In race between Scottish Government ferries and Shetland tunnels, there can only be one winner

Some people may poo-poo the idea that a network of subsea tunnels connecting Shetland’s islands will ever become a reality. However, if the Faroe Islands can do it, why can’t it happen in this country too? In fact, this seems like an opportunity for another of our famous challenges to the Scottish Government, with The Scotsman having previously declared races between the two massively over-budget and long-delayed ferries still being completed for CalMac and a ferry being built in Turkey , the paddle steamer Waverley , and, even less reasonably, the dualling of the A9 . Will SNP ministers be able to deliver an adequate ferry service between Scotland’s islands before tunnels make their use redundant? People laughed at Boris Johnson over his whizzo scheme to build a bridge to Northern Ireland.

But maybe he was not being ambitious enough. If Shetland replicates the Faroes’ success with tunnels, expect a sudden rush of enthusiasm for all manner of subsea and subterranean engineering. A tunnel all the way from the mainland to Shetland? As long as the SNP has nothing to do with its construction, who knows, it might just happen.

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