The road to paradise: how the Channel Tunnel became a hostage to the migration catastrophe in Europe. Channel Tunnel (11 photos) Channel Tunnel when it was opened
After many centuries of mistrust, which at times led to military conflicts, the French and English were finally united... by a common dislike of seasickness. The waters that have separated Britain from France for the past 8,000 years have been very capricious and have often made ferry crossings an ordeal for passengers.
However, the unshakable belief of the British Empire in the need to preserve this semblance of a giant fortress moat until recently forced travelers to choose the air route or swim, painfully hanging overboard. Britain's accession to the European Union marked the beginning of a new relationship between old rival neighbors. In an effort to overcome all obstacles on the path to unity, the countries began to develop a project that would forever link their shores. Various proposals were received: construction of a tunnel, a bridge, a combination of both. In the end, the tunnel won.
The main argument in favor of this decision was information received from geologists. They found that underwater the two countries were already connected by a layer of chalk-marl rock. This soft limestone rock was ideal for tunnel construction: it is quite easy to mine, has high natural stability and water resistance. Many wells drilled at the bottom of the English Channel and advanced acoustic sounding technology have given geologists the opportunity to obtain fairly accurate data about the underwater relief of the strait and the geological structure of its bottom. Using this information, the engineers decided on the route of the tunnel.
To better control traffic flow, as well as avoid the huge ventilation problems that would inevitably arise in a 39-kilometer road tunnel, engineers opted for a rail tunnel. Now, instead of a ferry, cars and trucks board special freight trains that transport them to the other side of the strait. Regardless of the weather, the crossing from terminal to terminal takes 35 minutes, of which only 26 will be spent in the tunnel. Another train called the Eurostar transports passengers from central London to the center of either Paris or Brussels in just over three hours.
One of the greatest structures of the 20th century, the Channel Tunnel, is actually a complex system consisting of three “galleries” that run parallel to each other. Trains travel from England to France through the northern tunnel, and back through the southern tunnel. Between them there is a narrow technical tunnel, the main function of which is to provide access to the working tunnels for routine repairs. It is also intended for the evacuation of passengers. Increased air pressure is maintained in the technical tunnel to prevent smoke or flames from entering if there is a fire in one of the main tunnels.
All three tunnels are interconnected by small passages located along the entire length of the structure at a distance of approximately 365 meters from each other. Two transport tunnels are connected to each other every 244 meters by airlocks. Thanks to the locks, the air pressure that arises under the pressure of the moving train is neutralized: the air in front of the train, without causing any harm to the train, flows through them into another transport tunnel. This reduces the so-called piston effect.
By this time, tunneling was carried out using special drilling rigs - tunnel boring complexes, or TPK. These are almost fully automated devices, a modern high-tech version of the Greathead shield. By punching a tunnel, the TPK leaves behind an almost completed structure - a cylindrical tunnel lined with concrete. In front of each TPK there is a working installation. It consists of a rotating rotor that literally “cuts” the rock.
The rotor is forcefully pressed against the face surface by a ring of hydraulic cylinders, which also direct its movement. Directly behind the drill head there are hydraulic spacer cylinders. They press giant spacer plates against the walls, against which they push the cylinders and rotor away. Behind the working unit there is a control panel, from where the TPK operator monitors the progress of the drill head. Thanks to the laser navigation system, the complex absolutely adheres to the given direction.
The largest TPK rotor has a diameter of about 9 meters and rotates at a speed of two to three revolutions per minute. The rotor is reinforced with chisel-shaped pointed teeth, or attachments with steel discs, or a combination thereof. Rotating, the rotor cuts out concentric circles in the lime-chalk rock. At a certain depth, the cut rock cracks and splits. The broken pieces fall onto the conveyor, which transfers the waste rock to the trolleys already waiting for it at the tail of the tunneling complex
The last element of the TPK that needs to be mentioned is the mechanical lining stacker.
He installs lining segments on the tunnel walls. Behind the working TPK there is a technical staff 240 meters away. It delivers lining segments, transports waste rock, supplies fresh air, water, electricity, providing workers with everything they need “on the job.”
So, the construction of the Channel Tunnel began with the construction of entrance shafts on both sides of the strait. Eleven TPKs and other equipment were lowered into them. After assembly, six TPKs, three each from England and France, began their journey under the strait in the hope of meeting safely under the water in the middle of the strait. The remaining five worked on land, designing the entrance areas of the future tunnel. The builders first planned to break through a technical tunnel - it was supposed to become a kind of “advanced landing force” in the overall system.
However, even with an arsenal of ultra-modern technical means, when breaking through the Eurotunnel, not everything went according to plan. Let's start with the fact that English TPKs were designed to work only in “dry” faces. Needless to say, when somewhere in the middle of the excavation the face began to flood with salt water entering through cracks in the rock, the builders had a very difficult time. The TPK on the British side of the working tunnel had to be stopped. Engineers urgently decided how to stop the flow of water. As a result, they built something like a giant concrete “umbrella”, which prevented the tunnel from flooding. It took months to pump cement slurry into the resulting cracks. The tunnel ceiling above the TPC was then dismantled and covered with steel panels and a thin layer of shotcrete was applied to them. Only after this did work on the English side continue.
