An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry links. While short tunnels are often road tunnels which may admit motorized traffic, unmotorized traffic or both, concerns with ventilation lead to the longest tunnels (such as the Channel Tunnel or the Seikan Tunnel ) being electrified rail tunnels .
28-455: The Atlantic Ocean Tunnel (Norwegian: Atlanterhavstunnelen ) is an undersea tunnel that is part of Norwegian County Road 64 which connects Kristiansund Municipality to Averøy Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway . The eastern end of the tunnel is on Kirkelandet island in the town of Kristiansund and the western end of the tunnel is on the island of Averøya , just west of
56-465: A half hours (normal ferries operating year round), but most ferries now take two hours. Some eight million journeys are made by ferry each year, including both leisure cruises and scheduled commuter services. Overland travel between Helsinki and Tallinn requires an 800-kilometre (500 mi) journey through Russia . There are also around 300,000 air trips done per year between the cities. Both cities have promised €100,000 for preparatory studies, though
84-600: A higher bridge that does allow shipping may be unsightly and opposed by the public. Higher bridges can also be more expensive than lower ones. Bridges can also be closed due to harsh weather such as high winds. Tunneling makes excavated soil available that can be used to create new land (see land reclamation ). This was done with the rock excavated for the Channel Tunnel , which was used to create Samphire Hoe . As with bridges, albeit with more chance, ferry links will also be closed during adverse weather. Strong winds or
112-482: A tentative deal with Chinese investment company called Touchstone Capital Partners . The deal consists of memorandum of understanding for a 15 billion euros financial deal to fund 4 stations, the tunnel and the trains. On 26 April 2021, the governments of Estonia and Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual cooperation in the transport sector. The MoU included the undertaking that both countries would cooperate in large-scale transport projects, such as
140-401: A toll tunnel and driving through the tunnel is free for all types of vehicle. This Norwegian tunnel-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Undersea tunnel Various methods are used to construct underwater tunnels, including an immersed tube and a submerged floating tunnel . The immersed tube method involves steel tube segments that are positioned in
168-494: A trench in the sea floor and joined together. The trench is then covered and the water pumped from the tunnel. Submerged floating tunnels use the law of buoyancy to remain submerged, with the tunnel attached to the sea bed by columns or tethers, or hung from pontoons on the surface. One such advantage would be that a tunnel would still allow shipping to pass. A low bridge would need an opening or swing bridge to allow shipping to pass, which can cause traffic congestion . Conversely,
196-613: A €1–3 billion risk margin for unexpected situations. The project is estimated to be financially feasible if the European Union covers at least 40% of the cost, the rest being shared by Finland and Estonia and the two capital cities (for comparison, the Rail Baltica project has received 85% of its funding from the EU). The economic benefits would be significant, both in terms of increased connections and economic integration between
224-536: Is a proposed undersea tunnel that would span the Gulf of Finland and connect the Finnish and Estonian capitals by train. The tunnel's length would depend upon the route taken: the shortest distance across would have a submarine length of 80 kilometres (50 mi), which would make it 40% longer than the current longest railway tunnel in the world, the 57 km (40 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel . It has been estimated that
252-605: Is being built to the same gauge. Trains traveling through the tunnel from Tallinn to Helsinki could therefore not continue onwards to other Finnish destinations and vice versa (apart from the Rail Baltica track) without new tracks being built or the use of a variable gauge system. Tentative plans have been made to build separate freight stations in Southern Finland ( Riihimäki and Tampere have been suggested) to load trains outside Helsinki for transportation through
280-486: Is headed by Kari Ruohonen, the former director general of the Finnish Transport Agency. In February 2017, two consortia were commissioned to study aspects of the project. One will study passenger and freight volumes and do a cost-benefit analysis. The other will study the technical aspects of the project. In March 2019, a similar project by Peter Vesterbacka has moved forward. Vesterbacka has made
308-615: The Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel in the Talsinki region. There are various issues with the safety of both tunnels and ferries, in the case of tunnels, fire is a particular hazard with several fires having broken out in the Channel Tunnel. On the other hand, the free surface effect is a significant safety risk for RORO ferries as seen in the sinking of MS Estonia . Tunnels which exclude dangerous, combustible freights and
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#1732797511619336-695: The EU for the study. In June 2016, the EU granted €1 million for the study which is expected to be ready in early 2018. In August 2016, a two-year study was launched by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council. Other partners in the study are the government of Harju County, the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn, the Finnish Transport Agency and the Estonian Ministry of Transport and Communications. The project
364-468: The Helsinki-Tallinn railway tunnel, but it did not commit any of the parties to any particular project. The MoU will remain in force until 2030. The cost of the tunnel connection has been tentatively estimated to be €9–13 billion. This includes €3 billion for the tunnel excavation, €2–3 billion for infrastructure and security systems, over €1 billion for rolling stock and other equipment and
392-607: The cities of Helsinki and Tallinn and the Harju County will pay the rest. This is the first official survey about the tunnel. The results of the preparatory survey were released in February 2015. The cost of the tunnel was estimated to be €9–13 billion and the tunnel could open at earliest after 2030. The survey recommended the tunnel to be built for railway connections only with the traveling time between Helsinki and Tallinn being half an hour by train. On 4 January 2016, it
