BB FANS

Thu 10 Mar 2005

Scotsman

LESS than ten miles long and costing about £100 million, a tunnel taking drivers under the sea to Orkney is increasingly being seen as a realistic possibility.

The idea took a small but significant step towards reality yesterday when a Norwegian tunnelling expert outlined a vision of a crossing beneath the Pentland Firth connecting the islands to the Scottish mainland.

Councillors from both sides now look likely to investigate whether a 9.3-mile tunnel would be more cost effective than the hour-long ferry service between Orkney and Caithness which is subsidised by the Scottish Executive.

It is estimated that in 20 years it will cost about £50 million to replace the Hamnavoe, the NorthLink Ferries vessel that sails between Stromness and Scrabster.

Captain Bob Sclater, Orkney Islands Council’s transportation chairman, said: "It seems to be the way ahead. It would mean people could come and go whenever they wanted, with no restriction on travel.

"From what we’ve been told, a tunnel from Orkney to the Scottish mainland would be a feasible option."

John Green, who represents north-east Caithness on Highland Council, said: "When you consider that around £11 million a year in subsidy goes into the Pentland Firth route - it wouldn’t take long to recoup that by building a tunnel."

It was thought a sub-sea tunnel linking South Ronaldsay in Orkney to a point close to John o’ Groats, would cost at least £150 million.

But Eivind Grøv, a senior consultant with the Norwegian civil and environmental engineering specialist SINTEF, predicted construction costs of about £6 million a kilometre and a total bill of about £100 million.

I read about this a few months ago and thought it was a joke. wouldn't it be a better idea to build a tunnel linking Northern Ireland with mainland Britain?

I can't see a tunnel to Orkney coping with the strain of all those nubile young women storming Orkney to catch a glimpse of our Cameron

I know I said I had left...but have to comment on this...bollocks!

The OIC couldnt organise a piss up in a brewery, and even if they did, it would be the wrong kind in the wrong place.

knew it would bring you out of hiding Gaz.

You won't have to escape on a ferry anymore, Gaz. Just hop into a car from now on

why on earth would we want to be joined to those knuckle dragging bigots? it's bad enough here as it is

there's something worryingly funny about that statement

we say this about our boss ALL the time and it is sooooo true!!!

must admit the idea is kind of nice - would mean I didn't have to endure the ferry journey, or have the plane cancelled cause of fog/wind/snow or any other climatical disaster

but even in my limited experience of OIC - I have to agree with Gaz regarding their ability to get anything done

isn't he the one who decided to give you your job?

yeah... but it was only because his wife arranged it. I already had the job when I met him for the first time... never even had to apply or anything! It was great at the time... now I've seen what he's like

how long does the ferry take?

how about from wales to ireland?

The ferry from Ireland to Wales is not a bad experience - the Irish Ferries 'Ulysses' is lovely, and the fast ferries (90 Mins) run most of the time unless the weather is very bad.

However, whilst I do like Wales (lovely people, nice scenery), I would really appreciate it if Ireland could be moved a bit, so we could get to the south of England much quicker - and pop over to Calais quickly.

Would there be room for us somewhere off the Kent/Essex coast?

On the other hand, it would be great to be able to get to Orkney easily - and Shetland, while they're at it...

More like £500m.

Why don't they tow the millenium dome up here while they're at it? And what about an extension to the Scottish Parliament?

In fact, why not flip the dome over and attach it to Caithness and Orkney with two great big rubber bands and let folk go back and fore using it as something between a boat and a bridge?