Channel Tunnel

Channel Tunnel
Overview
LocationEnglish Channel (Strait of Dover)
Coordinates51°00′45″N 1°30′15″E / 51.0125°N 1.5041°E / 51.0125; 1.5041
StatusActive
StartFolkestone, Kent, England,
(51°05′50″N 1°09′21″E / 51.0971°N 1.1558°E / 51.0971; 1.1558 (Folkestone Portal))
EndCoquelles, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France
(50°55′22″N 1°46′49″E / 50.9228°N 1.7804°E / 50.9228; 1.7804 (Coquelles Portal))
Operation
Opened
  • 6 May 1994; 30 years ago (1994-05-06) (tunnel)
  • 1 June 1994 (freight)
  • 14 November 1994 (passenger service)
OwnerGetlink
Operator
CharacterPassenger trains, freight trains, vehicle shuttle trains
Technical
Line length50.46 km (31.35 miles)
No. of tracks2 single track tunnels
1 service tunnel
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrifiedOverhead line, 25 kV 50 Hz AC, 5.87 m[1]
Operating speed160 km/h (99 mph) (track safety restrictions)
200 km/h (120 mph) (possible by track geometry, not yet allowed)[2]
Route map
Map
Channel Tunnel
Legend
High Speed 1
to Ashford International
enlarge…
South Eastern Main Line
to Ashford International
enlarge…
Dollands Moor Level Crossing
DC┇AC changeover
Dollands Moor Freight Yard
Balancing Ponds Viaduct (
120 m
131 yd
)
Grange Alders Viaduct (
526 m
575 yd
)
Dover Line Viaduct (
116 m
127 yd
)
South Eastern Main Line
to Dover Priory
enlarge…
M20 motorway Viaduct (
309 m
338 yd
)
High Speed 1 / Network Rail
Getlink
-1.659 km
-1.031 mi
Cheriton Cut-and-Cover Tunnel
(
1010 m
1105 yd
)
 Folkestone Shuttle Terminal
-4.436 km
-2.756 mi
Folkestone Shuttle Sidings
Cheriton Junction
Service Road
Castle Hill Tunnel Portal
0 km
0 mi
UK Crossovers
0.478 km
0.297 mi
Holywell Cut-and-Cover Tunnel
0.882 km
0.548 mi
Shakespeare Cliff Shaft
(Adits A1 & A2)
English Channel
UK Undersea Crossover
17.062 km
10.602 mi
United Kingdom
France
26.988 km
16.77 mi
French Undersea Crossover
34.688 km
21.554 mi
Manche
Sangatte Shaft
Beussingues Tunnel Portal
50.459 km
31.354 mi
Beussingues Trench
French Crossover
Service Road
A16 autoroute
LGV Nord
to Calais-Fréthun & Lille Europe
enlarge…
SNCF┇Getlink
Fréthun Freight Yard
Coquelles Eurotunnel Depot
Lille–Fontinettes railway
to Les Fontinettes
enlarge…
 Calais Shuttle Terminal
57.795 km
35.912 mi
Distances from Castle Hill Tunnel Portal
Distances to terminals measured around terminal loops

The Channel Tunnel (French: Tunnel sous la Manche), sometimes referred to informally as the Chunnel,[3][4] is a 50.46 km (31.35-mile) undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 m (246 ft) below the sea bed and 115 m (377 ft) below sea level.[5][6][7] At 37.9 km (23.5 miles), it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world and is the third-longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 km/h (99 mph).[8] The tunnel is owned and operated by Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel.

The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles[9] and freight trains.[10] It connects end-to-end with high-speed railway lines: the LGV Nord in France and High Speed 1 in England. In 2017, rail services carried 10.3 million passengers and 1.22 million tonnes of freight, and the Shuttle carried 10.4 million passengers, 2.6 million cars, 51,000 coaches, and 1.6 million lorries (equivalent to 21.3 million tonnes of freight),[11] compared with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries and 2.2 million cars by sea through the Port of Dover.[12]

Plans to build a cross-Channel tunnel were proposed as early as 1802,[13][14] but British political and media criticism motivated by fears of compromising national security had disrupted attempts to build one.[15] An early unsuccessful attempt was made in the late 19th century, on the English side, "in the hope of forcing the hand of the English Government".[16] The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. Estimated to cost £5.5 billion in 1985,[17] it was at the time the most expensive construction project ever proposed. The cost finally amounted to £9 billion (equivalent to £22.6 billion in 2023).[18][19]

Since its opening, the tunnel has experienced occasional mechanical problems. Both fires and cold weather have temporarily disrupted its operation.[20][21] Since at least 1997, aggregations of migrants around Calais seeking entry to the United Kingdom, such as through the tunnel, have prompted deterrence and countermeasures.[22][23][24]

  1. ^ Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) (1995). The Channel Tunnel: Transport systems, Volume 4. Vol. 108. Thomas Telford. p. 22. ISBN 9780727720245.
  2. ^ The Channel Tunnel: Terminals. Thomas Telford. 1993. ISBN 978-0-7277-1939-3.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC openingceremony was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Baraniuk, Chris (23 August 2017). "The Channel Tunnel that was never built". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Folkestone Eurotunnel Trains". Transworld Leisure Limited. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ICE p. 95 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Wise, Jeff (1 October 2009). "Turkey Building the World's Deepest Immersed Tube Tunnel". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
  8. ^ Dumitrache, Alina (24 March 2010). "The Channel Tunnel – Traveling Under the Sea". AutoEvolution. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Anderson Story p xvi-xvii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chisholm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Traffic figures". GetLink Group. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  12. ^ "About/Performance". Port of Dover. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Whiteside p17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "The Channel Tunnel". library.thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wilson pp. 14–21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Paddy at Home ("Chez Paddy") (2nd ed.). Chapman & Hall Covent Garden, London. 1887.
  17. ^ Veditz, Leslie Allen. "The Channel Tunnel – A Case Study" (PDF). Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., U.S.: The Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  18. ^ "How the Channel Tunnel was Built". Folkestone, England / Coquelles Cedex France: Eurotunnel Group. Retrieved 9 December 2016. It was at the time the most expensive construction project ever proposed and the final cost was £9 billion.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Flyvbjerg p. 12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Channel tunnel fire worst in service's history". The Guardian. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  21. ^ "Thousands freed from Channel Tunnel after trains fail". BBC News. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  22. ^ "Four men caught in Channel Tunnel". BBC News. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  23. ^ "Sangatte refugee camp". The Guardian. UK. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  24. ^ "French Channel Tunnel train drivers 'haunted' by migrant deaths". The Daily Telegraph. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2017.