All three tunnels are covered with a circular concrete lining consisting of individual segments. The segment that “closes” each ring is smaller in size than the others and has a wedge shape. This form subtly reminds us that this modern design belongs to the oldest family of arches. Most of the lining segments are cast from reinforced concrete, with the exception of those installed in the transition tunnels and air vents - they are made of cast iron.
In October 1990, when the two parts of the technical tunnel under construction were separated by just over 90 meters, the TPK was stopped. To make sure that both halves of the tunnel were in line, a probe hole with a diameter of 5 centimeters was drilled on the English side. When she reached the “French” part of the tunnel, a narrow connecting corridor was cut between them by hand. It was then expanded to the required diameter using small mining machines. Six months later, the main tunnels were connected. The work ended in a very interesting operation from a technical point of view. Instead of spending effort and money on dismantling and extracting their drill heads to the surface, English engineers simply directed them down, and the mechanisms themselves dug their final refuge. When the drilling equipment disappeared into the ground and the resulting depressions were filled with concrete, French TPKs passed above them into the English part of the tunnels.
When constructing any tunnel - especially if we are talking about a giant 50 kilometers long - one must carefully plan how the waste soil will be extracted and disposed of. The far-sighted British built a huge dam for these purposes, enclosing several sea lagoons not far from the entrance shafts of the tunnel. The spent soil was lifted up and poured into these lakes. Once dried, they increased the territory of Great Britain by several hundred square meters. The French were less fortunate - they had to deal with much more soil. They mixed it with water and pumped it into a lake located 2.5 kilometers from the shore. When the lake dried up, the resulting plot of land was sown with grass. The area of the country, alas, remained the same, but one green corner became larger.
To ensure uninterrupted train movement 24 hours a day, even if part of the route had to be temporarily closed, two intersecting crossings were built in the main tunnels, they are also called passing chambers. They are located approximately a third of the way from each bank. Thanks to them, the train can always bypass the blocked section through another tunnel, and at the next junction return to the original track. This, of course, slows down the movement somewhat, but under any circumstances, except for the most extreme cases, the Channel Tunnel will work!
The patrol cells were built very large - about 150 meters long, 20 meters wide and 15 meters high each. To strengthen their structure, the rock around the siding chambers was reinforced with shotcrete and 4-6-meter steel rods - anchor bolts.
During the construction of the chambers, workers installed measuring instruments in the chalk rock to monitor the condition of the soil. If a problem was discovered, the thickness of the skin or the length of the anchor bolts was increased. During construction work, communication with the cameras was carried out through a technical tunnel: all the necessary materials and equipment were delivered through it and waste soil was removed.
Massive shutters were installed in the completed traveling cameras. They must prevent the spread of fire in the event of a fire; they are also used to independently supply air to each of the tunnels. The gates open only when the siding needs to be used.
After all the tunnels were completely punched, work continued for another two years. Workers installed miles of cables for security systems, signaling, lighting and pumping equipment. Two pipes were installed through which cooled water was constantly supplied to reduce the air temperature in the tunnel, which increased due to the movement of high-speed trains. All equipment, including the trains themselves, has been tested many times.
By the end of 1993, construction of the Eurotunnel was completed. And in May of the following year, this most expensive engineering facility in the history of mankind began to operate.
David McAuley. How it was built: from bridges to skyscrapers.
Not long ago, an underwater tunnel appeared on the European continent between France and England, with a total length of 51 kilometers, of which 39 kilometers are under water. There are two branches of railway tracks in this tunnel. This structure is considered the longest on the continent of Europe. Today, residents of not only two neighboring countries, but residents of the entire planet can get from the territory of continental Europe directly to good old England. The travel time of the train through the underwater part of the structure will take no more than twenty minutes, a maximum of thirty-five minutes, and the entire tunnel under the English Channel will be passed by the train. The entire journey from Paris to London will take no more than two hours and fifteen minutes. The grand opening of the constructed structure took place on May 6, 1994.
This railway Eurotunnel occupies third position in the world ranking. The Gotthard tunnel is considered the longest tunnel; its length is fifty-seven kilometers and one hundred meters. On the second line of this indicator is the Seikan structure, with a length of fifty-three kilometers and eight hundred meters. And yet, the French and British do not want to give up the palm, noting that the underwater part of the Channel Tunnel is larger compared to the Seikan structure, because the length of its underwater part is twenty-three kilometers three hundred meters.
The idea of creation
The first ideas and first projects for the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel appeared at the end of the eighteenth - at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Nord-Pas-de-Calais region was proposed as a construction site.
