Channel Tunnel facts for kids
The Channel Tunnel, often called the Chunnel, is a super long underwater tunnel that connects England and France. It runs right under the English Channel at a narrow part called the Strait of Dover. This amazing tunnel is only for trains.
Some trains in the Channel Tunnel carry freight, which means goods and even automobiles. Other trains, like the famous Eurostar, carry only passengers. The tunnel, which was once known as the Eurotunnel, opened in 1994. It is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) long. At its deepest point, it goes down 75 meters (250 feet) below the surface. The Channel Tunnel connects Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom to Calais in northern France. Thanks to this tunnel, travel time between big cities like London and Paris is now just over two hours if you take a high-speed train.
Images for kids
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Albert Mathieu-Favier's plans for a coach service through the channel as of 1802 containing huge ventilation chimneys
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Thomé de Gamond's plan of 1856 for a cross-Channel link, with a port/airshaft on the Varne sandbank mid-Channel
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American cartoon (c. 1885) depicting fears of the Channel Tunnel: One of the strongest opponents of the Channel Tunnel, General Wolseley riding on the fleeing lion.
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One of the southern tunnel boring machines
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Class 319 EMUs ran excursions trips into the tunnel from Sandling railway station on 7 May 1994, the first passenger trains to go through the Channel Tunnel
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The Channel Tunnel exhibit at the National Railway Museum in York, England, showing the circular cross section of the tunnel with the overhead line powering a Eurostar train. Also visible is the segmented tunnel lining
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Interior of the Eurotunnel Shuttle, used to carry motor vehicles through the Channel Tunnel. These are the largest railway wagons in the world.
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The British terminal at Cheriton in west Folkestone. The terminal services shuttle trains that carry vehicles, and is linked to the M20 motorway
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The 2003 Folkestone White Horse viewed at Cheriton terminal
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Car being driven onto a shuttle carriage at the French terminal in Coquelles
See also
In Spanish: Eurotúnel para niños
