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Regarding seismicity of the Strait, I'm not sure where the information is coming from about it being a highly seismic zone. The nearest zone of recognized seismicity is on the Russian side, on an isolated fault located in the Kolyunchinskaya Bay on the northern end of the Chukot peninsula. This, however, is not the boundary between the plates. That exists further west along an as-yet undefined fault running north from the Kamchatka Peninsula. In short, the Straits are not the techtonic boundary but rather just a low spot on the continental shelf; much of Chukotka is on the North American plate. <br /> <br />The economic argument against the construction of the line has some validity, and the tunnel (a bridge wouldn't be feasible partially because of ice drifting, but mostly because of icing on the structure and frequently high winds that could derail a train) would not be built based on purely economic benefits. It would be built based on Russia's political necessity to retain effective control of its territory in the face of Chinese pressure later in the coming century (it will become more and more difficult for overpopulated China to ignore the mostly empty territory north of its borders). The Russians already recognize this, and their earlier support for this project was part of their solution to this problem. <br /> <br />However, in order for the tunnel to be built, the rail lines on both sides must be brought closer to each other. There is already in the works an effort to extend track along a proposed gas line into Alaska (connecting the Fort St. James line in British Columbia to a proposed rail extension from Fairbanks to Delta Junction), and the Russians are already constructing rail from the Trans Siberian and the BAM line to Yakutsk (the bridge across the Lena River into Yakutsk will be finished in 2010). After these two projects are completed, on the US side track would be extended next into northwest Alaska (mostly to connect mines in the region to the North American rail system), and on the Russian side track would be extended next along the Kolyma Highway to Magadan, and then later possibly to Anadyr, if oil is ever produced in the Anadyr Basin fields offshore from Chukotka. After that, then it will make much more sense to the nay-sayers why a tunnel should be built.
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