Moreover, 22.5 million tons of goods are anomaly transported via the tunnel, 95% of which on the 1.6 million trucks carried by Eurotunnel’s shuttle and the remainder in the more than 2,000 through rail freight trains operated. In terms of passengers, the Channel Tunnel carries about 60% of the total cross-Channel demand. Over 21 million passengers used the Channel Tunnel in 2017, roughly evenly split between Le Shuttle car carrying services –which carried 2.6 million cars- and Eurostar high speed trains. This dramatic second financial restructuring, however set the company on solid financial grounds and has since been generating sufficient operating profits to service its debt burden and, since 2009, Eurotunnel has paid out dividends to shareholders. Despite the financial restructuring completed in 1998 Eurotunnel’s finances remained fragile to the point that in 2007 a second and major restructuring was required, which involved a debt write-off of £3,400 million and reduced the shareholder stake to just 13%. Soon after the start of operations, Eurotunnel reached a delicate financial situation which resulted from the escalation of construction costs, a large overestimation of the cross-Channel market and the underestimation of the cross-Channel ferry operators’ competitive response which led to a very damaging price war. It was privately financed without public recourse to public budgets, but with necessary Government involvement, which is reflected in the complex matrix of contractual agreements. In engineering terms, the Tunnel is an excellent piece of infrastructure linking Britain to the Continent 40m under the seabed. Once the Governments decided to proceed with the project, the actual construction of the tunnel was disrupted by significant financial difficulties that brought the project close to collapse. The project was, nevertheless, completed broadly on time. This resulted in a long and arduous decision making process spread over 25 years.
The severe engineering challenge of building a 40 km-long tunnel under the sea was further complicated by the trans-national dimension of the project and the indecision of successive UK and French Governments. The Channel Tunnel is a complex project in every sense. Car and truck carrying shuttles between the terminals of Folkestone and Calais operated by Eurotunnel’s “Le Shuttle” service.Through rail freight services, jointly operated by DB Cargo UK International and SNCF and.High speed passenger services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam operated by Eurostar.Three types of services operate through the tunnel: The tunnel, which extends 38 km up to 75m under the seabed was built by a private sector consortium of 5 British and 5 French construction companies, requiring £13.650 million (2018 prices) and about 6 years, to be officially inaugurated on 6th may 1994. All rights reserved.The Channel Tunnel is 50.5 km-long railway tunnel under the English Channel, linking Folkestone in Kent (UK) with Coquelles in Pas de Calais (France), operated by Eurotunnel under a concession from the British and French Governments that runs until 2086. Copyright © 2022, Columbia University Press. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Kirkland, ed., Engineering the Channel Tunnel (1995). Byrd, Making of the Channel Tunnel (1994) C. Roskrow, The Channel Tunnel Story (1994) T.
A higher than expected cost of digging the tunnels and lower than predicted tunnel traffic levels left Eurotunnel with huge debts, the repayment of which strained the finances of the company, threatened the company with insolvency, and led a French court to grant (2006) Eurotunnel creditor protection while the company reorganized (as Groupe Eurotunnel in 2007) and restructured its debt. Freight trains and automobile- and truck-shuttle trains also use the tunnel. The project began with the signing of the Channel Tunnel Treaty between France and Britain in 1986 passenger service began in 1994. The project was a joint English and French venture, with a concession to operate the tunnel (until 2086) granted to Eurotunnel, a private company, and is the centerpiece of a high-speed rail link between London and Paris.
The depth of the tunnels below the seabed averages about 150 ft (45 m). There are two rail tunnels, each 25 ft (7.6 m) in diameter, and a central tunnel, 16 ft (4.8 m) in diameter, that is used for maintenance and ventilation. Channel Tunnel, popularly called the Chunnel, a three-tunnel railroad connection running under the English Channel, connecting Folkestone, England, and Calais, France.
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