Difference between revisions of "Channel Tunnel"
m (chunnel) |
m (cat) |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
[[Category:Rail transport]] | [[Category:Rail transport]] | ||
[[Category:Engineering]] | [[Category:Engineering]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Europe]] | ||
Revision as of 03:55, September 12, 2008
The Channel Tunnel (colloquially known as the "Chunnel") is a railway tunnel beneath the English Channel that links the United Kingdom with France. It is 31.35 miles (50.45 km) in length( of which 23 miles is under water[1]), and extends from near Folkestone, Kent, UK, to Sangatte, Pas de Calais, France. The tunnel cost £9 billion to build and consists of two parallel single-track railway tunnels with a smaller-diameter service tunnel between[2]. The tunnel is managed by Eurotunnel[3], which operates a shuttle-service of car and goods-vehicle carrying trains between terminals at each end. In addition, high-speed railway services between London and Paris and between London and Brussels run through the tunnel; these are operated by the railway company Eurostar.
History
Napoleon first suggested the building of a road tunnel between England and France in 1802, in a brief moment of peace between the two countries[4].