Think tank wants Ireland-Scotland bridge

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- An Irish think tank has proposed a rail bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The bridge would allow rail passengers to travel from anywhere in Ireland throughout Europe without getting on a ferry or airplane.

Andy Pollak, director of the Center for Cross-Border Studies, floated the idea during an interview with BBC Radio Scotland. He said it came to him when he learned that the Irish government is planning to spend almost $7 billion on a rail link between the Dublin airport and downtown Dublin.

"It struck me that the gains to be obtained from building a bridge which might cost, say, a couple of billion across the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland would outweigh the cost," he said.

The North Channel between Northern Ireland and Galloway in Scotland is 21 miles wide. But the Glasgow Herald said that a rail bridge would also mean spending billions of dollars improving the rail line that connects the ferry port of Stranraer with Glasgow.

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