The French engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier proposed the idea of building such a structure in 1802. In his project, the Channel Tunnel was to be illuminated through the use of oil lamps. Horse-drawn carriages were offered as transport for travelers and business people. The project provided for the creation of ventilation in the form of vents leading to the sea surface. The price of such a structure at that time was equal to one million pounds sterling. In the twenty-first century, in 2005, this amount would already be equal to sixty-six million four hundred thousand pounds sterling.
When the fighting died down and a peace treaty was concluded between the two states of France and England, Napoleon Bonaparte invited England to get acquainted with this project. However, due to the resumption of military battles on the territory of the European continent, the project was not implemented. The Eurotunnel of that time did not appear. Moreover, in the British Parliament, Lord Palmerston's indignation knew no bounds. He spoke briefly and sternly in English: “There is no point in spending money directing it to shorten the distance with a neighboring state, because it is already very short.”
Half a century passed, and with the onset of 1856, another French engineer, Thomas de Gamond, proposed another project to create a tunnel under the English Channel, with the laying of railway tracks. Thus, France and England would become much closer. And if the French side approved this project, then on the shores of Foggy Albion they continued to doubt the feasibility of building such a structure. In this peak situation, Gamond manages to find an ally in the person of the British mining engineer Peter Barlow. Subsequently, sixteen years later, Barlow, along with his colleague Sir John Hawkshaw, began raising funds to ensure the construction of the lintel.
Three years later, in 1875, Peter William Barlow proposed a new project for the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel, which was based on the idea of laying large-diameter steel pipes at the bottom of the strait, inside which the very desired tunnel would be located. But this project remained only on paper. At the same time, engineer Barlow is building the first metro line in his country. It will be the first line not only in the UK, but also on a global scale.
The idea of building a tunnel structure continues to hover within the walls of the parliaments of the two states. As a result of paperwork, a resolution of the English and French parliament on the construction of the tunnel was born. But the whole project has not yet been implemented due to lack of financial support. A year later, the project begins to be implemented.
Throughout 1881, geological exploration surveys were carried out. With the arrival of two English-Beaumont drilling machines at the end of October of the same year, the construction of the structure came to life. Drilling is done from both sides. On the French coast, this is a place near the town of Sangatte; on the British coast, this place is chosen near the city of Dover in the town of Shakespeare Cliff.
The work had been going on for several months, when the idea began to float again in the English government and parliament that the construction of the tunnel would not contribute to the full security of the country, and enemy troops could easily penetrate into British territory. As a result, on March 18, 1883, construction stopped for an indefinite period. Since the beginning of construction work, the French dug a tunnel 1829 meters long, the British managed to overcome a greater distance, which was equal to two thousand twenty-six meters.
The next attempt to build a tunnel structure was made in 1922. The drilling took place near the town of Folkestone. Having overcome one hundred and twenty-eight meters, construction is frozen again, this time the reason was political considerations.
After the Second World War ended victoriously, the French and British returned to the implementation of the idea of building a European tunnel. Since 1957, a formed group of specialists has begun work to find the optimal option for constructing such a long-awaited structure. It took a group of specialists three years to give their recommendations on the creation of two main tunnels and one service tunnel, which was to be located between the two main structures.
Construction
Another thirteen years passed, and in 1973 the project received general approval and went into operation. Regular financial proceedings lead to another stop in construction work in 1975. By that time, a test tunnel had been dug; its length was only two hundred and fifty meters.
Nine years later, the governments of the two powers come to the conclusion that such a grandiose construction cannot be done without attracting private capital. After publication in 1986, specialists and financial tycoons were offered four options for this unique project for consideration and discussion. Oddly enough, the most acceptable option turned out to be the one that was most similar to the project dated 1973. Progress during the discussion was visible to the naked eye. It took government officials and financial tycoons only twenty-three days to sign an agreement on the creation of a tunnel in the Canterbury area on February 12, 1986. True, its ratification took place only in 1987.
This last project involved connecting two cities, on the English side - this is a place near the city of Folkestone, and on the French coast - this is the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Calais. The approved option gave the go-ahead for the construction of the longest track compared to other options under consideration. Since in these places the most pliable chalk geological soil layer was located, but the future Eurotunnel had to run at a greater depth, this deepening mark was equal to fifty meters from the bottom of the English Channel. At the same time, the northern part of the structure should have been higher than the southern part of the tunnel. Therefore, the French mine went to a depth of sixty meters, and the diameter was equal to fifty meters.
The work of the first tunneling shield for horizontal excavation began on December 15, 1987. A year later, on the last day of February, the creation of the so-called French double begins. This work consisted of drilling a tunnel for household needs and in case of unforeseen circumstances with a diameter of 4.8 meters. To dig the two main branches of the structure, the most powerful equipment of that time was used, with the use of tunneling machines, which ensured the laying of paths through the rocky soil. The diameter of each of the main tunnels reached a value of 7.6 meters.
