The Chunnel

The Chunnel starts at England and France. It has 2 single tracks. It was built in 1994. The idea of the chunnel started at 1802. Proposals for a fixed link across the English Channel go back to Albert Mathieu's 1802 plan involving horse-drawn carts and an artificial mid-Channel island. For over 150 years, British political and press pressure over compromised national security stalled attempts to construct a tunnel. In 1974, French and UK government-funded construction commenced on both sides of the Channel, but the project was cancelled by the UK government over financial concerns. In 1985, the UK and French governments invited submissions for a fixed link. Eurotunnel, a group of ten construction companies and five banks, was awarded the project, a triple-bore railway tunnel based on the 1974 attempt. Tunnelling commenced in 1988, and the tunnel began operating in 1994. In 1985 prices, the total construction cost wasf4million (£10,153 million inflation-adjusted to 2007)4, an 80% cost overrun. At the peak of construction 15,000 people were employed with daily expenditure over £3 million5] Ten workers died during construction between 1987 and 1993, the majority being killed in the first few months of boring. Of the 10 deaths, 8 were British workers.