Tunnel under the English Channel - the reunion of the two countries

Undoubtedly, the tunnel under the Channel is, although unofficial, but one of the wonders of the world. Eurotunnel (its second name) is the longest in the world. Sitting on a train in Folkestone (UK), in 20 minutes passengers are in the town of Calais (France). Thus, England turned into a land power, joining the mainland Europe.

The history of the construction of this tunnel has more than 200 years. As early as 1802, the project was submitted to Napoleon for consideration. Since then, many solutions have been proposed for the connection of the two great powers across the English Channel. The tunnel was still preferable. I had to abandon the idea of building bulk islands and connecting them with bridges, from erecting a huge structure consisting of spans of 5 kilometers, connected by heavy-duty cables, etc.

During the construction period, the project was postponed several times and frozen. Hot debate began between supporters of the construction of the century and its opponents. The reasons were many, and, nevertheless, in 1994, on May 6, the tunnel under the Channel was officially opened. In the construction took part more than 15 thousand workers, was spent thirteen and a half billion dollars, involved unique machines with rotating cutting heads. The Channel Tunnel consists of two parallel railroad branches eight meters wide, and between them is another tunnel, smaller in size. Its main function is to maintain two main roads. It is interesting that the French washed away the soil, dragged during construction in the sea, but the practical English have disposed of the waste differently. An artificial peninsula was created, on which a park of 36 hectares was planted. It was named after the famous English poet and playwright William Shakespeare.

Special Eurostar trains serve the tunnel under the English Channel. Wagons for passengers look like general, with a difference in price only . The price depends on the comfort and class, but the coupe is not provided. For cars special wagons-hangars are designed, so-called "shuttles" are engaged in transportation. Often, in order to save money, drivers do not buy a ticket in a common car, but remain inside the cabin, so they cross Eurotunnel. The cars are lit, they are warm. The shuttle is designed for transportation of cars, buses and trucks.

Such an engineering structure as the tunnel under LaManshem, involves the application of the most stringent security measures. It is constantly monitored and controlled by computers. To combat terrorists, there is a thorough search of both passengers and vehicles. Eurotunnel is crossed daily by 350 electric locomotives, more than 200 thousand tons of cargo are transported with the speed from 160 to 350 kilometers per hour. At the same time, no more than one train is in the tunnel.

This project has become another contribution of humanity for friendship and cooperation between the two countries.