In the area of the tunnel depth, simultaneous, continuous operation of eleven shields was carried out. Of this number of shields, three units worked on laying a tunnel, moving from the Shakespeare Cliff point towards the British terminal, this is already in the area of \u200b\u200bthe city of Folkestone. Three other shield units advanced towards the sea, diving under the English Channel. Three French shields worked in the opposite direction, starting their journey from the mining area, near the town of Sangate. Two units of shields bit into the ground rock of three tunnels, heading inland, and from there the direction went to the terminal area, near Calais.
The operation of these machines made it possible to simultaneously strengthen tunnel walls with concrete segments. This achieved the enveloping formation of a tunnel shaft with one and a half meter rings. On average, no more than fifty minutes of time were spent on creating one such ring.
Models of British cars covered a distance of one hundred and fifty meters per day. French cars covered a path only one hundred and ten meters long. The forty-meter difference was due to different design features of the machines and different conditions for shaft drilling. In order to ensure the final result of meeting the broken shafts in the place specified by the project, a laser positioning system was used. Such high and precise technical support for the work made it possible to carry out the meeting at the exact designated location. It took place on December 1, 1990, where the depth of the tunnel shaft from the torrential bottom was forty meters. The size of the errors was small: vertically – 5.8 centimeters, and horizontally – 35.8 centimeters. French workers managed to dig sixty-nine kilometers of tunnel shafts, and the British dug eighty-four kilometers of tunnel shafts. The last meters of the broken trunks were achieved through the hard work of the diggers, because the trunks were broken through manually using shovels and picks. After the joining of the main tunnels took place, the French dismantled their equipment and removed it from the shafts, the British took their tunneling shields under their own power to a parking lot in the area of the underground depot.
During the work period, to ensure the precise direction of the machines, the operator reviewed computer screens and video monitors. All tunnel work was provided by satellite observatories, which carried out direct calculations, ensuring high accuracy of the laid path. The use of narrow drills ensured the probing of calcareous clay samples, which in general was able to achieve directional accuracy of one hundred and fifty meters forward. The use of a laser beam in the direction of the harvester light-sensitive point provided assistance to the driver in choosing the right direction.
In the tunnel shafts, at a distance of eight kilometers from the coastline of each of the two countries, additional junctions were created through the use of tunneling machines. If necessary, they can be used to transfer trains to the adjacent tunnel.
During the construction period, team tunnellers, using small-sized equipment, created additional passages with the help of which it was possible to get into the service tunnel. Transitions have been created along the entire length of the main tunnels every three hundred and seventy-five meters.
The arch located above the service trunk served to carry out the channels. designed to reduce pressure in the two main tunnels.
Over the entire period of construction work, about eight million cubic meters of natural rock were selected. Each country participating in the construction disposed of the extracted land wealth at its own discretion. The builders of Great Britain, by using their part of the rock on their native coast, managed to create an entire artificial cape, which now bears the name of the great English playwright William Shakespeare. On this territory, with an area of 0.362 kilometers, a park area was created. The French side followed a simple path, but without benefit to society, they took and washed away the extracted soil with water, and subsequently sent all the resulting pulp into the depths of the sea.
It took no more than seven years to implement such a grandiose project, which was discussed, reflected, fought and broke spears for almost two centuries. The tunnel between England and France was created by the hands of thirteen thousand workers and engineers. A lot of people gathered at the ceremonial event marking the start of operation of the longest tunnel on the European continent, opened by representatives of the participating countries in the person of French President Francois Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
The meaning of the tunnel
Today, four trains operate in the Channel Tunnel. We are talking about high-speed trains of the TGV Eurostar type, which run along the route: from the Brussels Midi Zuid station, then the Paris Gare du Nord station and further to the English station in London St. Pancras, making intermediate stops at Lille stations, Calais and Ashford.
The maximum speed of such express trains reaches three hundred kilometers per hour. When passing through the tunnel part of the path, it decreases to one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour. On this line, on the French side, shuttle trains of the Eurotunnel Shuttle type are used, which can transport not only cars, but also vans and large passenger buses on the route from Folkestone to Sangatte. Using a special system of loading operations, vehicle entry to the carriage site takes only eight minutes. Passengers do not move anywhere, but remain inside their vehicles. The line also operates Eurotunnel Shuttle freight trains, which are an open carriage platform. Freight transport is delivered to them; drivers of large trucks follow locally in a separate carriage. Such trains can deliver cargo to or any other cargo. In freight trains, traction is provided by the operation of electric locomotives of the British Rail Class-92 type.
The Eurotunnel is significant primarily for the society of the countries participating in the construction of this structure. We are talking about the same notorious traffic jams. There are significantly fewer of them. With regard to economic benefits and the presence of development potential, these two factors have a significant positive impact, primarily on the surrounding regions. The English southwest benefits evolutionarily and socially because they have fast, efficient and cheap transport on their land. But again, all this applies only to the population living in the nearest administrative units adjacent to the transport artery. As with everything that surrounds us, the significance of this building has its own negative phenomena, starting with environmental issues.
