Project Library & News | InterBering, LLC

📄 InterBering Library – Media News, Articles, Studies & Historical Publications (1906–2025)

A chronological collection of international publications about the Bering Strait Tunnel, Alaska–Canada railway, and transcontinental infrastructure initiatives linking China, Russia, and the United States.

2025

Fyodor
Soloview

Bering Strait Tunnel Border and Customs Regime: Climate, Infrastructure, and Organization of Intercontinental Cooperation
By: Fyodor Soloview, President, InterBering LLC — Anchorage
Date: November 2, 2025
Source: InterBering LLC, 2025

This analytical policy paper outlines a proposed tri–national system of border and customs control for the future Bering Strait Tunnel, linking China, Russia, and the United States. The concept examines legal, climatic, and infrastructural requirements for establishing paired preclearance depots in Harbin (China) and Anchorage / Port MacKenzie (Alaska), modeled after the Channel Tunnel’s juxtaposed control regime between France and the UK.

Editor’s Note: This publication reflects the independent analytical position of InterBering LLC and its founder Fyodor Soloview. It is not an official intergovernmental policy document but a conceptual framework for ongoing discussions on future Eurasia–America transport integration.
Here's Why Plans for a Tunnel Between Russia and Alaska Are Insane
By Andrei Malgin, The Moscow Times, October 24, 2025.
Opinion piece questioning the practicality and cost of the revived Bering Strait Tunnel proposal.
Some Ideas Never Die as Talk of a Bering Strait Tunnel Returns
By Cary O'Reilly, Arctic Today, October 21, 2025.
Report describing renewed public and diplomatic attention toward the tunnel as a long-term Arctic transport vision.
What Will the Construction of a Tunnel Through the Bering Strait Change? Analysis
By Andrey Kuzmak, Izvestia, October 18, 2025.
Analytical overview highlighting strategic, economic, and logistical implications of a Russia-to-U.S. connection.
Kirill
Dmitriev

Russia proposes “Putin–Trump Tunnel” with Elon Musk’s help to connect nations under Bering Strait
Date: October 17, 2025
Source: Fox News — By Louis Casiano

Russia has floated a bold proposal for a U.S.–Russia rail tunnel under the Bering Strait, envisioned as the “Putin–Trump Tunnel,” according to Kirill Dmitriev, President Putin’s investment envoy and the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

Dmitriev outlined an $8 billion plan utilizing tunnel–boring technology from Elon Musk’s Boring Company to construct a 70–mile freight and passenger tunnel within eight years. Funding, he said, would come from Russia and “international partners.”

“The dream of a U.S.–Russia link via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision — from the 1904 Siberia–Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan,” Dmitriev wrote on X (Twitter). He added that RDIF has reviewed multiple multinational rail–link proposals and is ready to support the most viable option.

The announcement follows reports that former President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Putin and agreed to a meeting in Budapest regarding the war in Ukraine. The narrow Bering Strait separates the U.S. and Russia by only 2.4 miles between the Diomede Islands.

Dmitriev argued that The Boring Company could reduce traditional tunnel construction costs from $65 billion to under $8 billion. Addressing Musk directly, he wrote: “Imagine connecting the U.S. and Russia — the Americas and Afro–Eurasia — with the Putin–Trump Tunnel, a 70–mile link symbolizing unity. Let’s build a future together.”
Kremlin Envoy Proposes 'Putin–Trump Tunnel' to Link Russia and the United States
By Andrew Osborn, Reuters, October 17, 2025.
News article reporting Kirill Dmitriev's proposal for a symbolic tunnel under the Bering Strait connecting the two nations.
Russian Special Envoy Proposes 'Putin–Trump' Rail Tunnel Under Bering Strait
Published by Kyiv Post, October 17, 2025.
Coverage of Kirill Dmitriev's comments that a $8 billion link could unite Russia and the U.S. economically and politically.
Bering Strait Tunnel Briefs by the International Schiller Institute
Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), August 22, 2025.
Collection of policy briefs promoting the tunnel as a peace infrastructure initiative linking Eurasia and North America.
Proposal for a Bering Strait Peace Tunnel
Universal Peace Federation, August 11, 2025.
International appeal advocating the project as a global peace corridor connecting nations through cooperative development.
Alexei
Surkov

Transpontis Platform — A New Transcontinental Vision Linking North America, East Asia, and Europe Through an Integrated Infrastructure Ecosystem
Date: April 11, 2025
Award: Presented by Alexei Surkov, who received the national first–place prize at the Skolkovo Innovation Center (“Russia's Silicon Valley”) in the category of International Business and Expansion.

Developed and presented by Alexei Surkov, the Transpontis Platform (“Across the Bridge” in Latin) introduces an ambitious geo–economic model that proposes a continuous transcontinental corridor connecting North America, East Asia, and Europe through the territory of Russia. The concept organizes twenty–six domains of expertise into a four–level system integrating large–scale engineering, transportation logistics, energy networks, governance, and territorial development.

The infrastructure core includes the proposed Bering Strait Tunnel (86 km), the Sakhalin–Mainland Bridge (7.3 km), the Sakhalin–Hokkaido fixed link (43 km), and a 230 km undersea tunnel between South Korea and continental Asia. The platform outlines a multi–layered transport system combining freight rail, high–speed passenger corridors (up to 400 km/h), future vacuum–magnetic technologies, and integrated energy and digital communications.

Long–term development plans envision the creation of 12–15 new satellite cities along the route and the emergence of a major financial and logistics hub positioned at the intersection of three continents.
This project is currently in active development. Most working materials are available in Russian, with additional English translations planned for release in November–December 2025. The Transpontis initiative has been developed in partnership with its U.S. collaborator, InterBering, LLC.
Assorted Articles Related to the Bering Strait Project by the International Schiller Institute
Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), 2007 – 2025.
Comprehensive anthology of EIR publications supporting the concept of a Bering Strait crossing since 2007.

2023

UPF–Russia Webinar Introduces IAAP
By UPF–Russia, January 19, 2023.
Report on the Moscow webinar inaugurating the International Association of Academicians for Peace (IAAP) within the Universal Peace Federation, highlighting Russia’s academic and scientific contributions, and emphasizing support for the Bering Strait Tunnel as part of a global Peace Road initiative.

2022

Rick
Minnich

George
Koumal

Joseph
Henri

Crossing the Bering Strait, or THE STRAIT GUYS. An unlikely American duo join forces with Russian and Korean visionaries in their quest to link the United States and Russia via the Bering Strait.
The film The Strait Guys, which had premiered several months prior, was brought to Anchorage for a special presentation to Alaskan viewers on August 2, 2022. Directed by Rick Minnich, the screening was organized and supported by representatives of The Washington Times and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU). More details about the Anchorage presentation are available here: Facebook event link.
A documentary portrait of George Koumal and Joseph Henri, the unlikely American duo who spent decades advocating for an intercontinental rail tunnel across the Bering Strait. The film follows their travels from Washington to Moscow and Seoul as they work with Russian, Korean, and U.S. partners to advance an 85‑kilometer tunnel and global rail corridor that could reshape freight, energy, and communications between Asia and North America. Blending landscape imagery with intimate storytelling, the movie highlights both the vast geopolitical challenges and the human determination behind a project the two men believed could foster greater economic cooperation and stability.
Editor’s Note: Photos of people in avatars made by Fyodor Soloview.
For more information about the film by Rick Minnich, visit TheStraitGuys.com.

George Koumal (1942—2022) passed away in Tucson, Arizona on April 16, 2022, at the age of 80. Obituary.
Joseph Ross Henri (1933—2025) passed away in Anchorage, Alaska on April 23, 2025, at the age of 92. Obituary.

2021

Is A2A Staying on Track? Alaska–to–Alberta Railway Considers Refinancing to Steam Ahead
By Vanessa Orr, Alaska Business Magazine, July 31, 2021.
Review of A2A Rail's financial plans and its potential link to future Bering Strait rail corridors.
The US–Russia Bering Strait Rail Tunnel Project
By Matthew Ehret-Kump, Global Research / Covert Geopolitics, July 6, 2021.
Historical and technical overview of the tunnel proposal as a pivot for Eurasian-American cooperation.
'Boondoggle': Financial Woes May Jeopardize Proposed Alaska–Canada Railroad Project
By Tim Ellis, KUAC – Fairbanks, July 14, 2021.
Local report on funding issues surrounding the A2A Railway linking Alaska and Canada.
'Give Me a Break': Bridging Finance, Sean McCoshen Sued Over Alberta–Alaska Rail Plan
By David George-Cosh, BNN Bloomberg, July 5, 2021.
Business coverage of legal disputes impacting the A2A Rail initiative and its cross-border ambitions.
Alaska Railway Championed by Trump Hits Debt Wall, May Be Sold
By Paula Sambo, Bloomberg, June 24, 2021.
Report on financial troubles facing the A2A Railway Development Corporation and future ownership options.
Bridging Finance's Missing Man: Who Is Sean McCoshen, the Dealmaker Tied Up in the Private Lender's Fall?
By Joe Castaldo et al., The Globe and Mail, June 19, 2021.
Investigative profile of Sean McCoshen and financial ties to the A2A rail project.
Alaska–Alberta Railroad Dream Looks More and More Like a Great Train Wreck
By Dermot Cole, Reporting from Alaska, June 18, 2021.
Opinion commentary on the decline of the A2A rail plan amid funding and leadership problems.
An Underwater Railway Line from the USA to China: A Dream Project?
RailFreight.com, June 18, 2021.
Overview of concepts linking North America and Asia via the Bering Strait as a potential freight corridor.
Will the Arctic Become a Frontier of War or a Domain for Cooperation? What Must Be Discussed at a US–Russia Summit
By Matthew Ehret and Edward Lozansky, Antiwar.com, May 20, 2021.
Discussion of how joint Arctic infrastructure projects could serve as a path toward U.S.-Russia cooperation.
Canadian Backer of Alberta–to–Alaska Railroad Denies Taking Kickbacks from Railroad Promoter
By Dermot Cole, Reporting from Alaska, May 13, 2021.
Investigative report exposing financial misconduct allegations surrounding Bridging Finance executives and A2A Rail co-founders Sean McCoshen and David Sharpe, casting doubt on the project’s credibility.

2020

The Alaska–to–Alberta Railway: The Year We Walk Through the Door to the World Land-Bridge — or the Lost Chance of 2020?
By Robert Hux and Marcia Merry Baker, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), October 30, 2020.
Analytical essay on continental rail integration linking Eurasia and North America via the A2A and Bering projects.
Bering Strait Tunnel: Pipe Dream or Game-Changer for US–Russia–China Ties?
By Ed Peters, South China Morning Post, October 4, 2020.
Feature examining new momentum for a trans-Bering connection after approval of the US–Canada rail link.
Presidential Permit for Alaska-Alberta Railway
By Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, September 28, 2020.
Official White House document authorizing the Alaska to Alberta Railway Development Corporation (A2A Rail) to construct, connect, and operate cross–border railway facilities between Alaska and Canada. Issued under the Infrastructure & Technology directive.
Editor’s Note: This Presidential Permit is no longer in effect. It was formally revoked at the end of 2021 following the bankruptcy of A2A Rail. The corporation’s collapse brought the Alaska–to–Alberta railway initiative to a halt, rendering the permit void and the project inactive. The current list of active and historical Presidential Permits for border crossings can be verified on the U.S. Department of State’s website (official link).

