WASHINGTON, October 21. /TASS/. The economic benefits of building a tunnel under the Bering Strait that could possibly connect Russia and the United States via railway link would significantly outweigh the costs of implementing this project, a US expert specializing in railway transportation told TASS.

"The global economic benefits of commerce and the responsible access to resources, both in Siberia as well as Alaska, will far exceed the cost of the tunnel and the rail lines to connect it," Scott Spencer, the chief project advisor with the US-based InterContinental Railway, said.

"Particularly when you divide whatever that final cost is by the fact that the rail line and the tunnels will be serving global economic prosperity for 150 to 200 years for all the countries that are connected," he continued.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump called the project of building a tunnel under the Bering Strait interesting, allowing Russia and the US to be connected by rail. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Special Presidential Envoy for Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, stated earlier that the construction of such a tunnel could take less than eight years with an estimated cost of $8 billion.

"I think Mr. Dmitriev is correct in that advanced tunneling technology could certainly compress the construction time and reduce the construction costs," Spencer noted. "Hopefully it can become a constructive piece of the discussions the next time that President Trump meets with President Putin."

The US specialist also pointed out that the International Space Station (ISS) was an example of successful cooperation between Russia, the United States and other countries and the railway path under the Bering Strait could be an equal example of cooperation.

"The cost of the International Space Station really is equal to or exceeds the cost of the Intercontinental railway and the Bering Strait tunnel," Spencer noted. "So I'm confident that we have a project that's going to be very feasible and successful. Whatever the ultimate number is."

"I would also say that, since we know the International Space Station is supposed to be decommissioned in 2030 you know, I look forward to the Intercontinental railway and the Bering Strait tunnel to be a great follow on project of cooperation between the United States and Russia. So we need something else to work together on," he added.

The concept of a 100-kilometer tunnel beneath the Bering Strait has been discussed for decades. In 2011, The Times, citing British experts, noted that transporting freight via the Eurasia-US highway, which would also link resource-rich but sparsely populated regions with major trade routes, would be cheaper, faster, and safer than shipping by sea.