Northern Ireland

Plans for 25-mile undersea 'Boris Burrow' tunnel between north and Britain branded 'hallucinogenic'

An undersea tunnel could be built between the north and Scotland
An undersea tunnel could be built between the north and Scotland An undersea tunnel could be built between the north and Scotland

A SENIOR Tory has branded plans for a 25-mile undersea tunnel connecting Britain with Northern Ireland as 'hallucinogenic'.

The Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday that the High-Speed Rail Group has submitted proposals for a tunnel, dubbed the 'Boris Burrow', after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a review into improving links between the north, England, Scotland and Wales.

There are claims the multi-million pound project could be declared feasible within weeks amid rising tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol which has effectively created a border in the Irish Sea.

A report on UK transport infrastructure by the head of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy, is expected to say the project is possible.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson says Irish Sea bridge 'would only cost about £15 billion'Opens in new window ]

Experts believe the tunnel could cost up to £10 billion.

Mr Johnson first backed the idea of connecting Larne in Co Antrim to Stranraer in Scotland when he was foreign secretary in 2018. However, the suggestion of a bridge between the north and Scotland has been rubbished by several engineers.

Tory MP Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, yesterday dismissed the idea of an undersea tunnel as fanciful and said the government's focus should be on making the Protocol work.

"The trains could be pulled by an inexhaustible herd of Unicorns overseen by stern, officious dodos," he tweeted.

"A PushmePullYou could be the senior guard and Puff the Magic Dragon the inspector. Let’s concentrate on making the Protocol work and put the hallucinogenics down."

He later tweeted that there are several practical barriers in the way of the rail project.

"Also another 'minor hurdle' is the NI railway gauge is an 'all Ireland' gauge which is different to that used in GB," he tweeted.

"I’m not Brunel but I think this might be a bit of a problem."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. File picture by Justin Tallis, Press Association
Prime Minister Boris Johnson. File picture by Justin Tallis, Press Association Prime Minister Boris Johnson. File picture by Justin Tallis, Press Association

Other critics pointed out it took several decades for the Channel Tunnel project to be completed.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, Jim Steer, of the High-Speed Rail Group (HSRG), which submitted the proposals, said they should be looked at "very seriously".

"It represents the considered view of the High-Speed Rail Group, which comprises over 20 of the biggest companies involved in high-speed rail in the UK and the Railway Industry Association," he said.

Mr Steer said a tunnel would be more straightforward to build than a bridge.

"It sounds crazy now, but before the Channel tunnel was built there was a similar debate," he said.

Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee
Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee

DUP MP Sammy Wilson said the idea of a tunnel should not be dismissed.

"Being economically and constitutionally connected is far more important than being physically connected," he wrote on Facebook.

"This will not address the problems with the Protocol but the idea should not be scoffed at."

Scottish Secretary of State Alister Jack said he had talked to Mr Johnson and that a tunnel appeared to be the most viable way forward.

He told the Daily Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast: "You say bridge. I say tunnel. I think a bridge would be closed for probably 100 days a year with the weather in the Irish Sea."