2019

In Memoriam: Hal B.H. Cooper Jr. (1940–2019) — The Practical Visionary
By Marcia Merry Baker and David Christie, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), December 13, 2019.
Tribute to Dr. Hal Cooper, whose engineering studies helped define the modern Bering Strait Tunnel concept.
Commentary: Is the Alaska Railroad on Track to the “Lower 48”?
By Darren Prokop, FreightWaves, November 9, 2019.
Expert analysis of how Alaska's rail system could integrate with continental networks and the Bering vision.
Alaska Railroad Signs Initial Deal for Link to Canada and Lower 48
By James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, June 27, 2019.
Report on the A2A Rail agreement to extend Alaska Railroad toward Canada and future continental connections.
Update on Alberta–to–Alaska Railway Project
Mead Treadwell, former Lt. Governor of Alaska. World Trade Center Anchorage briefing, April 17, 2019.
Presentation highlighting A2A Rail plans to link North American and Asian markets via Alaska.
Governor Asks Trump for Permit Needed to Connect Alaska Railroad to Canada and the Lower 48
By Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News, April 1, 2019.
News on Alaska's official request for a presidential permit for cross-border rail expansion.
Dennis
Anderson

Sean
McCoshen

“Big Ticket”: Is Alberta–to–Alaska Railway Port Mac’s Sugar Savior?
By Dennis Anderson, Anchorage Press, January 3, 2019.
Local feature examining the economic prospects of the Alberta–to–Alaska (A2A) Railway proposal and its potential to transform Port MacKenzie into a major logistics hub connecting Alaska with Canada’s northern energy corridor.

The article follows Sean McCoshen, founder and chief executive of A2A Railway and The Usand Group, who told the Mat–Su Borough Assembly: “I have $125 million to spend on this project.” McCoshen outlined plans to complete the 32–mile Port MacKenzie rail extension as the first step toward a 1,500–mile transnational rail corridor linking northern Alberta to Alaska’s deep–water ports.

He described A2A’s vision of an Indigenous–owned and operated railway that would carry bitumen, oil, and freight in solid form directly to Port MacKenzie for export, at an estimated capital cost of $15 billion — roughly half the competing proposal’s estimate via Valdez.

The piece contrasts A2A Railway with rival G7G Railway Corp., reviews earlier feasibility studies by AECOM and the Van Horne Institute, and recounts McCoshen’s remarks to borough officials about his personal investment of $20 million and his intent to finance the Port MacKenzie spur privately if public funds were unavailable. He emphasized long–term economic benefits, First Nations partnerships, and a 99–year operating lease model to manage the port under a revenue–sharing agreement with the Borough.

Observers noted that McCoshen’s presence and direct financial commitment gave the A2A concept new credibility. The article concludes that, if realized, the Alberta–to–Alaska Railway could finally deliver on decades of vision to connect North America’s Arctic and Pacific gateways through Alaska.
Editor’s Note: Additional background materials provided by InterBering LLC.

2018

Trump Says U.S.–Russia Relations Worse Now Than During Cold War — He May Be Right
By Katie Dangerfield, Global News, April 11, 2018.
In an April 2018 statement, U.S. President Donald J. Trump declared that relations between the United States and Russia were “worse now than they ever were, including during the Cold War.” He called on all nations to cooperate and to “stop the arms race.”

Political scientist Aurel Braun noted that Trump’s assessment might be accurate, observing that today’s world lacks the predictable rules that once restrained Cold War rivalry. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed, saying modern relations are “worse than during the classical Cold War.”

Slogan (by Trump): “Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together.”
Editor’s Note: This 2018 Global News feature summarizes one of the most tense moments in U.S.–Russia relations since the end of the Cold War, reflecting growing uncertainty and unpredictability in the post–2014 geopolitical landscape.
Denver, Center of the Cosmopolitan Railway
By Carl Abbott, CityLab, April 3, 2018.
Exploration of Denver's role in transcontinental rail visions linking to projects like the Bering corridor.
U.S. and Russian Representatives Jointly Make Bering Strait Navigation Initiative at Arctic Council Meeting
Xinhua, March 24, 2018.
News coverage of early cooperative efforts on Arctic maritime and tunnel-related initiatives.

2017

Rival Oil–by–Rail Plan Has Fort Nelson First Nation Support
By Nelson Bennett, Business in Vancouver, December 8, 2017.
Report comparing two competing Alberta–to–Alaska oil transport proposals.
China Says Trump Open to Cooperating on Silk Road Projects
Bloomberg, June 25, 2017.
Political article suggesting U.S. openness to Belt and Road and potential Arctic cooperation.
Frank
Murkowski

Frank Murkowski, former U.S. Senator and former Alaska Governor, presents the Canada–Alaska railroad project
Topic: Canada–Alaska Rail Link Opportunity — World Trade Center Anchorage
Date: May 24, 2017

At a special presentation hosted by the World Trade Center Anchorage on May 24, 2017, former U.S. Senator and former Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski outlined the strategic and economic significance of a future Canada–Alaska rail connection. Speaking to an audience of policymakers and business leaders, Murkowski reviewed the status of the project, the necessary political steps, and the long–term economic potential such a corridor would bring to Alaska and the broader North American region.

Murkowski also described his non–paid contract with Alaska Governor Bill Walker, defining his advisory role in promoting rail development. A readable image of this official Walker–Murkowski contract is displayed at right and may be clicked to view in full size.
Editor’s Note: The YouTube video linked above was filmed by Fyodor Soloview during the event. Two images are provided at right: the World Trade Center Anchorage event poster and the official document outlining Murkowski’s advisory contract with Governor Bill Walker.

With Walker’s Blessing, Former Gov. Murkowski Will Again Explore Alaska–Canada Rail Link
By Annie Zak, Anchorage Dispatch News, April 2, 2017.
Former Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski began a new initiative to explore the creation of a rail connection between Alaska and Canada—an unrealized priority from his earlier term as governor more than a decade before. Under a contract with Governor Bill Walker’s office, Murkowski was appointed Walker’s “special envoy” to perform services related to establishing an Alaska–Canada rail link. Except for travel and expenses, he received no compensation for this work.

The one–page contract, signed in early March 2017 by Murkowski and Walker’s chief of staff Scott Kendall, was light on details but tasked the former governor with researching the project’s feasibility and reporting his findings to the administration.

Walker said the rail concept “has been talked about for a long time” and that he was “not looking to put any money into it, just looking into what the opportunity might be.” Canadian officials, particularly from Alberta, had previously inquired about the possibility of transporting oil through Alaska for delivery into the Trans–Alaska Pipeline System.

Citing Murkowski’s long background in the issue, Walker said it was logical to engage him: “Knowing Gov. Murkowski’s background on this issue, I thought it was good to engage him and use his expertise.”

Murkowski served over twenty years as a U.S. Senator for Alaska before being elected governor in 2002. During his administration, he proposed allocating $50 million in state funds to study a rail extension of roughly 1,100 miles connecting the Alaska Railroad to the Canadian system. That funding was never appropriated, though feasibility studies had been conducted. In 2017, Murkowski suggested that a connection of about 1,500 miles could be economically justified, extending from Prince George, British Columbia through the Yukon to link with the Alaska Railroad near Delta Junction.

The route could support shipping of bitumen, minerals, and other resources. Alaska Railroad spokesman Tim Sullivan expressed general support for new rail opportunities, saying that while the railroad could not finance such a massive project on its own, it would welcome the growth potential. Earlier cost estimates placed the 1,100–mile extension at between $6 billion and $8 billion.

Sullivan noted that most interest in a cross–border railway centers on freight transport, though passenger travel remains a secondary possibility. “There’s advantages both ways,” he said. “Moving materials out of Alaska becomes cheaper for a lot of things, and moving materials into Alaska becomes cheaper.”
Editor’s Note: Frank Murkowski served as a United States Senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as the eighth Governor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006. This 2017 report highlights his renewed leadership role under Governor Walker to reexamine the Alaska–Canada rail connection concept for future feasibility.
Special Coverage: Linking Up with the Alaska Railroad
By Chris Dupin, American Shipper, March 27, 2017.
Feature describing logistics, trade, and port development aspects of Alaska rail expansion.
Siberia in the 21st Century: Problems and Prospects of Development
Extract from the scientific report “Siberia and the Far East in XXI Century: Problems and Perspectives of Development.”
By Fyodor G. Soloview, Founder / President of InterBering, LLC. January 22, 2017.
Strategic Research Fund “Siberian Club,” Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk, SibFU, 2017).
In this paper, Fyodor G. Soloview presents a strategic vision for the economic development of Siberia and the Russian Far East in the context of global trade integration. He argues that the transformation of this vast territory—located between Europe, Asia, and North America—would have an inevitable and far-reaching impact on the entire world economy. The study highlights Siberia’s unique geographic and geopolitical position as the only region capable of uniting three continents through continuous rail and energy infrastructure.

Soloview identifies the Bering Strait Tunnel as the central element of a future intercontinental transport corridor linking Russia and the United States. He emphasizes that the creation of such a corridor would convert Russia into a natural “supervisor” of international trade flows, integrating Europe, China, Japan, Korea, and North America through overland logistics rather than sea routes. In this scenario, the Russian Federation would assume a pivotal role similar to that of the Mediterranean region in ancient times—a geographic bridge enabling global commerce and cultural exchange.

The author further argues that constructing a railway between Russia and the United States is not merely desirable but economically imperative. He notes that if such a corridor had existed in the 1930s, it might have altered the course of world history by allowing faster logistical cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Presently, the absence of such infrastructure contributes to trade imbalances: Russia’s trade with Europe remains over 30 times higher than with the United States, largely due to efficient Eurasian rail networks that the U.S. lacks toward the east.

Soloview also observes that political tensions and sanctions continue to hinder a more balanced trade relationship between Russia and Western economies. He proposes that a low-cost rail connection across the Bering Strait could help shift these dynamics, promoting economic cooperation over confrontation. The project would encourage the construction of new power stations, electrified tracks, and dual-national customs depots, all designed for high-capacity freight and passenger inspection. Such facilities, he suggests, could be located near Port McKenzie in Alaska and on the Russian side near Nizhny Bestyakh, at the terminus of the existing Siberian Railway.

Soloview estimates the total cost of constructing the Bering Strait tunnel and connecting railways at $135–$150 billion (USD), to be financed through both private and public investment, coordinated by InterBering, Inc., the Alaskan corporation he founded in 2010. He envisions support from Russia, the United States, Canada, and major investors in China, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. The project could be completed within 15–20 years, with several segments built concurrently on both continents.

The study includes reference to a related technical paper by Thomas Scholler, Project Manager of the Energy Department at Swiss Rail (SBB AG), on the electrical power supply of the Bering Strait Tunnel (2015 link). Soloview details how the excavated basalt and gravel—some 50 million cubic meters—could be reused to build the subgrade for over 7,800 km of railway, reducing material costs and environmental impact.

The author concludes that the realization of a continuous rail connection from North America to Eurasia would redefine global logistics by drastically reducing shipping distances and costs. He foresees that the construction and operation of the Bering Strait Tunnel will not only revolutionize freight transport but also elevate Russia’s and Alaska’s roles in world trade to a historically unprecedented level.

2016

Russia Suggests to US and Europe to Use Transport Corridor via Her Territory
News release by InterBering, LLC, Anchorage, Alaska. PRWeb, October 26, 2016.
Press statement by InterBering founder Fyodor Soloview highlighting Russian government feasibility studies on the proposed Bering Strait rail link, citing comments by Presidential Aide Igor Levitin on foreign investment participation.
After Silk Road, World Land Bridge? “Siberia Can Be Connected with Alaska if an Undersea Tunnel Is Built Across the Bering Strait.”
Interview with Helga Zepp–LaRouche, Co-founder of the Schiller Institute. By Atul Aneja, The Hindu International, September 22, 2016.
Conversation highlighting global infrastructure cooperation, emphasizing the Bering Strait Tunnel as a critical link between Asia and North America within a “World Land Bridge” concept.
Russia Considers Pioneering $200 Billion Airship Scheme
By Maria Evdokimova, The Moscow Times, August 12, 2016.
Report on Russia’s proposed “United Eurasia” airship network—a $200 billion initiative to link Europe with the Pacific and complement overland megaprojects such as the Bering Strait transport corridor.
Concept Study on the Electric Power Supply of the Bering Strait Tunnel
By Thomas Scholler, Project Manager, Energy Department of Swiss Rail (SBB AG), April 12, 2016.
Technical feasibility report analyzing how power systems could support continuous high-speed rail operation through the future Bering Strait Tunnel.

