Eurotunnel - (French tunnel sous la Manche, English Channel Tunnel or simply EuroTunnel) is a railway tunnel, about 51 km long, of which 39 km pass under the English Channel. The structure, opened on May 6, 1994, was declared one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Channel Tunnel links Folkestone, Kent in England with Coquelles near Calais in northern France under the English Channel in the Strait of Dover. The lowest point is 75 m. The English Channel Tunnel has the longest section laid under the sea in the world. In general, the largest is the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, its length is 53.85 kilometers and its depth is 240 meters. The tunnel is traversed by Eurostar high-speed passenger trains, as well as ro-ro trains, the world's largest international freight trains.

The idea of ​​​​creating a tunnel appeared back in 1802, but the first real project was proposed a century and a half later; construction began in 1988, and it was opened only in 1994. The total cost exceeded expectations by 80%, in addition, concessionaires from Eurotunnel (Eurotunnel) overestimated the potential traffic and therefore faced financial difficulties. Fires interrupted the work of the tunnel several times. Illegal immigrants and adventurers used the tunnel to enter the UK, forming a queue outside the Sangatte refugee camp, which was forced to close in 2002.

Eleven drilling machines from France and Britain were digging through layers of clay to dig two railway tunnels and a service tunnel. Car terminals are located at Sheriton (part of Folkestone) and Cockels and have links to British and French motorways.

Proposals for the creation of communication routes across the English Channel date back to Albert Metier's 1802 plan, according to which crews would move along an artificial bridge under the canal. For 150 years, the British government blocked all initiatives of this kind. In 1974, the French and British governments began construction of a tunnel at both ends, but the project was stopped by the British government due to financial problems. In 1985, the French and British governments paved the way for a new attempt. Eurotunnel, a group consisting of 10 construction companies and 5 banks, received the right to build the tunnel, or rather, to continue the project in 1974. Work began in 1988 and was completed in 1994. At 1985 prices The entire project cost £4,650 million (£10,153 taking into account inflation for 2007), the financial plan was exceeded by 80%. At the height of construction, 15,000 people were involved in the work at a time, costing about £3 million per day. Ten workers, including eight Britons, were killed during construction between 1987 and 1993, most in the early months.

The tunnel is used by three services: Eurotunnel Shuttle (originally Le Shuttle), ro-ro ships, including cargo ones; Eurostar passenger trains; and freight trains.

Eurotunnel's traffic estimate turned out to be overestimated, so the group of companies experienced some financial difficulties. In 1996, 2006 and 2008 freight trains started several fires, closing the tunnel for periods of time, although no one was seriously injured in any of the incidents. Five years after the opening, the financial situation remained almost unchanged, and therefore it was difficult to make any changes to the design. In 1996, the American Society of Civil Engineers, with the participation of Popular Mechanics, named the tunnel one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Suggestions and attempts

In 1955, arguments about the need to protect the country seemed irrelevant due to the development of air transport. The British and French governments supported technical and geological research.

Construction work began on both banks of the canal in 1974; two tunnels were provided, one of them a service tunnel, where commuter cars could travel. In January 1975, to the disappointment of the French partners, the British government canceled the project. The fact is that the Labor Party came to power with doubts about entry into the EU, the growing cost of the project (up to 200%) and problems in the national economy. By that time, the British company TBM was ready to work, and the Ministry of Transport was ready to finance 300 experimental meters. However, representatives of the British side soon abandoned this short tunnel.

In 1979, the “Mouse-hole Project” was proposed for consideration by the Conservative Party, which came to power in Great Britain. His concept is the only railway tunnel with a service tunnel, but without terminals at the exits. The British government stated that it was not interested in this project, but Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said that if this project was private, no questions would arise. In 1981, British and French leaders Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand agreed to create a working group as part of a private project and in April 1985 the process of reviewing the design of the future tunnel took place. The following were submitted for consideration:

• Railway plan based on the 1975 project Channel Tunnel Group/France-Manche, abbreviated CTG/F-M
• Eurobridge - a 4.5 km long bridge in the shape of a pipe
• Euroroute - a 21 km long tunnel between artificial islands, which, in turn, were planned to be reached by bridges
• Channel Expressway is a wide tunnel with ventilation towers in the middle of the channel.

The protesters united in a company called Flexilink. In 1975, no protest campaign was organized; the state owner was one of the largest railway companies, Sealink. Flexilink continued its opposition activities in 1986-1987. At the same time, public opinion unanimously supported the project, but safety issues, in particular various incidents, caused fear, which led to the reduction of the list of candidates for work on the project to a single company, CTG/F-M.

Organization

The Channel Tunnel Group includes two banks and five construction companies, while its French counterpart, France-Manche, has three banks and five construction companies. The role of banks is to provide financing advice and secure loans. On July 2, 1985, the groups merged as Channel Tunnel Group/France-Manche, CTG/F-M. Their design was based on the 1975 plans and also highlighted the environmental side of the project.