After a five-year operational period, the first results were summed up. They looked disappointing in the economic aspect, because there was no benefit as such. The British were harsher in their conclusions, making a disappointing statement that the British economy would have performed better if the Channel Tunnel had not existed at all. Some experts went even further, saying that the payback on the constructed structure will only be exceeded after a whole millennium has passed.
Incidents
As for the rest of the negativity, there is plenty of that too. And above all, this is due to the unsolvable problems of illegal immigrants who use any possible transport artery to get to the shores of Foggy Albion. Most of this unorganized people enter the UK, making their way onto freight train sites. There were cases when bright personalities from the immigrant environment showed a kind of master class, jumping from a bridge onto a passing train. Not all such somersaults ended happily; there were also casualties. Some representatives of the emigrant environment managed to penetrate into the carriage areas and hide in the skerries of the transported equipment. Such actions led to delays of trains and disruption of train schedules. In some cases, unplanned repairs were required. Over the course of a month, such extraordinary expenses amounted to five million euros. Several dozen emigrants managed to penetrate into the interior of the main tunnel, where they died.
Ultimately, the French side made additional expenditures in the amount of €5,000,000, installing a double fence and CCTV cameras, as well as ordering enhanced police patrols.
The Channel Tunnel's security system was tested eight times while artificially creating real emergencies by specific culprits.
The first incident began on November 18, 1996; it was necessary to eliminate the consequences of a fire that occurred in a tunnel on board a shuttle train transporting trucks. Thirty-four vehicle drivers were rescued from the burning train and taken to the service tunnel. Ambulance medical personnel transported eight people who had severe burns. The remaining passengers were evacuated by using another train going in the opposite direction. Fire crews fought the fire for several hours in conditions of low water pressure in the fire main, overcoming the effects of strong ventilation drafts and the presence of high temperatures.
The consequences of such a fire were as follows; There was serious damage along the two-hundred-meter length of the tunnel. The same number of meters of the tunnel shaft were partially damaged. In some tunnel sections, burnt concrete rings were discovered to a depth of fifty millimeters. The locomotive and some of the last cars were taken out of service.
All victims were provided with the necessary assistance, and their ability to work was fully restored. The design features of the tunnel shafts and the coordinated work of the security services of Great Britain and France made it possible to avoid casualties.
After three days, the Eurotunnel again gave the green light to freight trains through only one of the tunnels. The full resumption of passenger train traffic occurred two weeks later.
10.10. 2001 there is a sudden stop of the train in the middle part of the tunnel. As a result, in such emergency situations, panic arises in the passenger environment, especially among those people who are susceptible to attacks of claustrophobia. The evacuation of the passenger flow was carried out through the service tunnel passages, after a five-hour wait and uncertainty.
On August 21, 2006, one of the trucks that was being transported on the shuttle train platform caught fire. Transport traffic through the tunnel shafts was suspended indefinitely.
The next force majeure event occurs on September 11, 2008. On the French side of the tunnel part, a fire occurs in one of the carriages of a freight train traveling to France from the English coast. The train transported trucks. The driving crew consisted of thirty-two people, all of whom were evacuated. Fourteen drivers required hospitalization due to minor injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning. The fire in the tunnel raged throughout the night and the next morning. In the UK, in the town of Kent, huge traffic jams occurred as the road was blocked by police to prevent vehicles from getting close to the tunnel entrance.
Transport traffic along the two tunnel shafts was restored after 134 days.
On December 18, 2009, there was a sudden failure of one of the systems, in particular the tunnel power supply. This force majeure event occurred due to a sharp temperature change, which resulted in heavy snowfall in the northern part of French territory. Five trains stopped in the tunnel belly.
Experts found that such a stop was possible due to the unpreparedness of trains for operation in winter. There was no adequate level of protection for live lines and undercar space. Carrying out annual maintenance of all trains was an insufficient measure for the operation of trains in winter, cold conditions with low temperatures.
On January 07, 2010, the Eurostar passenger train, carrying two hundred and sixty passengers, suddenly stopped. The train followed the route Brussels - London. For two hours the train stood in a tunnel under the English Channel. A team of specialists along with an auxiliary locomotive was sent to the place where the train stood. The faulty train was towed away by the dispatched locomotive. In the conclusion of experts, the reason for the sudden stop was named - it was melted snow on the tunnel section of the track. There was snow in the electrical equipment compartments. After entering the tunnel, he simply melted.
On March 27, 2014, a fire started on the British coast in a building located near the entrance to the tunnel. Train traffic is stopped. All four Eurostar trains returned to their departure points: Brussels, Paris and London. The cause of the fire was a lightning strike. No people were hurt.