2015

The Bering Strait: Choke Point of the Future?
By Louis P. Bergeron, SLD Info, November 19, 2015.
Analytical commentary discussing the Bering Strait’s potential role as a strategic global trade corridor and a key maritime and rail junction of the future.
Book Excerpt: Donald Trump’s “Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again”
By ABC News, November 3, 2015.
Excerpt from Trump’s campaign-era book reflecting his infrastructure vision and policy tone during early U.S. high-speed rail and Arctic corridor debates.
Chinese Bullet Train to Come to the American Southwest
By Irwin Dawid, Planetizen, September 20, 2015.
Report on Chinese investment interest in U.S. high-speed rail projects, providing context for future trans-Pacific rail link discussions.
A Superhighway Across the Bering Strait
By Adrian Shirk, The Atlantic, July 1, 2015.
Popular-science feature imagining a continuous overland route from New York to Paris through a Bering Strait tunnel, highlighting global transport possibilities.
Moving Canadian Products to China – by Railway
By Gerald Pilger, Country Guide, April 17, 2015.
Discussion of Canadian export logistics and the long-term potential of rail links extending toward Alaska and Asia.
Plans for Superhighway Linking Britain and America
By Oliver Smith, The Telegraph (Travel), March 25, 2015.
International media coverage of Russian proposals for a transcontinental superhighway stretching from London to New York via the Bering Strait.
System Analysis of Transportation Alternatives for Supporting the Mining Operations of the Russian Arctic Shelf
By O. A. Dyomina, Ye. B. Kibalov, and A. B. Khutoretskii, Novosibirsk, Russia, 2014. (PDF)
Russian technical study evaluating logistics systems and transport corridors critical for Arctic industrial and mineral development.
China Focus: Full Speed Ahead for High-Speed Rail Expansion
By English Nes, Xinhua, January 15, 2015.
Overview of China’s national high-speed rail expansion, demonstrating technological capacity relevant to Eurasia–America rail proposals.

2014

The Coming Era of Mega Systems, Part 1 – Transportation
By Thomas Frey | Dec 16, 2014 | Futurist Thomas Frey Website
In this visionary essay, futurist Thomas Frey explores humanity’s growing need for integrated, planet-wide transportation systems. He begins by posing two striking questions: Which nation is the United States’ third-closest neighbor (answer: Russia, just 2.4 miles across the Bering Strait), and why can’t one yet drive from North to South America (answer: the 60-mile Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia).

Frey argues that the Bering Strait and Darien Gap remain critical “disconnects” in an otherwise globalizing network of mobility, and that both will inevitably require major engineering solutions—bridges, tunnels, or vacuum-tube systems—to unite continents by land. He reviews a long history of Bering Strait proposals, from Joseph Strauss’s 1892 railroad bridge concept to Russia’s 2008 tunnel plan and China’s 2014 idea for a bullet-train corridor linking Beijing and New York via Alaska. Though none have yet been built, Frey notes that such projects are technologically feasible and increasingly necessary.

He highlights the engineering advantages of the Bering Strait—a relatively shallow depth of less than 200 feet and mild currents—but points to political, financial, and logistical challenges, such as track-gauge differences between U.S. and Russian rail systems. Frey also examines the Pan-American Highway’s incomplete 30,000-mile route, blocked by the Darien Gap’s swamps and rainforests, and warns that both natural and social concerns (from indigenous rights to disease control) complicate any effort to close that link.

Extending the discussion globally, Frey surveys other proposed megasystems: the Gibraltar Tunnel between Africa and Europe, the Korea-Japan Friendship Tunnel, the Sakhalin-Hokkaido link, and even the audacious 3,100-mile Transatlantic Tunnel. These examples, he suggests, demonstrate the inevitable march toward a connected world.

Frey concludes that the coming century will be defined by such mega-projects, driven by automation, global trade, and the human impulse for connection. The real question, he writes, is not whether these transcontinental links will be built, but when.
Scott
Blair

Fyodor
Soloview

Dream Projects: Bering Strait Tunnel Possible With ‘Existing Technology’
By Scott Blair, Engineering News-Record (ENR), November 11, 2014.
This ENR feature examines the long history of proposals to connect North America and Eurasia across the 51–mile–wide Bering Strait, highlighting the renewed momentum driven by advances in modern tunneling systems and expanding continental rail ambitions in Russia, China, and the United States.

The article discusses the role of InterBering LLC, an Anchorage–based private initiative led by its founder, Fyodor Soloview, which has been actively promoting a modern 64–mile, three–tunnel configuration routed through the Diomede Islands. The configuration utilizes proven tunnel–boring technologies and mid–strait ventilation and access points. Soloview notes that although undersea construction costs may approach $35 billion, the far more significant financial challenge lies in building thousands of miles of railways across Arctic and sub–Arctic terrain, with total costs expected to exceed $1.3 trillion.

The report places InterBering’s efforts within a wider geopolitical context — including U.S.–Russia tensions during the 2014 Ukraine crisis — while also describing China’s parallel interest in a transcontinental rail link featuring a proposed 120–mile tunnel beneath the Strait using existing technology. Although various analysts express skepticism regarding economic feasibility, China’s $10 billion commitment to Russia’s Moscow–Kazan high–speed rail project earlier that year demonstrates an increasing international appetite for long–range megaprojects aimed at strengthening Eurasian connectivity.
Editor’s Note:
This article in Engineering News-Record was one of the earliest major U.S. engineering–media publications to highlight the modern InterBering concept and its three–tunnel design. Additional background, graphics, and interpretive materials were provided by InterBering LLC.
On the Fast Track: The California High-Speed Rail Authority Plans Line from San Francisco to Los Angeles by 2029
By Christofer James Palafox, American Builders Quarterly, October 1, 2014.
Case study on California’s state high-speed rail program, one of America’s major infrastructure projects paralleling Eurasian megaproject ambitions.
Fyodor
Soloview

Victor
Alferov

Russian Railways Supports the Construction of a Railroad from Russia to the USA
Letter from JSCo “Russian Railways” to Fyodor Soloview, President of InterBering, LLC. August 27, 2014.
On August 15, 2014, Fyodor Soloview, Director of InterBering, LLC, participated in a formal working meeting with Victor Alferov, Deputy Head of Technical Policy at JSCo “Russian Railways”, to discuss the concept of constructing a Russia–U.S. intercontinental railway incorporating a subsea tunnel beneath the Bering Strait.

The meeting followed Soloview’s earlier submission, dated July 31, 2014, of a business proposal to the Office of President Vladimir Putin outlining a phased model for initiating a transcontinental rail corridor linking Chukotka and Alaska. During the Moscow discussions, Russian Railways leadership reviewed the concept and issued an official statement of support confirming the company’s readiness to consider technical participation and to further explore the feasibility of a continuous Russia–U.S. rail connection, including the undersea component.
Editor’s Note:
This correspondence, issued by JSCo “Russian Railways” in 2014, marked a significant moment of institutional recognition for the InterBering proposal within Russian governmental and engineering structures. The meeting additionally clarified potential areas of technical cooperation and long–term development priorities for intercontinental rail integration.
China High-Speed Rail: Girdling the Globe with a Tramway of Iron
By William Jones, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), May 23, 2014.
Analysis of China’s global high-speed rail strategy and its connection to the vision of intercontinental rail corridors through the Bering Strait.
China Eyes Constructing Railway Under the Bering Strait
By Tom Arnstein, The Beijinger, May 10, 2014.
Chinese-language media coverage exploring engineering plans for a future cross-Strait tunnel and its implications for Eurasian trade.
China Considers Building High-Speed Rail Line from Beijing to the United States
By South China Morning Post, May 9, 2014.
Announcement of Chinese feasibility studies on an ultra-long high-speed rail line from Beijing to the U.S., including a tunnel under the Bering Strait.
Chinese Experts ‘in Discussions’ over Building High-Speed Beijing–U.S. Railway
By Jonathan Kaiman, The Guardian, May 8, 2014.
Report detailing preliminary dialogues among Chinese engineers and policymakers on a rail link from Beijing to Alaska through the Bering region.
Boris
Binkin

Sergey
Bykadorov

Yevgeny
Kibalov

Russia as a Configurator of a World Railway System in the XXI Century
By Boris Binkin, Sergey Bykadorov, and Yevgeny Kibalov. Prepared in 2014.
This research paper examines Russia’s prospective role as a key integrator and organizer of the global railway network in the twenty‑first century. The authors apply a systems analysis and game theory approach to assess how Russia can cooperate with Western powers – especially the United States – to build a fair and efficient world transport market. The analysis explores potential outcomes of large‑scale railway megaprojects and their interrelations within a single global transport framework.

The study begins by defining a “standard situation” – a reference scenario in which all proposed Large‑Scale Projects (LSPs) are completed within twenty‑five years. This model allows the authors to evaluate the structural and geopolitical effects of an integrated Eurasian‑American railway system. The so‑called “whales” supporting this scenario are eight strategic rail projects, each at different stages of realization, ranging from planning to reconstruction. These include:

1. The Severosib‑Barentskomur corridor connecting Pacific ports to the Barents Sea.
2. The Continent‑Sakhalin+ project, linking Japan and South Korea via tunnels under the La Perouse and Nevelsky Straits.
3. The Transcontinental Mainline through the Bering Strait, a truly intercontinental corridor uniting Russian and North American rail networks.
4. The Subpolar Mainline (Salekhard‑Uelen), originally a GULAG project halted in 1953, now partly revived as the “Northern Latitudinal Line.”
5. The Trans‑Korean Railway, a joint Russian‑DPRK effort to restore the Rajin‑Khasan link and open future freight flows from Busan to Europe.
6. The Ural Industrial – Ural Polar project, forming an integrated industrial and infrastructure corridor across the Polar Ural region.
7. The Trans‑Siberian Railway Modernization, enhancing capacity for Eurasian freight and passenger transport.
8. The Baikal‑Amur Mainline Modernization, strengthening its role as a twin backbone of the Trans‑Siberian system.

Using expert assessments from specialists of the Siberian State Transport University and the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering (Russian Academy of Sciences), the authors classified the projects into three major clusters, or “megaprojects.” These clusters represent natural coalitions of railway development that interact strongly with one another both economically and geographically. The Bering Strait project is identified as the central intercontinental element, capable of transforming Eurasia–America transport relations.

The paper emphasizes that Russia’s full participation in these railway systems could reposition it from a peripheral transit territory to a core configurator of the global logistics structure. Such development would allow Russia to bridge the existing gap between maritime and land transport, connecting four continents into one continuous network. Yet, the authors acknowledge the geopolitical challenges: many of these projects traverse or affect territories of neighboring and competing countries. As a result, Russia’s strategy must balance cooperation and competition through what the authors call a “strategic game” of mutual interests.

The study concludes that large‑scale railway integration offers not only commercial potential, but also global political and ecological implications. If realized cooperatively, these projects could mark a new phase of balanced world development – with Russia acting as the principal configurator of the world’s overland transport system.

2013

Fyodor
Soloview

InterBering, LLC — Certificate of Organization
Alaska Entity # 10015618, Effective October 1, 2013
Three years after founding the private company InterBering in 2010, Fyodor Soloview reorganized the business as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) on October 1, 2013. The transition reflected a common step taken by growing companies: establishing a more formal business structure, protecting the founder’s personal liability, and enabling more flexible ownership arrangements. Under the LLC format, InterBering could begin issuing membership units to early investors, forming the foundation for future capital development. Soloview’s long-term plan envisioned raising approximately $10 million through the sale of LLC membership interests, then converting InterBering into a full corporation (Inc.) capable of issuing stock on public exchanges. This staged approach would allow the company to assemble the organizational and financial structure needed to pursue its ultimate goal: developing a modern transcontinental railway system linking Alaska with Canada and, eventually, with Russia via the Bering Strait.
Editor’s Note: LLC formation is a standard step in scaling a development-stage company, providing legal protection and enabling structured investment. InterBering’s 2013 reorganization marked the beginning of its capital-raising strategy to support future infrastructure planning.

