Calais - Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel, from Sangatte, a suburb of Calais, to near Dover, opened in late 1994. Three tunnels were driven through an impermeable stratum of chalk about 100m/330ft under the surface. The 50km/30mi journey takes some 20 minutes in high-speed trains. The first plans for a tunnel under the Channel were put to the future Emperor Napoleon by a Frenchman named Albert Mathieu in 1798, but were beyond the technological resources of the time. A further attempt in 1883 came up against British resistance, and a proposal put forward in 1975 foundered for lack of finance.

The Chunnel is composed of three tunnels: one for traffic bound for France, one for traffic bound for Great Britain and a smaller service tunnel which connects the other two every 375m. Passenger trains and Le Shuttle are the only vehicles which drive through the tunnel.