The construction and decoration were entirely carried out by ten construction companies of the CTG/F-M group. The French terminal and the section to Sungate were developed by five French construction companies united in the GIE Transmanche Construction group. The English Terminal and the section to Shakespeare's Cliff were developed by five English construction companies as part of the Trankslink Joint Venture. The two companions were linked by TransManche Link (TML), a French-English organization. The Maître d'Oeuvre is an engineering company hired by Eurotunnel to oversee the development of the project and report to governments and banks.

In France, with a long tradition of investing in infrastructure, the project received widespread approval and the French National Assembly funded the project in April 1987, followed by the Senate in June 1987. In the UK, select committees examined the proposal outside Westminster, in Kent. In February 1987, the Channel Tunnel project had its third reading and was approved by 94 votes to 22 against. The Channel Tunnel Act became British law in July. The BOOT Channel Tunnel project was accepted. TML will build and design the tunnel, but the financing was provided through a separately registered entity: Eurotunnel. CTG/F-M became part of the Eurotunnel and signed a contract with TML; however, the British and French governments monitored the progress of work and the level of safety of the process. The British and French governments gave Eurotunnel a 55 (later 65) year loan to pay off its debts and pay dividends. A Railway Usage Agreement was signed between the Eurotunnel, British Rail and the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français, guaranteeing future income in exchange for the railways taking up half of the tunnel .

Private investment has reached unprecedented levels. The initial sum of £45 million raised by CTG/F-M was increased by £206 from private proceeds, a further £770 million was added after the involvement of press and television, and the syndicate bank arranged a loan of £5 million. Overall, all private investment at 1985 prices amounted to £2,600 million. By 1994 costs in 1985 prices were £4,650, or 80% more. This was partly due to problems with increasing safety and environmental requirements. The final amount exceeded the planned amount by 140%.

Progress

The Eurotunnel completed the project on time and the tunnel was opened by Queen Elisabeth II and French President François Mitterrand in Calais on May 6, 1994. The Queen traveled through the tunnel to Calais on the Eurostar train, which was nose-to-nose with President Mitterrand's train from Paris. As part of the ceremony, President Mitterrand and the Queen traveled on Le Shuttle to a similar event in Folkestone. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), today called High Speed ​​1, extends 111 km from St Pancras railway station in London to the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone in Kent. Its cost is £5.8 million. On 16 September 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair opened the first section of Expressway 1, from Folkestone to north Kent. On 6 November 2007, the Queen officially opened Expressway 1 at St Pancras International Station, replacing the conventional rail line to Waterloo International Station. Express Line 1 trains travel at speeds of up to 300 km/h, traveling from London to Paris in 2 hours 15 minutes, and from London to Brussels in 1 hour 51 minutes.

Usage and flights

The number of passengers and cargo transported increases every year. The number of cargo flights fell in 1996-1997. due to a fire in November 1996 at the British terminal at Cheriton in west Folkestone. Terminal services are connected to the M20 motorway. The White Horse at Folkestone is the last thing passengers in England see when they board a train at Cheriton. Services offered by the tunnel:

• Eurotunnel Shuttle (originally Le Shuttle) - road for ro-ro cruisers
• Eurostar passenger trains
• Freight trains

Traffic on both cargo and passenger flights was initially overestimated, although Eurotunnel carefully calculated future fees. Although traffic in canal areas (close to sea and air) was predicted correctly, high competition and reduced traffic resulted in lower revenues. IN

Volume of passenger traffic

Passenger traffic peaked at 18.4 million in 1998, then fell to 14.9 million in 2003 and rose again to 16.1 million in 2008. When it was decided to build the tunnel, it was estimated that 15.9 million passengers would use Eurostar trains in the first year after opening. In 1995 - its first full year - the number of passengers slightly exceeded 2.9 million, reaching 7.1 million by 2000 and falling again to 6.3 million in 2003. However, Eurostar was also limited by a lack of expressways In Great Britain. After the opening of Expressway 1 (originally CTRL) to London in two stages - in 2003 and 2007. — traffic has increased again. In 2008, Eurostar carried 9,113,371 passengers through the Channel Tunnel, 10% more than last year, despite the 2008 fire.