The Pacific Development Corridor: Maglev Across the Bering Strait
By Benjamin Deniston, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), September 13, 2013.
Visionary proposal outlining a magnetic-levitation system uniting continents through the Bering Strait within a Pacific development corridor.
Russian Far East Railway Project May Extend to Hokkaido
By Daisuke Nishimura, Asahi Shimbun, June 4, 2013.
News from Japan and Russia on planned Sakhalin–Hokkaido connections, complementing broader Asian rail integration efforts.
Northern Rail Extension — Project Scope & Description The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) proposes to construct and operate a new rail line between North Pole and Delta Junction
April 24, 2013
The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) proposes to construct and operate a new rail line between North Pole and Delta Junction. The project would involve approximately 80 miles of new rail line, connecting the Eielson Branch at the Chena River Overflow Structure to a point near Delta Junction. The line would support freight and potentially passenger services for communities and commercial interests along the corridor, and would operate as part of the Alaska Railroad’s common-carrier network, serving public, commercial, military, agricultural, and resource-development users.

Designed for passenger speeds up to 79 mph, the new track could provide reliable public transit between Fairbanks, North Pole, Salcha, and Delta Junction.

The project includes a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under NEPA. Work involves evaluating alignment options, engineering design, and cost estimates. A major component is the construction of a new Tanana River crossing to avoid mountainous terrain along the northeast bank and to provide military access. Additional river crossings may include the Salcha, Little Delta, and Delta Rivers, as well as Delta Creek.

The Department of Defense has extensive training areas south of the Tanana River. Access is currently limited to winter ice roads. The project’s scope would create a permanent, year-round access corridor, staging area, and multi-modal connection supporting the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC). Preliminary design includes a combined single-lane vehicle crossing with rail south of Salcha.

Purpose and Need
The Northern Rail Extension would provide:
- Commercial freight services supporting agricultural, mining, and petrochemical industries, reducing reliance on the Richardson Highway.
- A passenger transportation alternative to the Richardson Highway, with proposed scheduled station stops.
- Year-round military access to JPARC, supporting Army and Air Force training operations and mobilization.
- New tourism opportunities, extending Alaska Railroad’s service area to Delta Junction.
Benefits
- Bulk freight service supporting economic development in Interior Alaska.
- New rail connection to three ports, including the strategic Port of Anchorage.
- Safe, reliable, year-round public transit between Fairbanks and Delta Junction.
- Reduced military convoy traffic on the Richardson Highway, easing congestion and minimizing fuel use and wear.
Status / Timeline
- Late 2004 — ARRC initiates conceptual development.
- April 2005 — STB selects ICF Consulting to prepare the EIS.
- Nov 2005 — Notice of Intent published.
- Dec 2005 — Public and agency scoping meetings held.
- Dec 2008 — Draft EIS released; public meetings in Jan 2009.
- Sept 18, 2009 — Final EIS issued.
- Jan 5, 2010 — STB Record of Decision authorizes construction.
- Late 2010 — Kiewit selected as CM/GC for Phase One.
- July 2011 — Phase One construction begins; completion expected July 2014.
Editor’s Note: The Northern Rail Extension will proceed in four phases, as funding allows:

• Phase One – Tanana River Crossing at Salcha (Project Summary PDF)
• Phase Two – Moose Creek to Salcha crossing (unfunded)
• Phase Three – Salcha crossing to Donnelly Training Area (unfunded)
• Phase Four – Donnelly to Delta Junction (unfunded)

In addition to its immediate regional and military importance, the Northern Rail Extension is strategically positioned as the first segment of a potential future connection between the Alaska Railroad and the rest of the United States rail network via Canada. Long–range transportation studies and independent engineering proposals have identified this route as a possible northern anchor for a transcontinental rail corridor linking Alaska with the North American rail grid.

Some international infrastructure concepts further envision this alignment as a prospective western terminus for a future Eurasia–America rail link, including proposals for a modern rail tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. While these concepts extend far beyond the current scope of ARRC planning, the Northern Rail Extension is geographically aligned with such long–term possibilities and is occasionally referenced in broader discussions of global rail connectivity.

2012

Modern Railway Project Could Serve the Northern Peoples as Well as Solve Canada's Oil Export Problems
By Alf Nunweiler, December 15, 2012.
Article outlining the G7G consortium's plan to transport Alberta oil to Alaska by rail, bypassing the Rockies and offering broad social and economic benefits for northern communities.
A Railway from Canada to Alaska: Ready to Be Built in Six Years
By Fyodor Soloview, October 25, 2012.
Overview of early G7G Ltd.’s initiative to connect Alberta and Alaska by rail, emphasizing near-term feasibility and financing needs for the project's launch.
Maksym
Drabok

Bruce E.
Carr

TV Channel INTER (Ukraine): Interview with Bruce E. Carr — Alaska Railroad and the Future Eurasia–America Rail Link. July 2012, Anchorage, Alaska. Ukrainian journalist Maksym Drabok of TV Channel INTER conducted an in-depth interview with Bruce E. Carr, Director of Strategic Planning for the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC), discussing Alaska’s rail-development strategies and the long-range vision for international corridors that could one day link Alaska to Canada and beyond.

Topics included ARRC’s freight modernization programs, projected northern resource development, and the strategic importance of Alaska as a future rail gateway for potential intercontinental connections. The interview was filmed in Anchorage with camerawork by Mykyta Isayko.
The INTER broadcast examined the long-discussed concept of constructing a rail tunnel beneath the Bering Strait, emphasizing that the idea is grounded in real engineering capability rather than science fiction. Both Russia and the United States have initiated preliminary steps toward a future Eurasia–America rail corridor, each developing connecting infrastructure on their respective sides of the Arctic.

Bruce Carr described the Bering Strait tunnel as “one of the last great infrastructure projects left in the world,” noting that the route could be divided into three tunnel segments using Big and Little Diomede Islands. He stressed that differences in locomotive power systems (electric in Russia, diesel in the U.S.) would be resolved with transition facilities on each side.

Victor Razbegin of the Transcontinental Corporation (Moscow) added that the seabed between Russia and Alaska is stable, shallow, and largely non-seismic, making it an unusually favorable site for subsea tunneling. He estimated an eight-year construction period using modern boring methods.

The program underscored the immense economic significance of a unified Russia–America rail link: faster Asia–America freight transit, access to Siberian and Alaskan resources, lower shipping costs, and new industrial development along thousands of miles of frontier territory.

Fyodor Soloview, Founder of InterBering, explained how Alaska’s coal and other resources could be exported competitively to Asia via a Bering Strait rail connection, while manufactured goods from China could flow to Alaska and the lower 48 states far more efficiently than by air or sea.

Although political tensions and financial constraints have slowed the project, Carr concluded that its long-term importance is inevitable: “Maybe not your grandchildren — maybe your children will ride that train.”

Editor’s Note: This INTER TV segment remains a key early record of international media interest in Alaska’s role within emerging Eurasia–America rail concepts. All avatar photos are by Fyodor Soloview.
Letter of Support from Governor Sean Parnell on the G7G Alaska–Canada Railway Proposal
By Sean Parnell, Governor of Alaska, July 12, 2012.
Official correspondence endorsing G7G's proposed railway linking Alberta oil sands with Alaska's pipeline and rail network near Delta Junction.
Canadian Government Overhauling Environmental Rules to Aid Oil Extraction
By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post, June 3, 2012.
Report on Canada’s environmental deregulation efforts intended to accelerate energy and infrastructure projects, indirectly affecting northern rail initiatives.
High-Speed Rail Link between Moscow and St. Petersburg Could Cost Budget $35 Billion
By The Moscow Times, May 18, 2012.
Article detailing Russian Railways’ projected budget for a key domestic corridor viewed as a test case for trans-Eurasian expansion.
Join Russia and USA by Rail Tunnels under the Bering Strait?
By James Brooke, Voice of America, April 28, 2012.
VOA coverage of renewed dialogue between Russian and U.S. officials regarding feasibility of a Bering Strait rail tunnel connection.
Bering Strait Tunnel Talks Heat Up Again
Our Ukraine / Russia, April 16, 2012.
Multimedia feature including maps and videos summarizing public and political momentum for cross-Strait rail projects in 2012.
Russian Railways Chief Believes Tunnel Can Be Built Under Bering Strait
Published by KyivPost | Interfax–Ukraine, April 9, 2012.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA. A decision on building a tunnel under the Bering Strait to connect the railway infrastructures of Russia and North America should be made before 2017, Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin told journalists on April 7, 2012. “I am sure that Russia needs to develop railway services in the Far East and Kamchatka, and I believe a decision on building [a tunnel under the Bering Strait] should be made within the next three to five years. I mean a decision should be made that this should be done in principle,” Yakunin said.

“These are not just dreams. I said about this for the first time when I took this office,” he added. Yakunin noted that five years after he became Russian Railways President, he was approached by U.S. business representatives suggesting joint research on such a link. “So these are not just dreams. As a matter of fact, a design of this project is being worked on now,” he said.

Regarding implementation, Yakunin estimated that construction could take 10–15 years once approved. He emphasized that the project could only succeed through broad international cooperation: “America should be on one side and Russia on the other. China is interested as well, and so multilateral cooperation is inevitable.”
Editor’s Note: This report captures remarks made by Vladimir Yakunin, then President of Russian Railways, during a media briefing in St. Petersburg. His comments reinforced continued official interest in the Bering Strait rail tunnel as a long–term international infrastructure project. Yakunin served as head of Russian Railways from 2005 to 2015, when he officially resigned from the position.
Bering Strait Tunnel Project Gets Promotional Website
By Alaska Dispatch, March 29, 2012.
Announcement of InterBering.com launch to raise international awareness and attract private investment for the tunnel project.
Paul
Metz

Mark
Taylor

ALASKA-CANADA RAILROAD PROJECT — Incremental Expansion Project Breakout
March 2012 — Prepared by Paul Metz, PhD, CPG, P.G. and Mark Taylor, P.E., University of Alaska Fairbanks

This comprehensive overview presents the Alaska–Canada Rail Link Project (ACRLP), emphasizing incremental expansion strategies that enable portions of the network to operate independently while supporting long-term transcontinental connectivity. The study identifies high-priority corridors to enhance access to tidewater ports and key mineral, timber, and energy resource regions in Alaska, Yukon, and northwestern British Columbia, aiming to stimulate regional economic development while improving logistical efficiency.

A primary purpose of the ACRLP is to improve the economics of developing the extensive resource deposits in Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia. With this objective in mind, U.S. Senator Frank H. Murkowski introduced the Rails to Resources Act in 2000. Passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton, the bill provided $6 million for a joint U.S.-Canada Commission to conduct a feasibility study for an Alaska–Canada rail link. The Final Preliminary Feasibility Study for the ACRLP, released in November 2006, shows that the Project would generate economic benefits that exceed the total costs of its construction, operation, and maintenance. The Project would yield a return on investment of nearly 6% based primarily on the transport of iron ore from east-central Yukon to a tidewater port in Alaska. This estimated return on investment was the first “business case” for the proposed ACRLP and makes the project competitive with other economic development investment opportunities available to the State.

The incremental expansion approach highlights the feasibility of discrete rail segments, including Dunbar to the Yukon River, Houston to Port Mackenzie, Eielson AFB to Delta Junction (Northern Rail Extension), Whitehorse to Carmacks, and Haines to Carmacks. Each segment is designed to function autonomously, generating local economic benefits and serving as building blocks for a comprehensive Alaska–Canada rail corridor. The report includes detailed cost estimates, potential funding strategies, environmental assessment considerations, and phased implementation planning to optimize investment and mitigate risks.

This work was conducted jointly with the Michigan Tech Research Institute, bringing advanced geospatial analysis, resource mapping, and infrastructure modeling capabilities to enhance corridor planning and identify optimal routing for future expansions. Collaborative input from both institutions ensured rigorous evaluation of engineering challenges, environmental sensitivity, and economic potential, creating a robust framework for phased development.