On January 17, 2015, smoke begins to pour out of the depths of one of the tunnel shafts, and the movement of trains is suspended.
The cause of the fire in the Channel Tunnel was a truck that caught fire. The fire broke out in the tunnel part, near the entrance to it from the French side.
The passengers were evacuated in a timely manner. There were no casualties. Trains returned to the stations of their departure points.
This was the fourth incident since the beginning of the operational period of the Eurotunnel, when a truck caught fire on the platform of a freight train.
The total cost of constructing the Channel Tunnel is an impressive £10000000000, taking into account all inflationary costs.
Finance
As for the financial side of operating the Eurotunnel, the costs have not yet been recouped. The first payment of dividends to shareholders was made based on operating results in 2009.
A year later, Eurostar's losses amounted to €58,000,000. The main reason is considered to be the global financial crisis.
Based on the results of the company's work in 2011, a profit of 11,000,000 € was received. During the period mentioned above, 19,000,000 people were transported. The cost of one Eurostar share on the stock market increased to 6.53 €. The dividend amount per share was €0.08.
I would like to immediately apologize for the quality of the photos. Most of the photos were taken from a tinted bus window. Believe me, it is very difficult to achieve good quality and natural color rendition in such conditions.
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1. You need to go to the bus station 30 minutes before the bus departure to check your documents, tickets, and visas. This is all done when boarding the bus:
2. Departure for London at 11.00. The photo shows two MegaBus buses. Which neighbor leaves 30 minutes earlier to Amsterdam:
3. While there is time, I walked 200 meters from the station to rent a high-rise Hyatt hotel:
4. Let's take a look at our route. Google says 5 hours. Well, yes, plus we also have a tunnel and stops:
5. Let's go. River Sena:
6. We leave Paris. Many people don’t know that Auchan is a French chain:
7. My GoPro will record the entire journey. At the end of this post you will see a video:
8. Fields. It's already spring in France:
9. Small villages and fields again:
10. There are a lot of wind turbines. In general, this is very developed in Europe. The wind rose allows you to:
11. Look how well-groomed everything is:
12. Beauty:
13. Some houses resemble castles:
15. Views from the bridge:
17. Here is the bridge itself:
18. We approach the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer:
21. A lighthouse on the English Channel is already visible on the horizon:
22. We entered the city. Houses:
23. To us on A16 (Calais):
24. But first we have a short stop:
25. The driver changes here. I suspect this has something to do with driving on the left in England:
26. And we had a little time to take a few shots in the area:
27. We stood right where the buses are loaded onto the ferries. Here is the overpass:
If I had traveled by night bus, this is where our bus would be loaded onto the ferry across the English Channel. The daytime bus goes through the Eurotunnel.
29. I don’t know what kind of building this is. Reminded me of a military pillbox:
30. We entered Calais. We approach the French border:
31. On the left side of the board you can see the departure time for the Eurotunnel (more on that later):
32. We get on the bus and drive literally 500 meters. UK Border Post:
Everything is more serious here. The procedure is no different from entry control at any English airport. You need to fill out a migration card, answer the questions How are mr. Putin? related to the purpose of the visit and timing in the UK. After this, an entry stamp is placed.
Now the Eurotunnel. It is interesting to read its history and structure on Wikipedia. Personally, I had no idea that the Channel Tunnel was built only for trains. It turns out that if you are driving a car or bus through a tunnel, then the transport is loaded onto special closed railway platforms and you move on them in the tunnel.
33. Here is a satellite image of the railway junction in Calais (France). On the English side of the English Channel there is a similar knot:
34. Descent to the platform and railway platform on the left:
35. A bus with tourists enters the platform:
36. And in such a cozy atmosphere we move along the bottom of the English Channel for 39 km (25 minutes):
It's amazing that there is cell service. I immediately start posting photos on
In recent months, this object has again appeared in the news reports of news agencies. For thousands of refugees who left their historical homeland in search of a new happiness, it has become an obligatory part of the largely insurmountable road to the promised land. In 1994, the tunnel under the English Channel was solemnly opened, connecting Great Britain with continental Europe. The long-awaited superproject, which began to be talked about back in the 19th century, has finally come true. Why now, 21 years later, is everyone talking about him with more disappointment? Onliner.by tells how, after decades of overcoming mutual distrust, the main infrastructure project of the 1980s turned into a source of headache for European powers.
In 1802, mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier sent a letter to the First Consul of the French Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte. In the document, the inventor proposed to the future emperor a project that would surely take his breath away: to connect France and Great Britain with a tunnel. For an era when courtly monarchs in wigs were shocked by the revolutionary revelry of the blood-drunk crowd, this was really something amazing, although now the project of Mathieu-Favier looks naive. The engineer proposed to dig a tunnel under the English Channel, through which horse-drawn carriages could cross the strait in the future. At the same time, ventilation was carried out through pipes brought to the surface of the water, and the object was to be illuminated by oil lamps.
