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Video length: 4 min
Channel: in the bowels of an extraordinary tunnel
Channel: in the bowels of an extraordinary tunnel
(France 2)
France is physically connected to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel. On Monday, May 6, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of the tunnel by Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand. Dive behind the scenes of this tunnel.
It is a perfectly orchestrated Franco-English ballet. It is possible to cross the Channel by train, by car or by truck. The Channel Tunnel is used by 400 trains per day for 30 years. On the French side, near Calais (Pas-de-Calais), this is the starting point of the tunnel. Between France and England, more than a third of trucks and two thirds of cars take the train, the others cross by ferry. 34 minutes of crossing to reach England including 28 minutes under the sea, the speed of the train is 140 km/h.
An under-exploited tunnel
On each side, the priority is safety. Under the Channel, there is an evacuation tunnel where service vehicles circulate. All equipment is carefully checked by maintenance teams to verify that everything is in good condition to function properly, everything must be tested. In 30 years, two fires have broken out in the tunnel. Despite the car trains, the Eurostars, the tunnel is underused. The control tower manages only 1,800 vehicles while twice as many trains could cross the Channel.
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