Strategic importance is underscored for bulk resource transport, reduction of highway dependency, improved port access, and regional economic integration. The report discusses technological considerations, operational synergies with existing rail networks, and opportunities for multimodal logistics integrating rail, port, and road transport.

Editor’s Note: The incremental segments in this Alaska–Canada rail plan could form the foundational route for a future conventional railway extending from Fairbanks to Cape Prince of Wales, and potentially through a proposed Bering Strait tunnel to Russia, linking North American and Eurasian rail networks.
Connecting Two Continents: The Ultimate Engineering Challenge
By Tom Ricci, published by ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), January 13, 2012.
In-depth engineering analysis of proposed bridge and tunnel concepts for crossing the Bering Strait—examining climatic, seismic, and structural challenges that make the project one of the most demanding feats in modern civil engineering.

2011

Our Present — Our Future: Northwest Alaska — Prosperity Opportunity
By Norman Stadem, M.A. Economics. Formerly Resource Conservation and Development Coordinator, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service. © Norman Stadem, December 2011.
This research paper examines the persistent high cost of living in Alaska’s off‑road villages and proposes transportation-based solutions to improve regional economic efficiency. Stadem evaluates earlier canal and haul-road proposals along the Yukon-Kuskokwim corridor and concludes that only a multimodal rail system connecting Alaska to global networks can meaningfully reduce freight costs. He situates this local challenge within a wider transformation of Arctic transport, noting Russia’s $100 billion initiative to begin construction of the Bering Strait Railroad tunnel in 2011. Using the concept of an economic analog to the ancient Bering Land Bridge, Stadem argues that a trans-Bering rail link represents both a modern counterpart to prehistoric connectivity and a catalyst for Alaska’s long-term prosperity through integrated logistics, energy, and commerce.
Riding High-Speed Rail to a U.S. Recovery
By John Rosenthal, December 19, 2011.
Opinion piece linking national rail revitalization to U.S. economic growth, paralleling Eurasian infrastructure ambitions.
Dmitry
Medvedev

Opening of the Railway Connecting Yakutia with the Main Russian Railways
By Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia, November 15, 2011 — Nizhny Bestyakh.
In Yakutia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took part in the official opening ceremony of the Berkakit–Tommot–Nizhny Bestyakh railway — the northernmost rail link in Russia’s system. The ceremony marked the completion of a project that began in the 1980s and overcame decades of permafrost engineering challenges and harsh Arctic conditions.

In his address, President Medvedev congratulated the engineers and workers, noting that the line would soon extend across the Lena River to reach Yakutsk itself. The event symbolized Russia’s firm commitment to integrating its Far Eastern and Arctic territories into the national transport grid and promoting long‑term economic development in the North.
Editor’s Note: The Amur–Yakutsk Railway is a key strategic corridor linking Siberia with the Russian Far East. Its future extension across the Lena River toward Yakutsk is widely considered an essential component of potential transcontinental routes that could one day connect to a Bering Strait Tunnel.
Revitalizing the Real Estate Market and the Economy Might Help Fund Construction of the Railroad to Alaska
By Fyodor Soloview, October 26, 2011.
Commentary proposing real-estate stimulus and investment frameworks to support financing of trans-Alaska and intercontinental rail links.
Advancing the Bering Strait Tunnel Project in the United States and Canada
By Mark P. Barry, Senior Fellow for Public Policy, Summit Council for World Peace, Washington, D.C. Published October 4, 2011.
This policy paper outlines a phased strategy for developing the Bering Strait Tunnel project through an incremental North American approach. Barry argues that the Alaska–Canada Rail Link (ACRL), whose 2007 feasibility study demonstrated a strong business case, should serve as the first stage toward an eventual transcontinental rail connection linking Alaska and Russia. He examines the political, economic, and logistical challenges facing U.S. and Canadian adoption of the project—including shifting priorities toward Alberta’s oil expansion, lack of public rail funding, and limited awareness in Washington and Ottawa. The author proposes that early advocacy focus on Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia through an Anchorage project office dedicated to coalition building among business, Native corporations, and government agencies. Barry also discusses the possible role of Chinese investment, the importance of sustained Russian support, and the cultural significance of reconnecting Indigenous peoples across the Strait. The report situates the Bering Strait initiative within broader Arctic policy and U.S.–Russian cooperation frameworks, presenting it as a long‑term instrument of peace and global economic integration rather than merely an infrastructure venture.
International Conference “Intercontinental Magistral Eurasia - America”, Yakutsk, Russia
Held August 17-19, 2011, organized by the Council for the Study of Productive Forces (SOPS) with support from multiple Russian federal ministries.
Conference established cooperation among government and investors for Russian Far East development and endorsed the Bering Strait Tunnel concept as a key Eurasia-America transport link.
Bering Strait Tunnel Would Link Russia and Alaska
By B. McPherson, AllVoices, September 16, 2011.
Coverage of the Yakutsk conference where Russian officials and engineers endorsed the 65-mile Bering Strait Tunnel linking Uelen, Chukotka, and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska—a $1 billion-per-mile megaproject expected to connect the continents by rail.
Digging to America
By Oleg Nikishenkov, The Moscow News, September 5, 2011.
Article describes Russia’s initiative to extend the Trans-Siberian railway toward Chukotka and the Bering Strait by 2030, reviving a 19th-century idea for an intercontinental rail tunnel between Asia and North America.
More Rumors about Elusive Bering Strait Tunnel: Will It Ever Happen?
By Heather Exner-Pirot, Eye on the Arctic / Alaska Dispatch, September 5, 2011.
Analytical piece discussing renewed talk of a Bering Strait tunnel amid receding Arctic ice, tracing the idea’s origins to Tsar Nicholas II and its revival under Vladimir Putin.
North Eurasian Infrastructure and the Bering Strait Crossing
By Rachel Douglas, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), September 2, 2011.
Report on the Yakutsk conference “Comprehensive Infrastructure Development in Northeast Russia” emphasizing optimism for Eurasia-America connectivity and revival of the Bering Strait Tunnel vision promoted by Lyndon LaRouche.
Return to London Please, via Moscow: Kremlin Paves Way for East-West Rail Link after ‘Approving’ $99 Billion Bering Strait Tunnel
By Wil Longbottom, MailOnline / Daily Mail, August 22, 2011.
News report outlining Russia’s plan to complete its rail expansion to Chukotka by 2030 and bore a 65-mile undersea tunnel connecting Siberia and Alaska as part of a global East-West corridor.
Aspects of Railroad Technology as Related to a Railroad from Asia to North America via a Tunnel under the Bering Strait
Speech by Louis T. Cerny, International Railroad Consultant and former Executive Director of the American Railway Engineering Association.
Technical paper presented at the August 17-19, 2011 Yakutsk conference, analyzing rail design, tunneling, and interoperability issues for a future transcontinental connection between Asia and North America.
Eurasia - North America Rail Link and Bering Strait Tunnel Project - Presentation by Viktor Razbegin
Presented by Viktor Nikolaevich Razbegin, Deputy Head of the Council for the Study of Productive Forces, at the Yakutsk conference, August 17-19, 2011.
Official Russian government presentation outlining institutional support and phased development strategies for the intercontinental Bering Strait Tunnel corridor.
Matt
Vickers

G Seven Generations Ltd. (G7G), Vancouver, B.C., Announces New Canada–Alaska Railway Proposal Promising Market Access and Avoiding B.C. Super Tanker Conflict
Published at Marketwire – June 28, 2011.

G Seven Generations Ltd. (G7G) proposes a new railway to carry oil from the Alberta oil sands to the existing marine oil terminal at Valdez, Alaska. The proposal was announced at the International Indigenous Summit on Energy and Mining in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

“Studies have already demonstrated that a rail link to Alaska is a viable alternative to the oil pipelines currently being planned through British Columbia,” said G7G director Matt Vickers. “This approach is timely because it promises significant economic benefits while avoiding many of the environmental risks associated with current pipeline proposals.”

A key advantage of G7G’s plan is leveraging the existing Valdez terminal, which faces declining supply from Alaska’s North Slope. One routing option for the 2,000+ kilometer line would run northwest from Fort McMurray to connect near Delta Junction, Alaska, complementing the Alyeska Pipeline corridor. Phase one costs are estimated at $12 billion or more.

G7G cites strong opposition to oil tanker traffic on B.C.’s north coast and argues that Valdez has accommodated tankers since the 1970s—the proposal would replace declining Alaska crude with Alberta supply, aiming for a higher likelihood of social license. Leadership support has been expressed by First Nations in the Yukon and B.C., and by Tribal leaders in Alaska along the proposed route.

“The greatest strength of the Alberta–Alaska railway concept is the support it has received from First Nations along the route,” said Vickers, who holds traditional names from the Heiltsuk and Tsimshian Nations, noting G7G’s outreach began with leadership and is expanding to community consultations.

Over the coming months, G7G planned to complete the project’s feasibility study, business plan, and First Nations consultation, while seeking support from national and international Indigenous organizations.
Editor’s Note: Contact information as released in 2011: Matt Vickers — 778–239–1440; matt@mattvickers.com. (Details may have changed since publication.)
Robbins Double Shield Breaks Through at Russian Rail Tunnel
OJSC Bamtonnelstroy, a division of SK Most Company, March 2011.
Engineering bulletin announcing completion of a major Russian tunnel section, showcasing capabilities relevant to the Bering Strait concept.

2010

The Bridge Over the Bering Strait
By James Cotter (Author). 282 pages. Publication date: December 19, 2010.
In this imaginative and thought-provoking novel, James Cotter envisions a near-future world transformed by the construction of a transcontinental connection under the Bering Sea. Set in the year 2032, The Bridge Over the Bering Strait follows an international team of engineers—Ford and Darwi Walker, Sam Takahashi, and Janus Tokeluk—as they undertake one of the most ambitious engineering challenges in human history: tunneling beneath the icy depths of the Bering Strait to link the Americas with Asia.

Cotter blends scientific plausibility with fast-paced drama, exploring not only the enormous geologic and climatic obstacles facing the builders but also the human costs of their undertaking. As the project progresses, political intrigue, personal conflict, and betrayal begin to threaten both the success of the mission and the stability of global relations. Marriages are tested, alliances fracture, and murder enters the story as competing national interests collide beneath the Arctic sky.

The novel poses powerful questions about human ambition, technology, and the fragile balance between cooperation and rivalry among nations. Cotter asks whether such a bridge—linking the world’s greatest landmasses and civilizations—could truly unite humanity or instead accelerate its divisions. The answers unfold in a tense and unexpected conclusion that carries both emotional and geopolitical weight.

Combining elements of speculative science, adventure, and psychological realism, The Bridge Over the Bering Strait offers a vivid exploration of how one great engineering dream could reshape the destiny of nations and test the moral limits of those who attempt to build it. Sci-Fi enthusiasts and readers of global thrillers alike will find in Cotter’s 2010 novel a gripping, cinematic narrative about vision, sacrifice, and the price of progress.
G20 Seoul Summit 2010
Seoul, South Korea, November 11–12, 2010.
International summit noting global infrastructure collaboration agendas and energy corridor initiatives.
Transport Tunnel through the Bering Strait to Link Continents — Video
Interview by Samir Shakhbaz with Alexander Bgatov and Aslambek Aslakhanov, RIA Novosti, August 23, 2010.
Russian television discussion covering technical and diplomatic prospects of a future intercontinental rail-tunnel system.
Aslambek
Aslakhanov

Bering Strait Great Project on the Agenda This Year
Statement by Russian officials and infrastructure advocates on intercontinental connectivity and the revival of the Bering Strait Tunnel concept.
August 2010. Source: LaRouche PAC / Executive Intelligence Review.
In August 2010, Russian Federation Council member Aslambek Aslakhanov announced in a live RIA Novosti interview that the Bering Strait Tunnel Project would be placed on the agenda of the November 2010 G20 Summit in South Korea. Aslakhanov, a long-time adviser to President Vladimir Putin, emphasized that the project had gained a favorable attitude within the Russian government and that the upcoming summit offered an opportunity for renewed international cooperation on this major transcontinental initiative. He noted that the tunnel would not only connect four continents but also stimulate the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs, new towns, and industrial centers across Siberia and Alaska.