Of course, nothing came of it then. Relations between France and Great Britain during this period could hardly be called friendly, and in May 1803 another war broke out between the countries.
The next attempt was made half a century later. In 1857, another Frenchman, Thomas de Gamond, presented his project for a tunnel across the strait. His scheme was fundamentally different from the proposal of the beginning of the century. By this time, steam locomotives were already plowing the expanses of Europe with might and main, and the Gamond tunnel was originally designed for railway traffic: the era of horse-drawn carriages was fading into history.
At the same time, the double-track structure was illuminated with gas lamps, and the ventilation problem, which is especially relevant when using steam locomotives, was solved with the help of an artificial island created approximately in the middle of the track. An international port was also organized here.
British Prime Minister Viscount Palmerston was outraged by the French proposal. "What? Do you still dare to ask for money for a cause whose purpose is to shorten the distance, which we believe is already too short?- said the lord, thus indicating the main problem facing the project. The question was not at all in technological problems (mankind has already learned how to build tunnels, although not so long) and not even in financing. British politicians still viewed the kingdom's geographical isolation as its most important strategic advantage over its neighbors, and the possible Channel Tunnel as a direct and clear threat to this.
And yet, after another decade or so, the first practical steps towards the construction of an object that did not give engineers rest were nevertheless taken. The impetus for this was a potential common enemy that emerged from Britain and France. Germany finally united into a single state and quickly became a powerful player in pan-European politics. In the early 1870s, France lost the war to France and was interested in a serious ally, for which the United Kingdom became a natural candidate.
In 1880, specialists began the construction of test tunnels on both sides of the strait, and the first steam-powered drilling machines, the forerunners of modern tunneling shields, were already used for this. For three years it was possible to dig almost four kilometers, and although the matter did not reach the actual underwater part, this experience confirmed the fundamental possibility of building such an object.
Geopolitics again prevented the continuation of work. By 1883, France again clashed with Britain in the African colonies. New concerns have emerged in British society about the use of the tunnel under construction in a prospective conflict with the continent. The engineers immediately proposed to provide for a special mechanism for flooding the object in its design, but the politicians were inexorable: the construction was again frozen, this time for almost a century.
Due to the too turbulent events of the first half of the 20th century, another return to the old topic took place in the mid-1970s, but the economic crisis that covered Europe postponed practical implementation until 1987. During this time, statesmen and engineering and technical workers finally agreed on two fundamental things: firstly, 185 years after the idea appeared, they said a resolute “yes” to it, and secondly, they decided on the final scheme of the object.
Four options were seriously considered, each of which was supposed to perform the same function - to unite the island and the continent with convenient transport links. The first (and most expensive) project was the Eurobridge, an amazing structure that was, in fact, a multi-level automobile overpass enclosed in a pipe, suspended on cables at a height of 70 meters above the English Channel. The estimated cost of the construction was £5.9 billion.
The second option was the so-called Euroroute (“Europath” or “Euroroute”), a set of several bridges and tunnels connecting artificial islands piled in the strait. In addition to the high budget (£5 billion), such a scheme created big problems for shipping.
The third proposal - called Channel Expressway ("Freeway through the channel") - provided for the construction of one large tunnel for the alternating movement of cars and trains. It was much cheaper (“only” £2 billion), but would certainly have caused serious logistical problems associated with the separation of rail and road flows.
Finally, the fourth project turned out to be the very option that combined the relative simplicity of implementation with an acceptable budget for the interested states. According to the concept, called the "Eurotunnel", it was supposed to lay three separate tunnels across the English Channel. Two main ones (7.6 meters in diameter) were designed for railway traffic. Between them is the so-called "communication tunnel" with a diameter of 4.8 meters and designed for maintenance of the entire facility and the evacuation of passengers in case of emergency.
Every 375 meters, the main tunnels were connected to special service passages, and air ducts were laid over the entire system, which reduced the pressure during the passage of high-speed trains and eliminated the “piston effect” that arose in this case.
The length of the structure at the same time amounted to 51 kilometers, 39 of them were in the underwater part under the English Channel. Under the ground, a couple of sidings were also arranged, allowing the trains to change the direction of movement if necessary.
Construction work was significantly facilitated and made cheaper by the relatively favorable geological conditions in which the tunneling was carried out. Almost throughout its entire length, the Eurotunnel is located in a chalk layer, which, on the one hand, was relatively soft, on the other, stable, and on the third, provided good waterproofing by itself. At the same time, as many as 11 tunneling shields were working at the construction complex, which made it possible to complete drilling work quite quickly. The sinking began in December 1987, and exactly three years later, on December 1, 1990, the British were able to shake hands with the French at a depth of 40 meters from the bottom of the English Channel.
