Elon Musk has made yet another big claim in his bid to speed up travel times
Elon Musk has suggested that the idea of building a ‘£20 trillion’ underground tunnel link from London to New York appears to be a genuine possibility – although he says he could do it for less.
This comes after the SpaceX boss, 53, who promises to revolutionise the way we travel, said his ‘Starship’ rocket could be used to transport passengers to any city in the world in under an hour.
From London, you could head to New York in just 29 minutes, theoretically.
X user @ajtourville took to the platform to that SpaceX would be cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during Donald Trump’s presidency.
He wrote: “Under Trump’s FAA, @SpaceX could even get Starship Earth to Earth approved in a few years – Taking people from any city to any other city on Earth in under one hour.”
To which Musk replied: “This is now possible.”
Elon Musk has made yet another big claim in his bid to speed up travel times (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The rocket would have a maximum speed of up to 27,000 km/h, and if you compare that with one of the fastest commercial airliners that goes up to 1,061 km/h, it’s quite the difference.
But if flying isn’t your thing, then perhaps an underwater tunnel train is more up your street?
Hip-Hop news outlet Daily Loud recently shared a tweet that read: “Proposed $20 Trillion tunnel would get you from New York to London in 54 minutes.”
Musk, who owns the platform, replied: “The @boringcompany could do it for 1000X less money.”
The Boring Company, which Musk also owns, is an American infrastructure and tunnel construction business, which he founded in 2017.
Is an underwater tunnel train actually possible?
In short, yes.
Currently, there’s an 18-kilometre tunnel being built to link southern Denmark with northern Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.
“For commuters, it means a faster and more reliable connection between Denmark and Germany, significantly reducing travel time and making daily commutes much more convenient,” Denise Juchem, a spokesperson from Femern A/S – the Danish company preparing the project – told Euronews Travel.
“Ultimately, the 18-kilometre immersed tunnel was deemed the best solution due to its lower environmental impact, reduced sensitivity to weather conditions, and cost-effectiveness.”
“The design of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel was a complex process that required extensive planning,” Markus Just, the Tunnel Design Quality Manager, explained.
“We decided to build basins in front of each of the three factory halls so that the tunnel elements could float up like in a lock and be transported to the work harbour.”
The train line is expected to open in 2029.
