A “crisis point” is approaching on one of Scotland’s furthest-flung outposts which could see the building of undersea tunnels move from pipe dream to reality.

A plan to link Shetland’s islands with tunnels drilled through the seabed is moving closer to reality as islanders grapple with an ageing ferry fleet and a steady population drain, says Herald Scotland. The Faroe Islands already have a similar network of tunnels linking them, four of them under the sea (pictured).

Now, the UK executive in charge of a study which looked at the feasibility of fixed underground links between the islands has said that there is “real momentum” behind the idea, both in Shetland and in Edinburgh.

Shetland councillors are preparing to vote on the future of connectivity between their islands later this month, after reports commissioned by the local authority established costings for both ferry and tunnel options.

A report unveiled last month on the cost of a passage to the island of Yell found the project could surpass £400m and take almost a decade to complete.

But this might be a cheaper option than replacing the islands’ ferries – which are older than the ageing CalMac network used across the Western Isles.

Andy Sloan, UK executive vice president for UK and international at COWI, the firm which undertook the Fixed Link Model study, said there was huge support for the tunnel plan among Shetlanders and a determination to shake up the islands’ transport network.

“There is momentum – real momentum – here in Shetland, and political interest is astonishing in Edinburgh. This is genuinely doable stuff. What’s crystallised this is the Shetland fleet is older than CalMac’s, and by some margin.

“So it’s either ferries or tunnels, and ferries are not cheap. The crisis point has now really arrived on some of these crossings. The life of some of the ferries is almost exhausted.

“So [Shetland Islands Council] needs to make decisions, and that involves comparing the cost of tunnels versus that of replacing the ferries over a long, long period of time. Doing nothing is not an option, so that’s the bit folk are missing.”

(Picture: Ólavur Frederiksen/Faroephoto.com)