Stratram would need to overcome a lot of challenges, particularly if squishy humans were among the things being transported into space: the track would need to be around 1, 000 miles long to avoid the kind of instant acceleration that could crush a human, and the train would need a low-pressure vacuum tube to travel through.

FORBES: Connect

But the fact is that in the kind of vacuum we have, the IRA is under pressure to act.

BBC: When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire?

If a political vacuum threatens to deteriorate into a resumption of violence, on past form pressure will be put back on Mr Trimble.

ECONOMIST: Where next in Ulster?