Freight traffic volume

Freight traffic volumes are volatile, falling sharply in 1997 due to a freight train fire. Since then, the volume has been growing, the tunnel has proven its competitiveness with the sea. Traffic volumes are now almost identical to Eurotunnel predictions in the 1980s, but calculations in 1990 and 1994 turned out to be overestimated. In the first year, freight train traffic was expected to be 7.2 million tons, but in 1995 this figure stood at 1.3 million tons. The maximum volume of transportation was recorded in 1998 - 3.1 million tons. However, due to unresolved issues, this figure returned to 1.21 million tons in 2007, adding slightly to 2008's 1.24 million tons. However, taking into account suburban cargo flights, a gradual and constant increase in traffic can be traced, from 6.4 million tons in 1995, to 18.4 million tons in 2003 and 19.6 million tons in 2007. Eurotunnel's subsidiary is Europorte 2. In September 2006, EWS, Britain's largest rail operator, announced it would end French-English government subsidies of £52 million to cover the Channel Tunnel's "Minimum User Charge" (subsidy of approximately £13,000 per train with 4,000 trains per year), freight trains will stop operating from November 30.

Economic situation

Eurotunnel shares were issued at £3.50 per share on 9 December 1987. By mid-1989 the price had risen to £11.00. Delays and exceeding the planned cost of the facility “dropped” the value of shares; During the demonstrations in October 1994, the share price reached its lowest level. Eurotunnel delayed payments in September 1995, fearing bankruptcy. In December 1997, the British and French governments extended the loan term by 34 years until 2086. Financial restructuring of Eurotunnel in mid-1998 reduced the debt and financial burden. However, despite the restructuring, The Economist stated in 1998 that Eurotunnel would have to increase prices, traffic and stock to survive the period. An analysis of the costs and benefits of the Channel Tunnel showed that the British economy fared better if the Tunnel had not been built. As part of the same Project, Eurotunnel was obliged to study the possibility of building an additional tunnel. In December 1999, designs for a conventional tunnel and a railway tunnel were submitted to the British and French governments, but it was decided that the design did not meet the requirements for a second tunnel. A tripartite agreement between Great Britain, France and Belgium defined the boundaries and zones where representatives of other countries could perform certain duties. For greater convenience, these powers are distributed at the ends of the tunnel, for example, a French post at the British exit from the tunnel and a British post at the French one. For some trains, the train itself is the control area. The French-English emergency plan coordinates the actions of British and French services.

Fires

There were three fires in the tunnel, due to which it had to be closed, all cases occurred on heavy freight trains.

1996

On November 18, 1996, a freight car caught fire, but no one was seriously injured. The exact cause is unknown, but the accident was not due to Eurotunnel equipment or problems with the rails; Arson may have been the cause. During the fire, temperatures were estimated to reach 1,000 °C (1,800 °F), and a 46-meter (151-foot) section of the tunnel was partially damaged, and a 500-meter (500-meter) section was also damaged to some extent. All flights resumed in full six months after the fire.

2006

The tunnel was closed for several hours on August 21, 2006, when the contents of one of the freight trains caught fire.

2008

On 11 September 2008, the Channel Tunnel fire started at 13:57 GMT. The incident occurred on a freight train heading to France 11 kilometers from the French exit from the tunnel. No one was killed, but several people were taken to the hospital suffering from strangulation and minor injuries. The tunnel was closed to all traffic; the undamaged South Tunnel reopened two days later. On February 9, 2009, renovations were estimated at €60 million.

Impact on regions

A 1996 European Commission report stated that Kent and north Calais could face a significant increase in traffic as a result of increased traffic in the Tunnel. In Kent, high speed rail is set to solve this problem. Regional development in Kent is accelerated by the tunnel's proximity, but limited by its proximity to London. It is mainly the traditional industry that benefits, and in general this benefit depends on the development of the international passenger station in Ashford, without which Kent would gradually find itself in the territory of a growing London. Nord-Pas-de-Calais enjoys the powerful effect caused by the proximity of the tunnel, thanks to which a great leap has been made in the manufacturing industry. Relieving congestion through projects such as the Channel Tunnel does not necessarily result in economic benefits for surrounding regions; the fact that these regions have high-speed transport and are actively involved in political activities is much more important for their development. The south-west of England likely benefits evolutionarily and socially from the proximity of fast and cheaper transport to mainland Europe, but this benefit is limited to some parts of the region. In general, the environmental impact of the tunnel is negative. Five years after the tunnel's opening, there has been little impact on the economy, making it difficult to associate major changes with the tunnel's arrival.