During this period, the builders had 8 million cubic meters of rock at their disposal. The French preferred to mix their half with water and pour the resulting pulp back into the strait, while the British disposed of the soil a little more economically. Off their coast, they poured an artificial cape, on which they formed the Samphire Hoe park. Now more than 100 thousand people come to see the flora and fauna of the "traditional chalk meadow" every year.
Of course, the actual tunneling was only part of a large-scale work. At both exits from the facility - English and French - large cargo-passenger station complexes were erected. The creation of them and various engineering networks dragged on for another three and a half years. The grand opening of the "Eurotunnel" took place only in May 1994, two years later than planned. 13,000 miners, engineers and other specialists coped with the task that once struck even Napoleon I in seven years.
What someone dreamed about and what someone was afraid of happened. Passenger trains began to run between London on the one hand and Paris and Brussels on the other. It became possible to get from the British capital to the French one in just 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was no longer necessary to make transfers to the ferry and fight seasickness, although surprisingly the ferry industry did not die with the launch of the Eurotunnel: the traffic, passenger and cargo, turned out to be too large, and the throughput of the tunnel was not unlimited.
Eurotunnel is used by four types of trains. First of all, these are high-speed passenger TGV Eurostars, plying between London St. Pancras station, Paris Nord Station and Midi / Zuid station in Brussels with several intermediate stops. In the tunnel, such a train travels at a speed of 160 km / h, overcoming it in 20 minutes, and on the surface, thanks to modern infrastructure, its speed reaches 300 km / h.
In addition to the TGV Eurostar and conventional freight trains, passenger and freight Eurotunnel Shuttle operate on the Eurotunnel line. The former are intended for the transportation of cars, vans and buses in closed wagons between station terminals at the exits, the latter for trucks in open wagons. At the same time, in passenger "shuttles" people do not get out of their cars.
The celebration of the long-awaited project delivery quickly ended. Began boring and in many ways disappointing weekdays of its operation. In the first year, the shareholders and management of Groupe Eurotunnel expected to carry about 16 million passengers. The reality turned out to be much more prosaic: only 3 million people used the company's services. Since then, this figure has gradually increased, but last year the Eurostar and Eurotunnel Shuttle trains carried only 10.4 million passengers.
At the same time, the object cost £4.65 billion, an amount that turned out to be 80% higher than the calculated one. Eurotunnel was able to report its first annual profit only 14 years after the start of its work: in 2008, the joint-stock company announced a net profit of $1.6 million, and that was due to the restructuring of its debts. In the future, profitable years continued to alternate with unprofitable ones, but in any case, there is no talk of a payback for the construction in the foreseeable future. In fact, in terms of financial performance, Eurotunnel has become. However, the strategic importance of the object is difficult to overestimate.
1. The length of the tunnel under the English Channel is 51 km, of which 39 pass directly under the strait. Trains from London to Paris and back are in the tunnel from 20 to 35 minutes.
2. Thanks to the Eurotunnel, you can get from Paris to London by train in just 2 hours and 15 minutes.
3. Contrary to the misconception, the Channel Tunnel is not the longest railway tunnel in the world, but only ranks third. The second place is at the Japanese Seikan tunnel, connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, the length of which is 53.85 km. And the longest in the world is the Gotthard railway tunnel in the Swiss Alps, the official opening of which is scheduled for 2017. Its length is 57 km.
Strait of the English Channel. Satellite image. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
4. For the first time, the idea of building a tunnel connecting England and continental Europe was voiced as early as the beginning of the 19th century, but for a long time it was rejected due to British fears that the structure could be used for a military invasion of the island.
5. The construction of the tunnel began in 1881 and in 1922. For the first time, the builders managed to cover 2026 meters on the English side and 1829 meters on the French side. In the second tunnel drilling stopped at only 128 meters. Both times construction was interrupted for political reasons.
6. In the post-war period, the Channel Tunnel project progressed extremely slowly. The research team began working in 1957, the project was approved in 1973, after which it was frozen again, and the real construction of the tunnel began only on December 15, 1987.
Project for the Channel Tunnel, ca. 1960. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
7. The Eurotunnel technically consists of three tunnels - two main ones, which have a track for trains going north and south, and one small service tunnel. The service tunnel every 375 meters has passages connecting it with the main ones. It is designed for access to the main tunnels for service personnel and emergency evacuation of people in case of danger.
8. Road transport overcomes the tunnel under the English Channel in the carriages of special trains. At the same time, drivers and passengers of cars transported by Eurotunnel Shuttle trains do not leave their vehicles. The procedure for loading a car into a wagon takes no more than eight minutes.
Construction of the Channel Tunnel, 1993. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
9. Over the twenty years of operation of the Eurotunnel, seven major incidents have occurred in it, due to which the normal operation of the tunnel was disrupted for a period of several hours to several months. Most of the incidents were related to fires, however, thanks to the professional actions of rescuers, victims were avoided.
10. The Eurotunnel cost a total of around £10bn and was overpriced by 80 per cent. According to experts, the payback period of the project may exceed 1000 years.