There's Still a Catch to Plans for the World's Largest Undersea Rail Tunnel

The country of Estonia is seeking more details on a plan to build the world's longest undersea rail tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn.

1 minute read

August 19, 2019, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Finland Rail

Helsinki Central Station | Dmitriy Bryndin / Shutterstock

A Baltic Sea rail tunnel planned to link Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia, has his a snag, reports Ott Ummelas. If completed, the tunnel would become the largest undersea tunnel in the world.

"Financing of 15 billion euros ($16.8 billion) was agreed this year for the tunnel to link Finland and Estonia. But the Baltic nation of 1.3 million people wants more details on that funding, the business plan behind the idea and Finland’s role before giving the green light," according to Ummelas.

As for the planning and engineering details of the plan, Ummelas provides the following details: "The tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn would span more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) and entails construction of at least one artificial island."

And for a bit of trivia that might come in handy someday, here's a detail about how the project idea got its start: "The project was founded by Finnish entrepreneur Peter Vesterbacka, formerly of Rovio Entertainment Oyj, which developed the Angry Birds video game."

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