For more than two hundred years, people dreamed about connecting England and France by tunnel. In 1994, the dream finally came true. This is a look at the Channel Tunnel after the build.
(To learn how it became a reality—from concept to construction—read “Did You Know the Tunnel Under the English Channel was Designed to Leak?”)
Pre-Tunnel
On my first visit to England, my aunt, who had organized our seven-person family-and-friends traveling group, planned for us to take the ferry to France. Only after we were on the train to Dover, did we realize my sister had left her passport at the hotel. Because she needed it to move between the two countries, we decided to split up for the day. My sister, a cousin, and I traveled to Canterbury to visit my pen pal and see the Canterbury Cathedral. The others took the ninety-minute ferry ride across the English Channel to France.
For centuries, that’s how people traveled between England and France. They hopped on a boat and ferried across the English Channel. Not an easy or pleasant task when battling choppy waters and often inclement weather.
The Opening
The Channel Tunnel officially opened on May 6, 1994, with the Queen of England being the first passenger to travel between Folkestone, Kent (UK) and Calais (France). She met French President Francois Mitterrand at the terminal in Calais. He’d traveled from Gard du Nord by train and their two trains met nose-to-nose. (And, yes, the computer had to be temporarily overridden for that to happen.)
Did You Know…
- The Channel Tunnel is also known as the Chunnel and the Euro Tunnel.
- The first freight moved through the tunnel in June of 1994, while the first passenger service began in November of that year.
- Trains travel through the tunnel no faster than 99 mph and emit 73 times less CO2 than ferries.
- The locomotive’s cab windows are smaller than other train engine’s cab windows because the tunnel builders feared traveling through the tunnel would have a hypnotizing effect on the drivers.
- Because the UK side had signaling issues, the Queen’s train arrived in France seven minutes late.
Shaky Start
As with most new businesses, there were growing pains. The first year brought the largest loss, at that time, in UK corporate history. The tunnel was saved only because banks agreed to swap billions worth of loans for shares. Finally, in 1999 the tunnel showed its first net profit.
Although some potential remains unfulfilled, today the Channel Tunnel is a vital link between the UK and continental Europe when it comes to moving both people and products. On average, 50,000 people travel through the tunnel daily on more than 400 trains operated by LeShuttle, the railway shuttle service.
Did You Know…
- The original estimated cost to build the tunnel was only $3.6 billion. (The actual cost ended up over four times that much.)
- Since 1994, more than 100 million vehicles and 500 million people have traveled through the Channel Tunnel.
- If the 100 million vehicles were lined up bumper-to-bumper, they’d stretch nearly 600,000 miles. That’s the distance from the earth to the moon and back and halfway there again.
- Since 2000, over four million dogs and cats have traveled on LeShuttle. Other animals, including polar bears, tigers, penguins, and sharks have also made the journey.
- Every year more than 1.5 million trucks of freight make the trip, including over $15.2 billion worth of fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Each Valentine’s Day, 26 million red roses travel through the tunnel into the UK.
- Today, more than 25% of the UK-EU trade travels through the Channel Tunnel.
- Most tunnel travelers (an astonishing 85%) are from the UK.
- The trip from England to France (terminal to terminal) takes only about 35 minutes. And the train trip from London to Paris takes only two-and-a-half hours.
- Traveling on LeShuttle will cost between $80-120 per vehicle.
Problems
The tunnel and those who travel through it are extremely safe. Although, as you might expect, in thirty years of service, tunnel operations have been occasionally disrupted due to mechanical issues, fires, and cold weather.
There have been several instances of fire. One, in 1996, did extensive damage to both train and tunnel, leading to a six-month suspension of freight traffic. Another fire, in 2008, injured fourteen people. But in both cases, no passengers were killed.
Exceptions
The Channel Tunnel is for trains only. You normally can’t drive a car through it. However, there have been several exceptions made over the years. In 2009, for a charity event, Formula One driver John Surtees was the first person to drive a car through the service tunnel from one side to the other. But if you think he raced through it, think again. He had to stick to a strict 31 mph speed limit. (Not that he minded. He stopped several times to gawk, and even got out once to sign his name on a tunnel wall.)
Bicycles are another exception. During construction, workers on both sides got around on bikes. A bike race went through the tunnel in 1994. And in 2014, Tour de France winner Chris Froome took 55 minutes to ride through the service tunnel from one side to the other.
Did You Know…
- LeShuttle passenger trains are almost 2,625 feet long. That’s fifteen feet shy of half a mile.
- The 2012 Olympic Torch travelled through the Channel Tunnel on its way to the London Olympics.
Visit
During my last trip to England, I visited Dover and saw LeShuttle as it headed into the Channel Tunnel. Maybe next time I’ll be on it. Until then, I can enjoy the 35-minute trip (as seen from the driver’s seat) in 68 seconds while sitting in the comfort of my own home. If you want to “ride” along, too, click here.