Aslakhanov recalled that in 1997 the Russian government had held a special conference to pursue the Bering Strait Project, signing relevant agreements, but that subsequent political changes had delayed progress. He stated that the project was once again “back on the agenda,” stressing that what was now required was the “political will to translate the project into reality.” While some economists doubted its short-term profitability, he dismissed such criticisms as narrow-minded, arguing that they failed to consider the long-term industrial, regional, and geopolitical benefits. According to project estimates cited in the report, the tunnel could be built within 10–12 years and recover its costs within another 10–12 years of operation.

The article also featured commentary by Lyndon LaRouche, who identified the Bering Strait link as a central element of a broader global infrastructure renaissance under the proposed North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA). LaRouche described the Bering Strait link as a “terraforming project” vital for solving ecological and economic crises through U.S.–Russian cooperation and the mobilization of engineering capabilities on a world scale.

Geography expert Alexander Bgatov traced the project’s origins to early 20th‑century proposals interrupted by the Russo‑Japanese War and the 1917 Revolution. He explained that the idea had been revived in the 1990s by a consortium of specialists from the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom, who concluded that the crossing was both technologically and economically feasible. Bgatov described the modern plan as far exceeding the concept of a simple railroad tunnel, envisioning instead a comprehensive intercontinental corridor equipped with high-speed electric railways, an eight-lane highway, power lines, oil and gas pipelines, fiber-optic cables, and energy-transfer infrastructure.

The greatest benefit, Bgatov said, would come not merely from the tunnel itself, but from the transformative development of the regions through which the line would pass. He compared its expected impact to that of the Trans‑Siberian Railway, which skeptics once claimed would never pay for itself—yet it did so in six years and permanently established Russia as a continental power. Likewise, he concluded, the Bering Strait Project’s regional, industrial, and geopolitical influence would be “enormous.”
Fyodor
Soloview

InterBering’s First Alaska Business License, June 24, 2010
On June 24, 2010, Fyodor Soloview obtained the very first Alaska business license for his new company, InterBering. This formal step marked the beginning of a structured, long–term effort to promote, finance, and eventually build an intercontinental railroad system connecting Alaska with both North America and Eurasia.

After years of studying more than a century of failed or abandoned attempts to construct railway links to and from Alaska, Soloview concluded that advancing such a megaproject required more than research papers, books, nonprofit groups, or advocacy alone. A dedicated, legally established company was essential in order to build public credibility, create a central office for operations, develop a platform for potential investment, and provide a vehicle capable of eventually issuing shares and raising capital through conventional financial markets.

With the founding of InterBering and the launch of its website, InterBering.com, Soloview laid the groundwork for a future stock–market–funded entity designed to pursue the construction of an international railway system across the Bering Strait region.
Editor’s Note:
The Alaska business license shown here represents the earliest official step toward organizing InterBering as a viable infrastructure development company. The image may be clicked to view in full screen.

Photograph of the license and the avatar portrait were provided by Fyodor Soloview.

Russian Far East Regions Plan for Railroad to the Bering Strait
January 2010.
Report on coordinated planning among Far-Eastern regional governments to extend rail systems toward the Chukotka Peninsula.

2009

The Fast Track to a Better World
By Craig E. Burroughs. Published by NICE, Inc., June 2009.
In this landmark study, Craig E. Burroughs presents a comprehensive economic and engineering rationale for completing a modern, high‑capacity electrified railway across Alaska and Siberia, connected beneath the Bering Strait. He frames the proposal as the logical continuation of 19th‑century continental rail expansions, such as the completion of the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 and the Canadian Pacific line in 1885, both of which transformed national economies and settlement patterns. Burroughs argues that the next historic step for civilization is the interconnection of continents by rail, creating a continuous land route for trade, resource exchange, and sustainable development.

The publication traces the uneven evolution of global rail systems and demonstrates how much of the world’s underdevelopment correlates with the absence of integrated rail infrastructure. Burroughs explains that linking North America and Eurasia would close the largest remaining gap in the global rail network, enabling rapid, low‑carbon transport between the world’s largest consumer markets and its greatest reserves of natural resources. He notes that the Bering Strait’s location along the great‑circle route between Chicago and Beijing makes it a natural and efficient crossing point. Electrified rail transport, he emphasizes, is by far the most energy‑efficient and environmentally sustainable mode for high‑volume freight and passenger movement across vast northern regions.

Burroughs presents detailed cost projections for a standard‑gauge, double‑track, fully electrified system, estimating approximately $87 billion for full implementation, including twin rail tunnels beneath the Strait. His calculations envision the transport of millions of tons of freight annually, generating substantial economic activity and employment across the Arctic and subarctic zones. He also highlights the project’s potential to stimulate industrial growth in Alaska, Canada, and Siberia while strengthening global cooperation through shared infrastructure investment.

Concluding with both historical symbolism and technical clarity, Burroughs compares the prospective completion of the Bering Strait link to the “Golden Spike” ceremony of 1869—a unifying achievement marking the dawn of a new economic era. He envisions that a future rail connection beneath the Arctic Ocean would stand as humanity’s definitive act of peaceful engineering cooperation, advancing prosperity and environmental responsibility on a planetary scale.
Editor’s Note: Craig Edward Burroughs (June 15, 1942 – November 1, 2011) was an early advocate of the Alaska–Siberia intercontinental rail connection and one of the original members of the Interhemispheric Bering Strait Tunnel & Rail Group (IBSTRG). A detailed biography and obituary may be found here: Craig E. Burroughs — Obituary & Biography.
Alaska Needs Big, Bold Ideas Now
Comment by Wally Hickel, Anchorage Daily News, May 4, 2009. Former Alaska governor Wally Hickel urged Alaskans to embrace visionary megaprojects such as an All-Alaska gas pipeline and a railroad around the world via the Bering Strait. Drawing on Alaska’s history of bold infrastructure — from the trans-Alaska pipeline to the Yukon railroad — Hickel argued that Alaska’s future prosperity depends on thinking big.
A Vision for High-Speed Rail in America
Remarks by President Barack Obama, The White House, April 16, 2009. In announcing a new national strategy for modern rail infrastructure, President Obama called for an ambitious expansion of high-speed rail corridors across the United States. He described the initiative as essential to creating jobs, cutting emissions, and easing highway and airport congestion, citing successful models in France, Spain, China, and Japan. The plan proposed an initial $8 billion in Recovery Act funding and an additional $5 billion over five years to establish world-class rail systems in at least ten major U.S. regions.
Bering Strait Tunnel and Peace Park – International Design Competition
Concept Project by architects: Natalia Volkova, Anton Kulakovsky, Boris Shatalov, Artem Elli, Yana Osadchaya, Natalia Butrimovich, Evgeny Kovalev, Anastasia Sharypova, and Anton Shatalov. Completed in 2009.
This visionary architectural competition entry presents the Bering Strait not only as a site of global transportation engineering, but as a symbolic space of reconciliation and renewal. The concept joins two continents – North America and Eurasia – through an integrated system combining an intercontinental rail tunnel with a monumental “Peace Park.” The designers imagine the Bering Strait as a place where east and west meet in cooperation, where human creativity overcomes geographic and cultural divides, and where the forces of progress replace hostility and isolation with understanding.

The project envisions a new phase of globalization defined not by competition, but by shared survival and creation. Its guiding principle is “to connect without destroying.” The tunnel and park are conceived as a single self‑sustaining organism – a living structure that harmonizes human activity with the Arctic environment. The team proposes to avoid direct construction on the fragile island terrain, preserving native ecosystems and respecting the region’s indigenous heritage. Instead, the Peace Park serves as a self‑contained architectural habitat that celebrates unity and sustainability.

The proposal integrates environmental and energy efficiency at every level. It includes an enclosed atrium system forming a semi‑closed ecosystem – a “green oasis amid Arctic ice.” This artificial biome would process carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, recycle organic waste, and regulate temperature and air flow naturally. Energy would be generated primarily by wind turbines, making the entire complex nearly autonomous and carbon‑neutral. The architects describe the structure as a model for future human settlements in extreme climates: independent, ecological, and aesthetically symbolic of global peace.

The “Bering Peace Park” thus transforms the world’s northernmost frontier into an emblem of intercontinental unity. By merging advanced engineering with humanistic design, it invites humanity to envision a civilization that bridges not only oceans and continents, but also cultures and generations – a permanent monument to connection, balance, and hope.

This concept was developed and presented within the framework of the 2009 International Ideas Competition dedicated to creating a global architectural and symbolic link between continents through the Bering Strait.

2008

Alaska–Canada Rail Link Project: Phase 1 Feasibility Studies (2005–2007)
Executive, Research, Summary, and Tourism Reports (2007)

The Alaska–Canada Rail Link (ACRL) Phase 1 Feasibility Study (2005–2007) explored a comprehensive rail corridor connecting Alaska with Yukon and British Columbia, aimed at improving regional transportation, port access, and economic development. Key objectives included identifying cost-effective routes, evaluating infrastructure requirements, and projecting economic returns for transporting natural resources such as minerals, timber, and bulk commodities.

The study was launched after the April 25, 2005 Memorandum of Understanding between Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski and Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie and included multiple reports: Executive, Research, Summary & Conclusions, and Tourism & Trains Prospectus & Appraisal. The first contracts for the study were awarded on October 11, 2005 by the Alaska DOT&PF.

Phase 1 Governance & Key Participants:
Advisory Committee: Co–chairs Governor of Alaska Frank H. Murkowski and Premier of Yukon Dennis Fentie, with members from Alaska Legislature, Alaska Railroad Corporation, Doyon, Limited, Yukon Economic Development, Council of Yukon First Nations, and Kaska Tribal Council.

Management Working Group: Chaired by the Yukon Economic Development Deputy Minister, included Alaska DOT, Alaska Railroad, Governor’s Office, Yukon Highways & Public Works, Yukon Indian Development Corporation, and Government of BC representatives.

Project Management Team: Project Manager Kells Boland, Assistant Project Manager Peter Laight, Ports Access Manager Roy Matson, Communications Coordinator Amanda Leslie, with University of Alaska Fairbanks participation by Paul Metz.

Consultants & Technical Teams: Market research and technical/engineering analyses were conducted by firms including Boston Consulting Group, Gartner Lee, Hatch Consulting, Lockheed Martin, CH2M Hill Canada, HDR Engineering, UMA Engineering, and other specialized consulting firms across North America and Europe. Financial advisory and strategic impact assessments were provided by Ernst & Young Orenda, HDR/HLB Decision Economics, Macquarie North America, and Information Insights Inc.

The study assessed multiple route alternatives capable of independent operation while forming part of a broader continental network, considering traffic forecasts, environmental factors, port access design, and economic viability.

Editor’s Note: The Phase 1 corridors not only support regional resource development but also form the foundation for future expansion of a transcontinental rail system, potentially linking Fairbanks to the Bering Strait and onward to Eurasia.

2007

Richard
Freeman

Hal
Cooper

Bering Strait Tunnel, Alaska–Canada Rail Infrastructure Corridors Will Transform Economy
By Richard Freeman and Dr. Hal Cooper.
Published by Executive Intelligence Review, September 21, 2007.

This comprehensive study outlines the economic, industrial, and engineering basis for constructing the Bering Strait rail and tunnel system and its 3,030‑mile Alaska–Canada rail corridor. Freeman and Cooper argue that the project would link the Americas with Eurasia through a high‑speed electrified and future maglev rail network, replacing outdated sea‑rail shipping routes.

They detail the immense bill of materials required for construction—steel, cement, copper, aluminum, aggregates—and estimate that 35,000–50,000 direct jobs and hundreds of thousands of secondary jobs would be created.