Homeless people and immigrants

Illegal immigrants and house seekers used the tunnel to enter Britain. By 1997, the problem had attracted the attention of the international press and the French Red Cross opened a center for immigrants in Santgate in 1999, using a warehouse that existed during the tunnel's construction; by 2002 it was holding up to 1,500 people at a time, most of them trying to enter the UK. On the one hand, most of them came from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, but Africa and Eastern Europe were also represented, albeit to a lesser extent. Most of those who arrived here traveled by freight train, and the rest by Eurostar trains. Although the tunnel was guarded and it was believed that it was impossible to penetrate there, emigrants even jumped from bridges onto moving trains. In several cases, people were injured during their journey through the tunnel; others were hidden among equipment, causing delays and sometimes even repairs. Eurotunnel said it was losing £5 million a month due to the problems. Dozens of emigrants died trying to get through the tunnel. In 2001 and 2002 During several demonstrations, groups of emigrants broke into Sagate (up to 550 in December 2001), they attacked the fences and tried to get through en masse. Immigrants also arrived as Eurostar passengers, but without identification documents. Local authorities in France and the UK called for Sungate to be closed, and Eurotunnel was ordered to do so twice. The UK accused France of not adequately policing Sungate, and France accused the UK of not having strict laws for immigrants. This caused other problems, including the detention of journalists. In 2002, after the European Commission failed to declare France that it was breaking EU rules by allowing free movement of goods, and citing delays and closures as a result of insufficient security, a double fence was built at a cost of £5 million, reducing the number of emigrants from 250 a week almost to zero. Other measures include CCTV cameras and increased police patrols. Sungate closed at the end of 2002 after the UK agreed to take in some emigrants.

Engineering

The service tunnel uses the Service Tunnel Transport System (STTS) and Light Service Tunnel Vehicles (LADOGS). Fire protection was a particular area of ​​criticism. Between the entrances at Beussingue and Castle Hill, the tunnel is 50.5 km (31 miles) long, of which 3.3 km underground on the French side, 9.3 km underground on the British side and 37 .9 km underwater. Thus, the English Channel Tunnel is the second railway tunnel in the world, after the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, but the longest underwater section is still at the English Channel. The average depth is 45 meters from the seabed. On the UK side, of the 5 million cubic meters (6.5*106 cubic yards) of excavated earth, 1 million cubic meters was used in the construction of the terminal, the remainder being hauled to Shakespeare's Crag behind the causeway, occupying 30 hectares of land. This land was subsequently used for Samphire Hoe Country Park. The environmental situation did not pose any risks to the project, and subsequent safety, noise and air pollution studies were generally positive. However, the environmental situation was affected by the high-speed line from the tunnel to London.

Research

Measurements of the depth of the strait by Thomas de Gamond in 1833-1867. showed that the maximum is 55 meters, and below there are geological layers. Research continued for many years with 166 offshore and 70 onshore drill holes and 4,000 km of seabed explored. Research was undertaken in 1958-1959, 1964-1965, 1972-1974. and 1986-1988 Research in 1958-1959 required the involvement of a metro and a bridge, as well as a dug area; this entire area was researched. At this time, marine geological research for engineering projects was just in its infancy, and there were no seismic instruments. Study 1964-1965 concentrated in the north on the English coast at Dover Bay, 70 boreholes were drilled into the rock-solid ground south of Dover Bay. After preliminary results and difficulties with access, the territory slightly to the south was explored in 1972-1973, where it was decided to build a tunnel. Other information also came from this research until it was closed in 1975. On the French side at Sungate a large shaft with several galleries was made. On the English side at Shakespeare's Cliff, the government has given permission to dig a 250-metre-diameter tunnel out of 4.5 metres. The modern tunnel was designed in exactly the same way as they tried to do in 1975. During the study in 1986-1997. it was found that 85% of all soil is chalk and limestone. For this purpose, geophysical techniques from the oil industry were used.

Geology

For the successful implementation of the canal tunnel project, a clear understanding of the geology and topography was necessary, as well as proven building materials for finishing the inside of the tunnel. Geological research is mainly in the chalk layer, partly on the spurs of the mountains in Weldon and Boulogne. The following characteristics were given:

• According to Vestegan's observations in 1698, the slopes on both are represented by Cretaceous rocks without significant changes
• The slopes consist of four geological strata, marine sedimentary rocks deposited 90-100 million years ago; the upper and middle chalk layers above the lower chalk layer and finally the waterproof alumina. A sand layer and glauconitic limestone were found between the chalk layer and the clay.
• The 25-30 meter chalk limestone layer (craie bleue in French) at the bottom of the chalk layer was considered the best place to build a tunnel. Chalk contains 30-40% clay, which makes it waterproof and at the same time easy for excavation and powerful without unnecessary support structures. Ideally, the tunnel would have been built 15 meters below the chalk limestone layer, allowing water to flow out of the openings and providing the fewest joints, but above the clay layer the pressure on the tunnel could increase, and high humidity and unpleasant odors were feared. On the English side of the canal the slope is about 5°, but on the French side it is 20°. Small offsets are present on both sides. On the English side the displacements are small, no more than a meter. But on the French side they reach up to 15 meters, to the anticlinal folds. These displacements are limited in width and filled with calcium, pyrite and clay. An increasing slope and some defects limited the choice of route on the French side. To avoid inclusions of other soils, we used special equipment to look for places with chalky limestone soil. On the French side, especially close to the coast, the chalk was harder and finer than on the English side. Therefore, different techniques were used on different banks.

