Vocabulary.
The Channel Tunnel -
the Strait of Dover -
special shuttle service -
oversized -
accommodate -
vehicle
load
freight train
broke out -
access -
maintenance
emergency escape route
supply
accident
proposal
to face
to deal with -
geological irregularity
sheer amount -
sturdy -
to withstand -
to allay -
concern
chalky rock
explode ,
priority -
occur
trap ,
smooth
available -
authorized agent
amazing -
engineering feat
The Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel, is a large tunnel which runs between Britain and France, under the Strait of Dover in the English Channel. It is also affectionately referred to as the Chunnel or Eurotunnel, is a 50 km long undersea rail tunnel that connects south-eastern England with northern France. At its lowest point it lies 75 meters under the ocean floor. The tunnel is operated by the Eurotunnel Group, a British French company.
The tunnel carries passengers and freight in high speed trains, and it also offers a special shuttle service (a method of transporting people back and forth from one point to another) on oversized trains which can accommodate vehicles. To use the shuttle service, people drive directly onto the train and secure their vehicles for the trip under the Channel.
In short, three types of trains travel through the tunnel:
Shuttle trains travel from Folkestone to Calais in about half an hour. Cars, trucks and buses can be loaded onto them.
The Eurostar high-speed passenger trains bring people from Paris to London in 2 hours and 15 minutes and passengers from Brussels to London in 1 hour and 50 minutes.
freight trains.
Since its opening there have been some problems. Fires broke out and illegal immigrants have used the tunnel to get to Great Britain.
In fact, there are three tunnels in the Channel Tunnel; two tunnels for trains, and a central access tunnel used for maintenance access and as an emergency escape route. It also supplies the two train tunnels with fresh air. Emergency vehicles can get to the scene of an accident quickly.
Although the proposals to build an access tunnel between Britain and the Continent date back to the 1800s, but construction on the Channel Tunnel didnt begin until 1988. Workers on the tunnel faced a number of engineering problems as they had to deal with geological irregularities and the sheer amount of work involved in constructing a 31.4 mile (around 50 kilometer) long tunnel underground. The tunnel had to be sturdy enough to withstand years of use as well as being well ventilated, and the engineers also wanted to allay concerns about the risk of fires in the tunnel with state of the art safety mechanisms, including the central escape tunnel.
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Building the tunnel was a difficult engineering task. During the construction period teams from both sides used special machines to bore through the mostly chalky rock. Some were as long as football fields and could cut through 80 metres of rock a day. At times, almost 15,000 workers were employed by Eurotunnel.
As construction progressed Eurotunnel realized that overall costs would explode. The project, which was financed with private money, cost almost 15billion Euros, more than twice as much as projected.
Since its official opening in 1994, about 15 million people have travelled through the tunnel every year. Even though it is a real alternative to air travel, Channel Tunnel trains have not carried as many passengers as its operator, Eurotunnel, expected. The company lost millions of Euros over the years.
Although safety is a top priority for Eurotunnel there have been three big fires that forced the tunnel to close down. The last one occurred in 2008 and lasted for 16 hours. Nobody was killed but many people had to be taken to hospitals. In December 2009 over 2000 passengers were trapped in the tunnel because electricity failed in the cold weather.
Meanwhile, the American Society of Civil Engineers has called the Channel Tunnel one of the seven wonders of the modern world, and as of 2008, it is the second longest tunnel in the world. It certainly streamlined and revolutionized travel between Britain and France, smoothing the way for visitors from both nations to travel rapidly and easily. Tickets are readily available for passengers who want to travel on the Eurostar passenger trains which service the Chunnel through Eurostar and various authorized agents.
It took six years for the Channel Tunnel to be completed, and the safety systems were tested only two years later, when a fire broke out in 1996. Now the tunnel has set an example worth following and it is considered one of the most amazing engineering feats of the 20th century.
