Expert explains factors that could derail the Transatlantic Tunnel

Resurfaced plans and proposals for the Transatlantic Tunnel are underway and could revolutionise travel between London and New York.

The Transatlantic Tunnel is a whopping £15 trillion ($20 trillion) initiative that could see these two major cities linked together via a short one hour journey rather than the usual eight hours it takes on a flight.

The project will take a train 3,000 mph across a 3,4000 mile long tunnel which will be below the Atlantic ocean.

If successful, the tunnel will be an engineering marvel as the Shanghai Maglev, which is the world’s fastest public train which travels at just 286 mph.

Vacuum tube technology lies at the heart of this colossal project with the use of jet propulsion also contributing to the tunnel’s ingenuity.

Jet propulsion is when an engine’s thrust is produced with the use of fast-moving jet fluid, allowing for unprecedented speeds that will further contribute to slashing journey times to just 54 minutes.

Vacuum tube technology is used in tunnel construction for transportation systems requiring high-speed systems such as the Hyperloop and vactrains.

In a vacuum tunnel, trains can move much faster than before as they encounter no air resistance and this enables them to achieve much higher speeds than traditional trains.

According to Newsweek, if construction for this tunnel proceeds at the same rate as Europe’s Channel Tunnel, the burrowing and construction of the Transatlantic Tunnel could take part of a millennium.

Such intense engineering and intricate details required for the Transatlantic Tunnel is no easy feat and is a mammoth task for it to complete due to a number of major obstacles.

These include experts having to delve as deep as 5,500 metres, which would then require scientists to examine the seabed’s geological structure.

By examining its structure, scientists will then be able to identify any faults with all of this needing to be done prior to any construction.

Despite Elon Musk already knowing which company is best to build this megaproject, it could take decades to complete.

An engineer shared his thoughts on the Transatlantic Tunnel on social media.

The expert posted the comments on the community forum Stack Exchange highlighting the main issues facing this colossal tunnel which could derail the whole plan.

Alongside the Atlantic’s deep depths, the difficulties of assembling tunnel sections at such a staggering depth of around 5,500 metres also posed an issue with the added worry of how to ensure workers are able to survive with such water pressure.

“Additionally, such deep water will increase the ground stresses in the rock in the seabed, which will be problematic for an excavated tunnel,” they said.

But the biggest hurdle of all for the Transatlantic Tunnel is the mid-ocean volcano system also known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which wraps around Earth, stretching approximately 40,390 miles.

“This is an active volcanic zone that is pushing apart the continental plates that separate the Americas from Europe and Africa. This ridge is visible above the water in Iceland.”

They added that the Transatlantic Tunnel “may not be possible” as “the tunnel would require regular maintenance to remedy damage done by the Ridge.”