The study did not identify any significant risks, but the Fosse Dangaered underwater valley and Castle Hill were expected to be affected. In 1964-1965 A geophysical survey of Fosse Dangered showed that the length of the valley is 80 meters and it is located 500 meters to the south, approximately in the middle of the channel. A 1986 study showed that underground rivers ran through the area where the tunnel was planned, so it was moved as far down and north as possible. The English Terminal would take place on Castle Hill, which comprises chalk beds, glauconic limestone and alluvial heavy clay. This area was fortified with buttresses and drainage galleries. The service tunnels were pilot projects before the main tunnels were laid in order to have advance knowledge of the geology, areas of eroded rock, and wet areas. Research samples were taken in service tunnels, including above, below and to the sides.

Tunnel

A typical service tunnel between two main railways. The connection between two railway tunnels shown in the diagram is represented by a piston needed to control the pressure changing due to the movement of trains. The tunnel between England and France was the largest project besides the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. The most serious risk facing any underwater tunnel is the proximity of water and its pressure on the tunnel surface. The English Channel Tunnel also had its own problem: since the investors in the project were mainly private companies and entrepreneurs, it was necessary to implement it as quickly as possible and pay off the lenders. The goal was to build: two railway tunnels with a diameter of 7.6 meters, 30 meters apart, 50 km long; a service tunnel with a diameter of 4.8 meters between the two main tunnels; pairs of perpendicular tunnels with a diameter of 3.3 meters connecting the railway tunnels with the service tunnel over a space of 375 meters; auxiliary 2-meter pistons connecting railway tunnels every 250 meters; two underwater caves connected to railway tunnels. The service tunnel was always built at least 1 km faster in order to become familiar with the composition of the soil; in the mining industry it was already necessary to build tunnels through chalk soils. Underwater intersecting caves have become a serious engineering problem. The French Cave was modeled after the Mount Baker Ridge Freeway Tunnel in the United States.

The British Cave was connected to the service tunnel before the main tunnel was built to avoid delays. Prefabricated segmental mounts were used in the TBM main engines, but differently on the French and English sides. On the French side, neoprene fastenings made of reinforced cast iron or reinforced concrete were used. On the English side, speed was preferred and segments were bolted together only where the geology required. The British tunnels used eight fastenings and a key segment, while the French side used five fastenings and a key segment. On the French side, a 55 meter shaft in Sungate with a diameter of 75 meters was used for the descent. On the English side, this site was located 140 meters below the top of Shakespeare's Cliff, where the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) was first used. On the English side, underground tunnels were built from Shakespeare's Crag, as well as underwater ones, rather than from Folkestone. The platform at the base of the cliff was not large enough, so the excavated earth was placed behind a reinforced concrete dam, but on the condition that the chalk soils were transferred to a closed lagoon to avoid their dispersal. Due to limited space, the prefabricated factory was located on the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary. On the French side, due to insufficient soil impermeability, TBMs were used, putting pressure on the post.

The TBMs were hidden for the first 5 kilometers of the route, then they were exposed and rested on the chalky limestone soil. This minimized the pressure on the base of the tunnel and ensured maximum safety from flooding. Such actions on the French side required the involvement of five TBMs: two main sea vehicles, one main land vehicle (the engines allowed the vehicle to move 3 km in one direction, then change it and continue moving in the other direction using a different engine) and two vehicles in the service tunnel.

The idea of ​​connecting France and Great Britain with an underwater tunnel arose in the minds of engineers more than 200 years ago, in 1802. The idea to build it first came to the Frenchman Albert Mathieu Favier.

Oddly enough, Napoleon himself gave it to him after the end of the Franco-English war. In any case, that’s what it says on Wikipedia, which means we have to believe it.

This idea fluttered like a butterfly in the heads of engineers of those times. For some reason, it occurred mainly to the French. In 1865 - Thomas de Gamond, and in 1875 - Peter William Barlow. But the projects failed to come to fruition for various reasons. This is mainly the First and Second World War.

In contact with

Start and completion of work

Finally, on February 12, 1986, the governments and Great Britain signed an agreement on joint construction under the English Channel, and in 1987 it was ratified.

The route, if you look at the map, turned out to be not the shortest due to considerations in choosing suitable soft ground the bottom of the English Channel at the laying site. It was supposed to connect the cities: French Calais and English Folkestone at a depth of about 50 meters from the bottom of the strait in the soft chalk geological layer of the English Channel.

Tunneling work began on the English side in December 1987, and on the French side in February 1988. In June 1991, the excavation work was completed and after the installation of equipment, the Channel Tunnel was opened on May 6, 1994. The ceremony was attended by the Queen of Great Britain and French President Francois Mitterrand.

