 27.

Johnson was reportedly keen to link Northern Ireland with Great Britain as part of a broader vision of connecting the component parts of the United Kingdom. But others questioned whether the prime minister was real or seeking a distraction, noting that talk of the Irish Sea Bridge follows the grandiose and ultimately undeliverable schemes he dreamed of when he was mayor of London.

Johnson first proposed connecting Stranraer in Scotland with Larne in Northern Ireland by way of a bridge three years ago, an idea widely ridiculed by engineers. Concerns have been raised about the practicality of building a bridge across the stormy stretch of water, which is more than 1,000 feet deep in some places, and experts said it would require dozens of support towers at heights “not achieved anywhere in the world”.

The tunnel proposal was considered by a transport linkage review led by the Chief of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy; Two engineering professors have been commissioned to lead a feasibility study on a bridge or tunnel.

The High Speed ​​Rail Group (HSRG), made up of rail industry leaders, has proposed tunneling under the Irish Sea between Stranraer and Larne in its submission for an Indian review. According to the HSRG, the tunnel will connect Northern Ireland near Great Britain and “address the problems of Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit economic situation”.

The proposal said that a new rail link between Carlisle and Stranraer would be required and the width of the rail track in Ireland might need to be changed.

The Financial Times said the new foundation’s bonus was also for cutting as part of the spending drive. The program offered grants to potential entrepreneurs aged 18 or over who are currently receiving a Job Seeker’s Allowance for a new start-up company.

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