420-552: The flexibility to be deployed over different routes as transport demand changes over time. Without the cost of a new ferry, the route over which a ferry provides transport can easily be changed. However, this flexibility can be a downside for customers who have come to rely on the ferry service only to see it abandoned. Fixed infrastructure such as bridges or tunnels represent a much more concrete commitment to sustained service. Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel The Helsinki–Tallinn Tunnel (also known as FinEst or Talsinki tunnel )
448-537: The fuel or lithium-ion batteries carried aboard motorcars can significantly reduce fire risk. Tunnels require far higher costs of security and construction than bridges. This may mean that over short distances bridges may be preferred rather than tunnels (for example Dartford Crossing ). As stated earlier, bridges may not allow shipping to pass, so solutions such as the Øresund Bridge have been constructed. As with bridges, ferry links are far cheaper to construct than tunnels, but not to operate. Also tunnels don't have
476-502: The government, with the project remaining on hold unless further funding is provided by the European Union . Helsinki and Tallinn are separated by the Gulf of Finland . The distance between the cities is about 80 kilometres (50 mi). Travel between the capitals is currently mainly by ferry and fast passenger boat, travel time varying from 1 hour 40 minutes (fast summer ferries operating from April to October) to three and
504-468: The national administration and the City of Tallinn, both controlled by rival political groups. Nevertheless, both cities are said to be considering funding the surveys themselves. On 2 April 2014, it was announced that a €100,000 preparatory survey named TalsinkiFix will assess whether a more comprehensive profitability calculation should be done. The European Union will cover 85 % of the survey costs and
532-521: The process while most railway tunnels are electrified . In the Baltic Sea , one of the busiest areas for passenger ferries in the world, sea ice is a problem, causing seasonal disruption or requiring expensive ice-breaking ships. In the Øresund region the construction of the bridge-tunnel has been cited as enhancing regional integration and giving an economic boom not possible with the previous ferry links. Similar arguments are used by proponents of
560-692: The relevant ministries of each country have refused to grant any funding. An application is now planned to the EU to gain the additional funds needed for a comprehensive survey, estimated to cost between €500,000 and €800,000. On 13 January 2009, newspaper reports suggested the application to the EU, through the Interreg programme, for comprehensive surveys had been denied. An expert at the City of Helsinki's International Affairs department suggested this may have been because of political tension within Estonia, between
588-517: The tidal limits may also affect the workings of a ferry crossing. Travelling through a tunnel is significantly quicker than travelling using a ferry link, shown by the times for travelling through the Channel Tunnel (75–90 minutes for Ferry and 21 minutes on the Eurostar ). Ferries offer much lower frequency and capacity and travel times tend to be longer with a ferry than a tunnel. Ferries also usually use fossil fuels emitting greenhouse gases in
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#1732797511619616-409: The tunnel comes from its connection of two islands located at the open Atlantic Ocean , and serves as an extension of Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean road), a popular tourist attraction. Atlanterhavsveien road runs over a series of small islands with views of sea, fjord, and mountains, connecting Averøya to the mainland near the town of Molde . As of July 1, 2020, the tunnel is no longer
644-577: The tunnel was estimated to pay itself back in about 17 years. Suggested passenger prices were 50 euros one-way and 2500 euros for an unlimited annual ticket. Railways in Finland and Estonia use the Russian 1,524 mm ( 5 ft ) track gauge . The Helsinki–Tallinn tunnel would according to current planning instead use standard gauge 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) tracks to connect directly to Rail Baltica which
672-435: The tunnel would connect two close but separated parts of the European Union in an environmentally friendly way, removing the need to use sea or air transport, or to travel through Russia . The Helsinki–Tallinn connection is part of the EU's TEN-T network's North Sea–Baltic corridor. The ports of Helsinki and Tallinn have previously received EU funding to improve transport conditions between the two cities. The investment for
700-406: The tunnel, if constructed, will cost €9–13 billion. It may open in the 2030s. The European Union has approved €3.1 million in funding for feasibility studies. A pre-feasibility study from 2015 proposed a 250 km/h top speed. On 8 February 2024, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne told Estonian daily Postimees that the tunnel is "unrealistic" and not on the agenda of
728-464: The two cities (the Øresund Region has been offered as an example), but also in a wider context of convenient passenger train connections between Southern Finland and the Baltic states, and a fixed link for freight from across Finland on to the Rail Baltica, thus providing a rail freight connection with the rest of Europe. An estimated 12.5 million annual passengers would use the tunnel. Geopolitically,
756-539: The village of Sveggen . The 5,727-metre (18,789 ft) long tunnel runs beneath the Bremsnesfjorden , reaching a depth of 250 metres (820 ft), making it one of the deepest undersea tunnels in the world. Construction began in 2006, and the tunnel opened on 19 December 2009, later than initially estimated. Breakthrough was in March 2009. Problems with water leaks caused delays and cost overruns . The name of
784-464: Was announced that the transport ministers of Finland and Estonia as well as the leadership of the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn will sign a memorandum on traffic cooperation between the two countries, including a further study to examine the feasibility of the tunnel. This study is the first to be conducted on the state level and will focus on the tunnel's socio-economical effects and geological analysis. Finland and Estonia are asking financial support from
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