Construction began with two 60-meter-deep shafts being dug on both sides of the strait. The necessary equipment and roadheaders were lowered into them.

Throughout history, there have been several attempts to build a tunnel:

• started in 1881, and stopped in 1883;
• started in 1922 and completed after excavation of 120 meters;
• started in 1973 and stopped after digging 250 meters.

Technical details of construction

Three branches were laid simultaneously: two main lines and one service.

Ten tunneling mechanisms about two hundred meters long, with the help of rotating rotors with tungsten cutters with a diameter of eight meters and weighing 11,000 tons, they bit into the chalk rock and at the same time strengthened the tunnel from destruction with concrete blocks interspersed with granite. Two more tunneling machines of smaller diameter (4.7 meters) were laying a service branch. The soil was sent to the surface using trolleys.

Thus, 6 tunneling mechanisms on each side began to move towards each other. In total, 17 million tons of soil were removed.

A particular challenge was the exact match between the French and English parts of the tunnel. This was achieved by a special laser positioning device installed on the boring machines. As a result, the horizontal discrepancy was 36 centimeters and the vertical discrepancy was 6 centimeters.

When there were a few centimeters left between the roadheaders, the remaining bridge was pierced manually . This completes the main construction work.. All that remained was the installation of equipment and finishing work.

The tunnel consists of two main branches with a diameter of 7.6 meters and one service branch with a diameter of 4.7 meters. They connect to the service line every 275 meters. The service branch is under excess pressure in case of fire in the main tunnels so that in case of heavy smoke people can escape in it. The service tunnel contains air ducts for pumping air and pipes with a diameter of 1 meter, in which cold water flows to cool the air in the tunnel from excessive heating.

The train travels through the tunnel for only 35 minutes, but during its operation it has transported more than 160 million people.

Dangerous incidents:

The Channel Tunnel between France and England does not have a separate pipe for road transport. For this purpose, there is a special train, on which cars enter and, together with the drivers, follow through the tunnel. On the other side of the English Channel, cars leave the train platforms under their own power. Trains run at a huge speed of 350 kilometers per hour. In this case, the rails become very hot. And in order to reduce the temperature in the tunnel, a cooling system is provided, which was mentioned above. I will only add that cold sea water from the strait enters the cooling pipe.

Conclusion

Many do not consider the Channel Tunnel a unique structure, much less a “miracle of technology.” Today it is unprofitable due to the high costs of its maintenance, but it still remains a symbol of the European Union, despite the fact that England is about to leave it. Illegal emigration by Eurotunnel trains added another problem. But, nevertheless, the most expensive tunnel in the world is working.

Channel Tunnel

The North and South tunnels were completed on May 22, 1991 and June 28, 1991, respectively. Equipment installation work followed. On May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and French President François Mitterrand officially opened the tunnel.

The Eurotunnel is a complex engineering structure, including two circular track tunnels with an internal diameter of 7.6 meters, located at a distance of 30 meters from each other, and a service tunnel with a diameter of 4.8 meters located between them.

The journey from Paris to London takes two hours and 15 minutes, and from Brussels to London two hours. Moreover, the train stays in the tunnel itself for no more than 35 minutes. Eurostar has carried more than 150 million passengers since 1994, and passenger numbers have been growing steadily over the past decade.

In 2014, 10.4 million passengers used Eurostar services.

The European Union has approved the takeover of Eurostar by the French railway operator SNCF. Once the deal is completed, SNCF will have to allow competing firms to fly the same routes.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The world's longest undersea tunnel runs under the English Channel and connects England with France. This is an amazing piece of engineering. The length of the tunnel is slightly more than 50 kilometers, 38 of which are laid under the seabed. The Channel Tunnel opened in 1994 as part of a modern transport system connecting Britain to the continent.

Over the past 200 years, many ways to cross the English Channel have been developed. The tunnel was first proposed in 1802, and a committee to create it was formed as early as 1892. Some engineers even talked about building a bridge over the strait. In 1985, the British and French governments invited companies to get serious about developing plans for a tunnel. A year later, they chose the best of 9 projects.

In reality, there are three tunnels: two railway and one service. Work began on the English coast in December 1987, and on the French coast three months later. Huge machines with rotating cutting heads took a month to lay every kilometer. In total, the construction of the tunnel took three years.

The tunnels were laid on average 45 meters below the seabed. When the two halves of the service tunnel were separated by only 100 meters, a small tunnel was dug by hand to connect them. Workers met at the end of 1990. The completion of the two railway tunnels occurred on May 22 and June 28, 1991.

After another seven months, the laying of all three tunnels was completed, and the laying of rails began. During this time, engineers were working on railway terminals at Folkestone, England, and near Calais, France. The tunnel was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and President Mitterrand on May 6, 1994.

