[Article] Irish Sea Tunnel

Treacy Hogan

Environment

Correspondent

PLANS for a €11bn rail tunnel spanning 60km across the Irish Sea linking Ireland with mainland Europe via Wales were unveiled yesterday.

The high-speed rail link would carry both cars and freight across the channel.

Fed-up business leaders demanded that the Government sign up to the ambitious project as they also lashed out at the poor state of our roads and bad public transportation.

Congestion

Traffic congestion is now costing them heavily in lost sales and late deliveries, they also complained.

The proposed Tuskar Tunnel between Tuskar Rock, Co Wexford, and Pembrokeshire, Wales, could be built by 2025, said the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI).

It would be part bridge over the Irish sea, and part sub-sea tunnel.

The rail proposal came as the nationwide survey of business people revealed high levels of dissatisfaction with the state of our roads, particularly non-national roads in the west of Ireland.

The business organisation's survey revealed that three-quarters of companies (74pc) felt that a tunnel linking Ireland's road network with continental Europe was vital.

John Dunne, CCI chief executive, said the tunnel would enable Ireland to seize control of its destiny by making the country the port of choice for most pan-European trade.

Super large container vessels were arriving on the scene and these required very deep water.

"We should commence now planning for the design, commissioning and completion of a Tuskar Tunnel, linking Ireland to continental Europe via Wales by 2025," he said.

Ice Age

A similar rail tunnel stretching 18.5km was built between Malmo in Sweden and Copehagen in Denmark at a cost of €3.5bn. That bridge is a combination of over-sea bridge and under-sea tunnel.

The bridge links Denmark and Sweden together for the first time since the Ice Age and now physically links together Sweden and the rest of Western Europe.

The ferry that goes between Malmo and Copenhagen takes three-quarters of an hour while travellers using the bridge can get across in a car in just over ten minutes.

The CCI said yesterday that the Tuskar Tunnel could be built at a conservative estimate of €11bn, but could rise to €15bn. The rail link would cater for freight and car traffic.

Research

Sean Murphy, the body's head of research said: "It isn't that expensive overall. It is a case of build it and they will come to it. We now have the chance to dictate our own future."

The results of the study by the CCI show the vast majority were unhappy with the state of the country's non-national roads.

Over a third (34pc) of companies had delivered goods late to their customers because of congestion.

Four in ten (41pc) were late for a meeting with clients, while over half lost working hours because of increasing traffic delays.

The survey, conducted by MORI Ireland, of 600 business people showed that 70pc were dissatisfied with the standard of non national roads while 40pc were unhappy with the state of national roads.

Dissatisfaction with our roads was highest in the west, where 78pc of companies complained about the non-national roads and 56pc lashed out at the state of the main roads.

Unhappy

According to the survey four out of ten were unhappy with the Government's investement in national roads.

More than half of companies complained that road signs were not adequate.

The organisation called on the Government to publish a definite schedule for the contruction of the proposed Atlantic Roadway, from Letterkenny to Waterford, with a 2011 completion date at the very latest being asked for by members.

Almost one-third of companies surveyed were unhappy with government investment in ports.

More than half were dissatisfied with government investment in passenger and freight rail services.

Some 47pc were unhappy with government investment in airports.