The article situates the project within a global vision of the World Land–Bridge, advocating Hamiltonian credit mechanisms and international cooperation to launch a new era of industrial and scientific development across Arctic and sub–Arctic regions.
The Worldwide Strategic Importance of the Intercontinental Rail Corridor Connections Between the Eurasian and North American Land‑Bridges
By Dr. Hal Cooper, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., Cooper Consulting Company, Kirkland, Washington. Presented at the Schiller Institute Conference, Kiedrich, Germany, September 15–16, 2007.
Dr. Cooper’s paper provides a comprehensive technical and economic analysis of the proposed Alaska–Canada Railroad Connector and its extension through a future Bering Strait rail tunnel linking North America and Eurasia. The study, based on feasibility work conducted for the Canadian Arctic Railway Company, evaluates multiple route options from Fairbanks, Alaska to British Columbia and onward to the Lower 48 States, forming the core of an envisioned 12,500‑mile global rail network. Cooper identifies the integration of rail and natural gas pipeline infrastructure as a key economic advantage and outlines the benefits of electrification, freight intermodality, and energy co‑development. The plan foresees up to 300 million tons of annual freight traffic, 175,000–300,000 new jobs, and regional industrial growth across Alaska, the Yukon, and British Columbia. The presentation positions the Bering Strait rail tunnel as the pivotal link in a World Land‑Bridge connecting Asia, Europe, and the Americas through a unified high‑capacity, electrified transport corridor.
Eurasia–North America Multimodal Transport
By Dr. Victor N. Razbegin. Presented at the Schiller Institute Conference, Kiedrich, Germany, September 15–16, 2007.
Delivered by Rachel Douglas of Executive Intelligence Review on behalf of Dr. Razbegin, this presentation outlined the Intercontinental Link project to connect Eurasia and North America through a multimodal corridor including rail, power, telecommunications, and pipelines via a tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. Razbegin traced the project’s history from early 20th-century proposals to modern Russian transport strategy, citing official support by Russian federal ministries and President Vladimir Putin. He emphasized the corridor’s strategic significance for global trade, energy exchange, and international cooperation, describing it as a world-changing infrastructure project capable of linking four continents and uniting global economies.
Richard
Freeman

Walter J.
Hickel

Interview: Walter J. Hickel (former Governor of Alaska) — “I Envision Construction of a Railroad Around the World”
Conducted by Richard Freeman for Executive Intelligence Review, published August 31, 2007.

In this in-depth interview, Alaska’s former Governor and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel articulates his enduring vision of global development founded on large-scale infrastructure, natural-resource stewardship, and international cooperation. Speaking at age 88, Hickel reflects on a lifetime of leadership in resource policy and recounts how Alaska’s economic independence grew from bold decisions, such as insisting on full state ownership of its lands and pressuring Atlantic Richfield to continue exploratory drilling that eventually revealed the historic Prudhoe Bay oil field in 1967.

Hickel connects these achievements to a larger civilizational objective: the creation of a continuous intercontinental railway — a true “railroad around the world” — linking Asia, Europe, and North America through a fixed link across the Bering Strait. He argues that such a project would unlock the Arctic’s vast mineral and energy potential while fostering peace through shared economic purpose.

His reasoning echoes the optimism of the 19th- and 20th-century builders of great public works: that lasting prosperity, not conflict, should define relations among nations. Hickel also expounds his philosophy of the commons — the principle that the Earth’s oceans, resources, and even outer space belong to all humanity and must be managed for the maximum benefit of the people.

More than a political dialogue, the interview stands as Hickel’s testament to Alaska’s role as a bridge between hemispheres. His declaration, “I envision the construction of a railroad around the world”, remains one of the strongest endorsements ever voiced by an American statesman for the Bering Strait railway concept — a call for global cooperation through engineering, trade, and stewardship of the planet’s shared wealth.
Richard
Freeman

Walter J.
Hickel

Walter J. Hickel (former Governor of Alaska): “I Envision Construction of a Railroad Around the World.”
Interview by Richard Freeman, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), August 31, 2007.

In this landmark interview, former Alaska Governor Walter J. Hickel outlines his sweeping global vision of a unified intercontinental railway network that would link nations across the Arctic, through Alaska, and via the Bering Strait into Eurasia. Hickel argues that large–scale infrastructure is essential for economic development, international cooperation, and long–term stability, and that Alaska must play a central strategic role as the gateway between the Western Hemisphere and Asia.
Russian–American Team: World Needs Bering Strait Tunnel
By Rachel Douglas, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), April 24 2007.
Report on early cooperative engineering proposals uniting Russian and U.S. specialists.

2006

James A.
Oliver

The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21^st Century Frontier Between East and West
By James A. Oliver. Published October 30, 2006 (ISBN 978‑0954699567), 256 pages. Available via Amazon.com.

A comprehensive examination of the Bering Strait as a geopolitical, cultural, and logistical crossroads between East and West. Oliver’s book explores the region’s historical context, the vision of a fixed link between Eurasia and North America, and the engineering concepts proposed over the past century—including tunnels, causeways, ferries, and transcontinental transport corridors. The work outlines the potential economic, social, and diplomatic impacts of a future intercontinental connection uniting Russia and the United States.
Frank
Didik

Trans Global Highway: Peace and Prosperity for All Through Mutually Beneficial Trade
By Frank Didik, Trans Global Highway Project, New York City, May 2006.

Visionary proposal outlining a worldwide network of highways and tunnels linking all inhabited continents into a single, continuous overland travel system. Didik imagines an “AmerAsian Peace Tunnel” beneath the Bering Strait connecting the United States and Russia, with the system extending southward across Asia through the Sakhalin–Hokkaido Friendship Tunnel, then westward through the Korea–Japan Friendship Tunnel, onward across the Middle East and North Africa to the proposed EurAfrican Friendship Tunnel linking Morocco and Spain, ultimately reaching London via the existing Channel Tunnel.

The author compares this concept to the historic evolution of Europe’s open borders, arguing that today’s technological and political divides could be bridged in the name of peace, cooperation, and economic integration. His vision promotes sustainable development through intercontinental connectivity and shared infrastructure for the twenty–first century.
Editor’s Note: The Trans Global Highway initiative, conceived by inventor and designer Frank X. Didik, anticipated modern discussions about a unified intercontinental transport network uniting North America, Eurasia, and Africa. Though never officially adopted, its principles echo aspects of contemporary global corridor initiatives, including the Belt and Road vision and InterBering’s proposed Eurasia–America rail connection.

2005

Peace Road Initiative
By the Universal Peace Federation (UPF).
Overview of UPF’s international Peace Road and World Peace Road Foundation projects, promoting a global network of intercontinental transport corridors. The specific idea of a Bering Strait Tunnel connecting Alaska and Siberia was first introduced within UPF’s program in 2005, as part of Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s vision of a “Peace Highway” linking the Americas with Eurasia.

2002

George
Koumal

Victor
Razbegin

Joseph
Henri

Craig E.
Burroughs

Alexander
Granberg

Jim
Stimpfle

Jeannette
James

CERTIFICATE AND ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION of INTERHEMISPHERIC BERING STRAIT TUNNEL & RAIL GROUP in the STATE OF ALASKA
The nonprofit corporation Interhemispheric Bering Strait Tunnel & Rail Group (IBSTRG) was formally established in Anchorage, Alaska, on September 25, 2002, with its Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development the following day, September 26, 2002.

The Articles of Incorporation outline IBSTRG’s mission as a nonprofit, membership-based organization dedicated to promoting the construction of a Bering Strait rail tunnel and an integrated North America–Eurasia railway system. Formed under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, the corporation’s purposes included advancing international rail connectivity, enabling cross-continental trade and tourism, and supporting the development of shared rights-of-way for pipelines, electric transmission, and communication infrastructure. The initial Board of Directors consisted of eight founding members: George Koumal, Victor Razbegin, Joseph Henri, Craig Burroughs, Alexander Granberg, Jim Stimpfle, Jeannette James, and Scott Robart. Their collective vision formed the organizational foundation for what they viewed as one of the most significant transcontinental infrastructure initiatives of the twenty–first century.
Editor’s Note: The complete original Certificate and Articles of Incorporation (Anchorage, September 25–26, 2002) may be viewed in the linked PDF document above.

As of the end of 2025, Dr. Victor Razbegin remains the only active participant from the corporation’s original founding group.

1996

Fyodor
Soloview

“The Isthmus, or Alaska Borders Russia”
Science fiction story and screenplay by Fyodor Soloview. Registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, April 8, 1996.

In this original science–fiction thriller, Fyodor Soloview imagines a daring geopolitical scenario set at the end of the Cold War. The story centers on a secret Soviet military plan from the 1980s to raise an artificial land bridge between Alaska and Chukotka using a series of massive, underground, non–nuclear explosions intended to lift the seabed of the Bering Strait and create a new isthmus—at the cost of an enormous tsunami that would devastate America’s Pacific Coast and Japan.

The plot follows a U.S. counterintelligence operative tracking a Soviet submarine whose strange rhythmic movements toward Alaska suggested the planting of timed explosive charges. Decades later, as a peaceful joint U.S.–Russian geological experiment is planned, the same pattern appears in engineering data—revealing that dormant Cold–War explosives might still be buried beneath the seabed and could detonate together with the new blasts.

When the operative attempts to warn authorities, he survives an assassination attempt by embedded Russian agents and goes on the run to stop the impending disaster. In a dramatic climax, a news crew’s damaged observation balloon crashes onto the newly uplifted terrain, disrupting the general’s master detonation sequence and preventing catastrophe.

The villain disappears into the chaos, and the minor detonations leave behind a strange, dam–like land formation—the newborn Bering Isthmus. What began as a military weapon becomes a symbolic foundation for a future transport corridor linking Russia and the United States.

Soloview’s screenplay, blending Cold–War intrigue, science fiction, and environmental suspense, represents an early literary exploration of the Bering Strait connection theme—a subject that would later become central to his real–world research on transcontinental infrastructure and intercontinental rail development.

1995

The Linking of Two Great Continents by Rail Tunnel Connections Under the Bering Straits
By Ronald Kotas, Theoretical Scientist, Grand Quantum Research. Written in 1995.
Ronald Kotas presents a comprehensive and visionary argument for constructing a rail tunnel system under the Bering Strait to connect North America and Asia. He describes the project as a “grand final trade route” that would unite the continents between Wales, Alaska and Naukan, Russia, linking their rail systems through two parallel tunnels meeting beneath the Diomede Islands. Kotas outlines how the tunnels–approximately 54 miles in total length–could be safely and efficiently constructed with gentle 1 percent grades, electrified track, and modern engineering comparable to the Channel Tunnel and Japan’s Seikan Tunnel.

The paper proposes a cost of roughly $37 billion for the entire project, including $15 billion for the tunnels themselves, arguing that this amount is modest compared to annual defense expenditures. Electrically powered trains are recommended for efficiency, safety, and environmental benefits, with an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 carloads per year. The author emphasizes that the project would stimulate employment for generations, strengthen international trade, and provide a clean alternative to ocean shipping, particularly for oil and bulk commodities. He notes that rail transport consumes eight times less fuel per ton than trucking and avoids the ecological risks of oil tanker spills, referencing the Exxon Valdez disaster as a preventable case.

Kotas describes the required connecting rail infrastructure in detail: about 987 miles of new line linking the Canadian system to Fairbanks (including 269 miles in Alaska, 568 miles in the Yukon, and 150 miles in British Columbia), and approximately 1,000 miles from Fairbanks to Wales. On the Russian side, around 2,100 miles of new track would connect the tunnel to Egvekinot and Yakutsk, integrating with the Trans-Siberian Railway and further to China, Korea, and Japan. He imagines a future in which passenger trains could run from Chicago through Fairbanks and across Siberia to Beijing or Paris, reviving the global spirit of exploration first inspired by Columbus 500 years earlier.