Cars use the tunnel trains as a moving highway. They enter the carriage at one end and exit at the other after a 35-minute journey. Electric locomotives reach speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.

They drilled through the last obstacle and met in the Channel Tunnel, Frenchman Philip Cosette and Briton Graham Fage. They shook hands and drank champagne over the world's longest underwater tunnel - just over 50 kilometers, 38 of which are laid under the seabed, an average of 45 meters below its level. Years go by. Over time, the tunnel turned from a “miracle of technology” into an unprofitable enterprise, but to this day the technical solutions used in it are considered very successful and progressive.

...The last obstacle was finally overcome, the two ends of the grandiose tunnel connected with each other, and a meeting took place under the English Channel. Representatives of two different nations, a Frenchman and an Englishman, Philip Cosette and Graham Fagh were able to shake hands and solemnly drink a glass of champagne, celebrating the successful completion of construction the longest tunnel in the world today. The total length of the tunnel connecting England and France exceeds fifty kilometers, and 38 of them are directly under the bottom of the strait, this is its most difficult part, it goes underground to a depth of 45 meters.

Quite a few years have passed Channel Tunnel has long been no longer considered a miracle of technology; not only has it ceased to make a profit, even its maintenance is considered very unprofitable. Although the technical and engineering solutions used during its construction are still considered one of the most progressive in the world. The Euro Tunnel connects island Great Britain with the rest of continental Europe, built at the end of the twentieth century, inaugurated on May 6, 1994, the Channel Tunnel is still considered one of the symbols of a united Europe and the globalization of the modern world. Thanks to the American Society of Engineers, the tunnel received the status one of the seven wonders of modern reality.

And almost no one remembers the long development of the idea itself, which first excited the minds of European engineers back at the end of the 18th century. Already in 1802, the idea of ​​connecting the lands of the two states with a single tunnel was expressed by one of the most daring engineers in France, Albert Mathieu-Favier. He also drew up his own project, and the tunnel itself, according to the innovator’s plan, was to be illuminated by the oil lamps used at that time. Albert Mathieu-Favier imagined how it would be possible to travel through the wide tunnel from France to England on carriages drawn by horses, which in the underground space can easily miss each other. And it was planned to ventilate the dungeon using special vents, which were supposed to take air from the sea surface.

Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte liked this idea; during the signing of a peace treaty between previously warring states - France and England, he proposed this project to the English government. But the cost of its implementation at that time was simply enormous - it exceeded the million pounds sterling mark. The war and rising costs did not allow the grandiose plan to be realized. In 1856, the idea of ​​​​creating a tunnel was raised again, by another French engineer, Thomas de Gamond, but this time the British government, although it did not reject the idea itself, did not support it either.

The English engineer Peter William Barlow, who successfully developed the project for the London Underground - the first subway in the world, in 1875 proposed his own technical solution for laying a tunnel under the English Channel. He considered it possible to lay a steel pipe along the seabed, inside which transport could move, but this idea was immediately rejected, although the parliaments of England and France actively supported the grandiose construction. In 1876, after carrying out all the necessary geological and exploration work, the French, filled with enthusiasm, were the first to begin digging a tunnel under the strait, taking the French city of Sangatte as its starting point. The British also began to build a tunnel for their part, choosing the narrowest place in the English Channel - near the city of Dover, using new drilling rigs designed by Colonel Boumont.

Kilometers had already been dug on both the English and French sides, but in 1883 the British government decided to curtail the ambitious project due to fears that the island would become vulnerable in the event of an attempted military invasion. The next attempt to build a tunnel was made in 1922, but then the workers advanced only 128 meters in drilling, and significant political reasons contributed to the curtailment of the entire project.

After the end of the Second World War and the changing political map of Europe, the idea of ​​​​building a tunnel became an important moment for the unification of the two states of Western Europe. After a long discussion of the work plan, careful drawing up of the project, drilling began only in 1987, and more than 13 thousand builders - both workers and engineers - took part in its construction. Finally, after seven long years, On May 6, 1994, the grand opening of the tunnel took place., which was attended by the heads of two states - Francois Mitterrand - the President of France and Elizabeth II - the British Queen. As a result, for the first time, 8,500 years after the melting of the glacier, the waters of which turned into the English Channel, it was possible to reach the rest of the European continent from the island by land.

The Eurotunnel consists of three different components, one part of the tunnel is intended for the movement of railway trains from north to south, the other in the opposite direction, and the third is used for maintenance. It is connected to two main parts every 375 meters, so that repairs to a specific area can be carried out at any time, or passengers can be evacuated in case of danger of an accident. Ventilation vents - every 250 meters, since during the movement of trains a “bullet effect” can be created, and the air escaping into the middle part of the tunnel prevents any negative consequences.

