Bering Strait Tunnel Could Carry 400 Million Tons of Cargo Yearly

Aug. 16—A tunnel under the Bering Strait would be highly beneficial for both the United States and Russia and could transport up to 400 million tons of cargo per year, according to railway expert Scott Spencer. “I personally believe the Intercontinental railway is one of many things that I believe President Trump and President Putin can agree on. It would be mutually beneficial for their countries.” Spencer added that, according to calculations, “the capacity of the Bering Strait tunnel on the Intercontinental railway is over 400 million tons a year. It’s 3% of the global trade that exists right now.”

Referring to the tunnel as the “Panama Canal of the 21st century,” Spencer said: “This is one that’s mutually beneficial, not only for the United States and Russia, but also Canada and China."

In terms of Russian-U.S. cooperation, he compared it to the International Space Station. In fact, he said the cost of building a tunnel is comparable to the building of the ISS. “$100 billion is the cost that it took to build the International Space Station, plus to take several billions of dollars from our nations, both United States, Russia and the European nations, and Japan and others participate to keep it operating,” he noted. “So, we have the opportunity to build a much more lasting project.”

He added that over the 150- to 200-year lifespan of the tunnel, the initial investment of $100 billion would be repaid many times over by international trade, which would stimulate economic growth.

A well-known railway consultant, Spencer is an adviser to Inter-Continental Railway, an organization founded by tunnel expert George Koumal and Alaskan attorney Joseph R. Henri, both of whom recently passed away. The third co-founder is Victor Razbegin, who is one of the leading rail industry consultants in Russia. Spencer is also co-founder of AmeriStarRail (ASR), an advocacy for high-speed train service in America.