Environmental and safety arguments are central to his vision. Electrified trains and unitized oil trains would, he argues, prevent major maritime spills, reduce air pollution, and create an ecologically sustainable transport corridor. He suggests that land routes for oil and freight would be far safer and more efficient than sea transport. The proposal even envisions tourism potential, with high-speed scenic rail journeys from the U.S. mainland to Asia via Alaska and the Bering Strait.

Kotas compares the prospective achievement to the building of the Panama Canal and emphasizes that the United States grew strong through its railways and free enterprise. Quoting Alaska Governor Walter Hickel’s 1994 speech at the United Nations – “Why war? Why not big projects?” – the author concludes that the Bering Strait Tunnel would become one of humanity’s most important undertakings, symbolizing cooperation, productivity, and peace. He urges immediate action so that this “Grand Trade Route” could be opened by the dawn of the twenty-first century, marking a new era of intercontinental connection and sustainable global progress.

Editor’s Note: Ronald R. Kotas (March 13, 1934 – April 22, 2018), of North Ft. Myers, Florida. Passed away at the age of 84.

1992

No Technical Limits to Bering Strait Project
Presentation delivered to a Washington, D.C. policy and engineering roundtable on global rail corridors.
By Louis T. Cerny, Executive Director of the American Railway Engineering Association (AREA). Remarks delivered June 22, 1992; later published by Executive Intelligence Review on July 6, 2007.
In this address, Louis T. Cerny asserted that there are no insurmountable engineering or geological barriers to building a railway tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. Speaking as a leading U.S. railway engineer and long-time advocate for rail-based infrastructure, Cerny emphasized that the concept of a fixed link between Asia and North America was technologically feasible and strategically essential for the twenty-first century.

Cerny reviewed global examples of long undersea tunnels then in operation or construction, including the recently completed Channel Tunnel between England and France and Japan’s 33-mile Seikan Tunnel. He noted that these projects had already proven that stable rock formations, proper pressure-management, and modern boring methods could make the Bering Strait crossing technically achievable. The Strait itself, only about 55 miles wide and 170 feet deep, posed fewer engineering difficulties than many existing undersea tunnels.

His analysis highlighted the opportunity for a continuous overland rail corridor from North America through Alaska, under the Bering Strait, and onward via Siberia to the Trans-Siberian Railway network and ultimately to Europe and China. He argued that a through-rail connection would eliminate costly trans-shipment of cargo at seaports, cut transport times, and open entirely new freight markets across the polar route. According to Cerny, the rail tunnel would also serve as a stabilizing geopolitical and economic bridge between Russia and the United States, fostering mutual development rather than competition.

Addressing common doubts, Cerny explained that challenges such as permafrost, seismic activity, and extreme weather could be mitigated by well-understood tunneling and railway engineering practices. He emphasized that the technical community had mastered the principles of pressurized tunnel boring, ventilation, and electrified traction systems necessary for long sub-sea routes. What remained was not an engineering problem, but a question of political will and international cooperation.

Cerny urged that the Bering Strait Tunnel be viewed as an investment comparable in vision and scale to the Transcontinental Railroad or the Panama Canal. He foresaw that the project could become the key link in a global transport system connecting four continents by rail. His concluding point was clear: there were, in his professional judgment, “no technical limits” to the realization of the Bering Strait Project — only organizational and financial challenges yet to be overcome.

1991

Alexander
Granberg

Victor
Fisher

Alexander Granberg’s 1991 Lecture Series in Anchorage, Alaska: Early Foundations of Modern Bering Strait Cooperation
In January–February 1991, renowned Russian economist Professor Alexander Granberg delivered a seven–lecture series at the University of Alaska Anchorage titled Economic and Political Reforms in the Soviet Union and the Russian Republic. During his final lecture on February 14, 1991, he became the first modern scholar to publicly propose a new form of U.S.–Soviet economic partnership — one that could eventually include a joint venture and physical connection between Alaska and Chukotka, echoing the historic Russian–American Company of the 18th–19th centuries.

Granberg was invited to Alaska by Professor Victor (Vic) Fisher, an influential Alaska statesman, Russian speaker, and one of the drafters of the Alaska State Constitution. Fisher founded the Center for Russian–American Business Relations and brought Granberg for a landmark exchange of ideas at a moment of historic political transformation in the USSR.

Drawing on the concept of Beringia — the prehistoric land bridge linking Asia and North America — Professor Granberg outlined a vision of renewed regional cooperation through trade, transportation links, joint industrial ventures, scientific collaboration, and early notions of a cross–Bering free–trade zone. His lectures helped spark post–Perestroika engagement between Alaska and Siberia and influenced later collaborative efforts, including the founding of the Interhemispheric Bering Strait Tunnel & Rail Group (IBSTRG) in 2002 , where Professor Granberg became one of the founding members of the international working group.

Granberg’s pioneering ideas later inspired Fyodor Soloview, whose subsequent work — from the 1995 screenplay The Isthmus to the establishment of InterBering LLC — focused on advancing a modern rail link between Alaska, Canada, and the contiguous United States.
Editor’s Note:
Professor Alexander Granberg (25 June 1936, Moscow — 22 August 2010, Moscow) was Russia’s leading scholar in regional economics and played a decisive early role in the intellectual foundations of modern Bering Strait cooperation. All photographs used for avatars and lecture documentation were taken by Fyodor Soloview.
Granberg’s 1991 Anchorage lectures remain a pivotal cornerstone in the development of U.S.–Russian Bering Strait dialogue and future infrastructural concepts.

1990

Victor
Fisher

Doing Business in the USSR
Event Dates: October 10 & 17, 1990
Location: University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)

By the end of the 1980s, Victor (Vic) Fisher — Anchorage’s first city planner, a delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention, territorial legislator, federal administrator, and one of Alaska’s most influential public figures — established the Office of Soviet/Russia Relations at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Fisher later became the visionary behind the UAA American Russian Center, serving for many years as its senior advisor.

In October 1990, during a period of rapid political and economic reforms in the USSR, Fisher organized a landmark two-part lecture series titled “Doing Business in the USSR”. The sessions brought together Alaska entrepreneurs, U.S. managers, and newly arrived Russian immigrants to discuss the first real opportunities for American companies to work inside the Soviet economy.
The lectures, co-presented with Mark Butler and other early Alaska-Soviet business pioneers, covered a broad range of practical topics: obtaining invitations and visas, forming joint ventures, buying and selling Soviet goods, differences in U.S. & USSR economic systems, export procedures, communication practices, travel logistics, protocol, and the emerging legal framework for private enterprise inside the Soviet Union.

Categories discussed included manufacturing and processing inside the USSR, tourism (commercial, adventure, and hunting), types of assistance available, and establishing long-term business contacts across Alaska and the Soviet Far East.
Editor’s Note:
These two UAA lecture sessions became the earliest institutional foundation for Alaska–Russia commercial relations in the post-Cold War era. Many ideas developed here fed directly into later initiatives such as the American Russian Center and a range of early Alaska-Siberia business partnerships during the 1990s.

Archival scans of the original lecture handouts (1990) were provided courtesy of InterBering, LLC.
The Bridge to Tomorrow: Visions of the Bering Strait Bridge
By Terrence Cole, published in Alaska History (Fall 1990 issue).
Historical essay tracing the evolution of the Bering Strait bridge concept—from Ice Age migrations across the ancient land bridge to modern engineering dreams of reconnecting Alaska and Siberia.

1960

Bering Strait Dam Project by Petr Borisov
by Boris Lyubimov, Literaturnaya Gazeta, March 18, 1960. This Soviet-era feature, translated from the Russian original and reprinted by the U.S. Joint Publications Research Service, profiles engineer Petr Mikhailovich Borisov—a Stalin Prize laureate who proposed constructing a massive dam across the Bering Strait to alter the Arctic climate. Borisov envisioned using pumps built into prefabricated pontoons to redirect cold and warm currents, melting Arctic ice and transforming the frozen tundra of Russia, Alaska, and Canada into fertile lands. The article captures the optimism of 1960s Soviet science, linking technological ambition with hopes for U.S.–Soviet cooperation in “warming the political and physical climate” of the world.

1952

History of One "Conspiracy" Against Russia — Russian-English Translation
Author: Grigory Grebnyov / Григорий Гребнёв
Date: January 6, 1952
Original publication: weekly social-political and literary-art magazine «Ogonyok» (USSR, Russian: «Огонёк»), No. 2 (1283), 30th year of publication.

This newly translated historical article recounts the dramatic, largely forgotten effort by American financiers at the turn of the 20th century to construct a transcontinental railway linking the United States to Russia through Siberia and the Bering Strait. Based on detailed archival sources, the story follows the ambitions of Edward Harriman, Jacob Schiff, J. P. Morgan, and other major U.S. industrialists who attempted to secure vast concessions in northeastern Siberia for a railroad, ports, and even a tunnel under the Bering Strait. The publication outlines how the project grew, how it involved French intermediaries, Russian ministers, and even Tsar Nicholas II, and how it ultimately collapsed in 1907. The InterBering English edition removes Soviet-era ideological commentary while preserving all historical facts.

EDITOR NOTE:

Beginning in the early 1950s, the Soviet leadership—facing the enormous challenge of rebuilding a country devastated by the Second World War—again turned its attention to the idea of economic and technological cooperation with the United States. Soviet–American industrial collaboration in the early 1930s had already resulted in the construction of thousands of factories across the USSR, many of them designed by U.S. engineering firms. This experience demonstrated that cooperation with the United States could greatly accelerate modernization.

By 1952, Joseph Stalin was considering broader possibilities: the large-scale import of American consumer goods and technologies, the construction of new factories, and—most ambitiously—large transport links that could physically connect the two superpowers. Among these long-range prospects was the old pre-revolutionary concept of a railway and tunnel across the Bering Strait, which had first been seriously discussed between 1898 and 1906.

To explore how such an idea might once again be introduced to the public consciousness, Stalin directed archivists to examine pre–1917 newspapers and journals normally inaccessible to ordinary Soviet readers. These archives contained hundreds of reports and documents describing the original American-led initiative to build a railroad from Alaska into Siberia and onward to the Russian interior. Although that project ultimately collapsed in 1907, the historical material was rich and detailed.

For publication, Stalin did not assign a prominent historian but instead selected a lesser-known fiction writer, Grigory Grebnyov, whose work often blended reportage with imaginative narrative. The intention was subtle: to make the story widely available to Soviet readers—through the immensely popular magazine Ogonyok—without appearing to praise the United States or raise suspicion. Therefore, Grebnyov’s article was framed in the standard ideological language of the time, with obligatory anti-American commentary inserted throughout. This allowed the publication to pass censorship while still informing millions of readers about the forgotten Alaska–Siberia railway plans.

Presented here is the first complete English translation of Grebnyov’s 1952 article, with the political language removed to avoid distracting modern readers. What remains is a valuable historical narrative describing early American efforts to build a direct rail connection between the United States and Russia—an idea that, remarkably, has re-emerged in current discussions.

In fact, more than seventy years after this article appeared in Ogonyok, the concept resurfaced publicly in October 2025, when Kirill Dmitriev, a prominent figure in Russian economic policy circles, again called for the construction of a Bering Strait tunnel. The long arc of history continues to revive this extraordinary vision.

This article was found in Russian archives, retyped and translated into English by Fyodor Soloview, InterBering, LLC.

1906

Russia Will Build Her Part of a Railroad from New York to Paris
By Cyrus C. Adams. Published in The New York Times, January 14, 1906. © The New York Times.
This early twentieth‑century report details Russia’s official endorsement of a transcontinental rail system that would ultimately connect New York and Paris through Siberia and a projected tunnel under the Bering Strait. Journalist Cyrus C. Adams describes the Russian government’s plans to construct its eastern section toward Chukotka and the Strait, citing discussions between imperial engineers and financiers from the United States, France, and Britain. The article captures the international optimism surrounding the idea of a continuous rail corridor linking the Old and New Worlds, decades before modern feasibility studies revived the same vision. This 1906 publication remains one of the earliest mainstream references in American media to the concept of an intercontinental railroad between Eurasia and North America.

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