The safety of the Channel Tunnel has been tested twice, in real catastrophic situations. So, November 18, 1996 was remembered by passengers for the fire. A shuttle train carrying trucks caught fire. French rescuers then managed to evacuate the drivers of 34 trucks, helping them get out of the burning train and move to the service part of the tunnel, 8 people were seriously injured, they were taken to hospitals by ambulances that arrived on time, and the rest of the people were successfully taken out by another train, traveling in the opposite direction. But the fire was extinguished only several hours later; firefighters were faced with extremely high temperatures, drafts in the ventilation system and low water pressure in the tunnel fire system.

The fire caused serious damage to more than 400 meters of the tunnel; in a two-hundred-meter section, thick concrete walls were badly burned; the locomotive and many carriages were completely burned, but human casualties were avoided in this case. This was facilitated by the coordinated work of British and French rescuers, and the special design of the underground mine itself, where the possibility of emergency situations was thought out to the smallest detail. While the fire damage was repaired, the tunnel carried only one-way rail freight traffic, and on January 7, 1997, repairs were completed and traffic through the tunnel was resumed to both England and France for both freight and passenger trains.

The second emergency situation in the history of the Eurotunnel occurred on October 10, 2001. On this day, one of the trains traveling along it simply stopped, which led to panic among passengers. Many of them were subject to claustrophobia - fear of closed spaces, and only after five hours all passengers were taken to a special service tunnel and evacuated from there.

Trains running inside the tunnel reach a maximum speed of 350 km/h, so the rails of the railway track can heat up to high temperatures, sometimes reaching hundreds of degrees. A special cooling system is used; for this purpose, two stations were developed on different sides of the line with refrigerators that circulate liquid to cool the heating rails.

High-speed trains running along the Eurotunnel allow passengers to get from one capital to another as quickly as possible - in just 2.5 hours. The passage time through the tunnel itself by high-speed Eurostar trains is only 20 minutes, and by Shuttle trains it takes 35 minutes. There are four types of trains running through the Channel Tunnel:
. Eurostar is a high-speed passenger train connecting London, Ashford, Waterloo, Brussels, Lille and Calais.
. "Eurotunnel Shuttle" - high-speed shuttle trains for transporting passengers and vehicles, connecting the cities of Folkestone and Sangatte; while traveling, passengers do not leave their cars, and loading of vehicles is carried out in just 8 minutes.
. “Eurotunnel Shuttle” are freight railway trains with open platforms, on which only freight vehicles are transported, and their drivers are in a separate carriage during movement.
. Regular freight trains transporting containers and other types of cargo between insular Great Britain, mainland France and other European countries.

The speed of Eurostar class trains through the tunnel reaches 160 km/h, and on the rest of the route - up to 300 km/h. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link was not built right away, first a track was laid between the Eurotunnel and the city of Ebbsfleet, trains began running between them starting in 2003, then part of the route from Ebbsfleet to St. Pancras, which was laid in 2007 year, and then to the city of Waterloo, trains move on regular rails at a relatively low speed. Millions of passengers, cars and vans, as well as tens of thousands of regular buses, pass through the Channel Tunnel every year.

For illegal migrants, the Eurotunnel is a kind of “pass” to the territory of Great Britain, attracting them with its soft social policy towards foreign citizens. In the French city of Sangatte there is a special center where migrants from all over the country flock who want to go to the UK, but not all illegal immigrants wait for a legal decision from the British authorities to enter the country, using the following methods of crossing the border under the English Channel. Previously, they climbed inside Eurostar passenger trains and immediately after crossing the border, remaining unnoticed by border and customs officials, got off in England at the first station, immediately after the train left the tunnel on the surface, but now the new passport and visa regime has deprived illegal immigrants of this possibilities.

The second way to cross the border is to hide well inside one of the shipping containers, but many migrants die during this dangerous journey. Thus, one day, when opening a container at the destination, more than fifty suffocated illegal migrants from Asia were discovered. Many migrants try to pass through the Eurotunnel on foot, but only a few manage to reach the territory of England - the rest either do not find the way and return back, or they are stopped by border guards and tunnel guards and returned to French territory.

Journalists from the program “New Wonders of the World” once told the world an interesting legend about one of the first illegal migrants who managed to cross the English Channel. The man, who had walked more than fifty kilometers, at the exit of the tunnel, having already fallen into the hands of British customs officers, still managed to escape, while very loudly shaking the air with Russian obscene language, which indicates that this is a citizen of one of the post-Soviet republics . He managed, by using force, to escape from the not-too-strong hands of the customs officers and quickly escape, but no one managed to find out his whereabouts or even his name.

To stop the flow of illegal immigrants, the British government in 2002 decided to install listening equipment and technology in Kent that scans containers to identify the presence of migrants in them, and a year later this problem also affected France. As a result, the entrance to the tunnel was closed with a fence, and the immigration center was liquidated.