Channel Tunnel

Channel Tunnel
	French portal
Overview
Location	English Channel (Strait of Dover)
Coordinates	51°00′45″N 1°30′15″E / 51.0125°N 1.5041°E
Status	Active
Start	Folkestone, UK (51°05′50″N 1°09′21″E / 51.0971°N 1.1558°E)
End	Coquelles, France (50°55′22″N 1°46′49″E / 50.9228°N 1.7804°E)
Operation
Opened	6 May 1994
Owner	Getlink
Operator	DB Cargo UK; Eurostar; Getlink;
Character	Passenger trains, freight trains, vehicle shuttle trains
Technical
Line length	50.46 km (31.35 mi)
No. of tracks	2 single track tunnels,; 1 service tunnel
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrified	Overhead line, 25 kV 50 Hz AC, 5.87 m
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph)
Route map
	High Speed 1
	to Ashford International
	South Eastern Main Line
	to Ashford International
	120 m
	131 yd
	526 m
	575 yd
	116 m
	127 yd
	South Eastern Main Line
	to Dover Priory
	309 m
	338 yd
	High Speed 1 / Network Rail
	Getlink
	-1.659 km
	-1.031 mi
	1010 m
	1105 yd
	-4.436 km
	-2.756 mi
	0 km
	0 mi
	0.478 km
	0.297 mi
	0.882 km
	0.548 mi
	Shakespeare Cliff Shaft
	(Adits A1 & A2)
	17.062 km
	10.602 mi
	United Kingdom
	France
	26.988 km
	16.77 mi
	34.688 km
	21.554 mi
	50.459 km
	31.354 mi
	LGV Nord
	to Calais-Fréthun & Lille Europe
	Lille–Fontinettes railway
	to Les Fontinettes
	57.795 km
	35.912 mi
	Distances from Castle Hill Tunnel Portal; Distances to terminals measured around terminal loops

The Channel Tunnel (French: Tunnel sous la Manche, sometimes referred to as the Chunnel)^[3]^[4] is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35-mile) railway tunnel beneath the English Channel that connects Folkestone in the United Kingdom with Coquelles in northern France. Opened in 1994, it remains the only fixed link between Great Britain and the European mainland.

The tunnel has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, at 37.9 km (23.5 miles), and reaches a depth of 75 m (246 ft) below the sea bed and 115 m (377 ft) below sea level.^[5]^[6]^[7] It is the third-longest railway tunnel in the world. Although the tunnel was designed for speeds up to 200 km/h (120 mph), trains are limited to a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) for safety reasons.^[8] It connects to high-speed railway lines on either end: the LGV Nord in France and High Speed 1 in the United Kingdom.

The tunnel is operated by Getlink (formerly Eurotunnel) and is used by Eurostar high-speed passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles,^[9] and freight trains.^[10] In 2017, Eurostar trains carried 10.3 million passengers, freight trains transported 1.2 million tonnes (2.6 billion pounds) of freight, and LeShuttle trains moved 10.4 million passengers in 2.6 million cars and 51,000 coaches, and 1.6 million heavy goods vehicles carrying 21.3 million tonnes (47 billion pounds) of freight.^[11] That compares with 11.7 million passengers, 2.2 million cars, and 2.6 million heavy goods vehicles transported by sea through the Port of Dover.^[12]

Proposals for a cross-Channel tunnel date back as early as 1802,^[13]^[14] but concerns over national security delayed development.^[15] The modern project was initiated by Eurotunnel in 1988 and completed in 1994, at a final cost of £4.65 billion (equivalent to £11.7 billion in 2023).^[16] An engineering marvel,^[17] the Channel Tunnel was, at the time of its opening, by far the longest tunnel in Europe, and has only been surpassed by the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.^[18] However, despite its engineering significance, several economic assessments have found that it has had only a limited positive economic impact on the British economy.^[19]^[20] Additionally, the tunnel has also experienced occasional service disruptions due to technical faults, fires, severe weather,^[21]^[22] and unauthorised access by migrants around Calais seeking entry to the United Kingdom.^[23]^[24]^[25]

^ Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) (1995). The Channel Tunnel: Transport systems, Volume 4. Vol. 108. Thomas Telford. p. 22. ISBN 9780727720245.
^ The Channel Tunnel: Terminals. Thomas Telford. 1993. ISBN 978-0-7277-1939-3.
^ Cite error: The named reference BBC openingceremony was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Baraniuk, Chris (23 August 2017). "The Channel Tunnel that was never built". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
^ "Folkestone Eurotunnel Trains". Transworld Leisure Limited. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
^ Cite error: The named reference ICE p. 95 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Wise, Jeff (1 October 2009). "Turkey Building the World's Deepest Immersed Tube Tunnel". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
^ Dumitrache, Alina (24 March 2010). "The Channel Tunnel – Traveling Under the Sea". AutoEvolution. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference Anderson Story p xvi-xvii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Chisholm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Traffic figures". GetLink Group. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
^ "About/Performance". Port of Dover. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
^ Whiteside 1962, p. 17.
^ "The Channel Tunnel". library.thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
^ Wilson & Spick (1994) pp. 14-21
^ Flyvbjerg, Buzelius & Rothengatter 2003, p. 12.
^ Austin, Keith (4 November 2019). "Channel Tunnel's 25 anniversary: Engineering marvel keeps UK connected to Europe". Traveller. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
^ "Gotthard tunnel: World's longest and deepest rail tunnel opens in Switzerland". BBC News. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
^ Cite error: The named reference Anguera 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Flyvbjerg, Buzelius & Rothengatter 2003, pp. 68–69.
^ "Channel tunnel fire worst in service's history". The Guardian. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
^ "Thousands freed from Channel Tunnel after trains fail". BBC News. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
^ "Four men caught in Channel Tunnel". BBC News. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
^ "Sangatte refugee camp". The Guardian. UK. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
^ "French Channel Tunnel train drivers 'haunted' by migrant deaths". The Daily Telegraph. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2017.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) (1995). The Channel Tunnel: Transport systems, Volume 4. Vol. 108. Thomas Telford. p. 22. ISBN 9780727720245.

[2] The Channel Tunnel: Terminals. Thomas Telford. 1993. ISBN 978-0-7277-1939-3.

[BBC_openingceremony-4] Cite error: The named reference BBC openingceremony was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[chunnel_name-5] Baraniuk, Chris (23 August 2017). "The Channel Tunnel that was never built". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2022.

[6] "Folkestone Eurotunnel Trains". Transworld Leisure Limited. Retrieved 11 February 2017.

[ICE_p._95-7] Cite error: The named reference ICE p. 95 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[8] Wise, Jeff (1 October 2009). "Turkey Building the World's Deepest Immersed Tube Tunnel". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.

[AE-9] Dumitrache, Alina (24 March 2010). "The Channel Tunnel – Traveling Under the Sea". AutoEvolution. Retrieved 2 August 2014.

[Anderson_Story_p_xvi-xvii-10] Cite error: The named reference Anderson Story p xvi-xvii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Chisholm-11] Cite error: The named reference Chisholm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[12] "Traffic figures". GetLink Group. Retrieved 11 July 2018.

[stats-13] "About/Performance". Port of Dover. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2018.

[FOOTNOTEWhiteside196217-14] Whiteside 1962, p. 17.

[15] "The Channel Tunnel". library.thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

[Wilson14-21-16] Wilson & Spick (1994) pp. 14-21

[FOOTNOTEFlyvbjergBuzeliusRothengatter200312-17] Flyvbjerg, Buzelius & Rothengatter 2003, p. 12.

[18] Austin, Keith (4 November 2019). "Channel Tunnel's 25 anniversary: Engineering marvel keeps UK connected to Europe". Traveller. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

[19] "Gotthard tunnel: World's longest and deepest rail tunnel opens in Switzerland". BBC News. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

[Anguera_2006-20] Cite error: The named reference Anguera 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEFlyvbjergBuzeliusRothengatter200368–69-21] Flyvbjerg, Buzelius & Rothengatter 2003, pp. 68–69.

[22] "Channel tunnel fire worst in service's history". The Guardian. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2014.

[23] "Thousands freed from Channel Tunnel after trains fail". BBC News. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2014.

[24] "Four men caught in Channel Tunnel". BBC News. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

[25] "Sangatte refugee camp". The Guardian. UK. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

[26] "French Channel Tunnel train drivers 'haunted' by migrant deaths". The Daily Telegraph. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2017.

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