Tunnel under the Lamanese car. Railway tunnel near Lamene. Not so scolding tunnel

21.06.2021 Diet

In recent months, this object has again found itself in news agencies news agencies. For thousands of refugees, who left their historic homeland in search of a new happiness, he became a mandatory part in many ways of an insurmountable road to the land promised. In 1994, a tunnel was solemnly opened under the strait of La Mans, which connected the UK with continental Europe. The long-awaited superproekt, talking about which began in the XIX century, was finally implemented. Why now, after 21 years, they say everything with great disappointment? Onliner.by tells how after decades overcoming mutual distrust of the chief infrastructure project of the 1980s turned into a headache source for European powers.

In 1802, Mountain Engineer Albert Mathie Favye sent a letter to the first consul of the French Republic Napoleon Bonaparte. In the document, the inventor proposed a project to the future emperor, from which one probably captured the Spirit: to connect France and the UK to the tunnel. For the era, when the court monarchs in the wigs were shocked by the revolutionary rampant of the crowd's blood, it was really something awesome, although now the Mathieu-Fawye project and looks naive. The engineer offered to proceed under La Mansha Tunnel, according to which the strait in the future would be able to cross the horse crews. In this case, the ventilation was carried out through the pipes derived on the surface of the water, and the object should be covered with oil lamps.

Of course, nothing then did not come out. Relations between France and Great Britain and during this period was difficult to be called friendly, and in May 1803, another war began between the countries.

The next attempt was taken after half a century. In 1857, another Frenchman Tome de Gamond introduced his tunnel project through the strait. His scheme was fundamentally different from the proposal of the early century. By this time, the steam locomotives were already might and main the expanses of Europe, and the tunnel of Hammond was originally designed for the railway movement: the era of horse crews went down in history.

A two-way structure was covered with already gas lamps, and the problem of ventilation, especially currently actual when using steam locomotives, was solved with the help of the artificial island created at about the middle of the path. The international port was organized here.

British premiere of Palmeston Viscount, the French offer indignant. "What? You still dare to ask money for business, whose goal is to reduce the distance, as we think, and without that too short? " - Lord said, thereby designating the main problem that was standing in front of the project. The question was not at all in technological problems (humanity has already learned how to build tunnels, although not so long) and not even in financing. British politicians continued to consider the geographical isolation of the kingdom as its most important strategic advantage over neighbors, and a possible tunnel under La Mansha - as a direct and explicit threat to it.

And nevertheless, another decade with a small first practical steps on the construction of the facility who did not allow the engineers of the object was still undertaken. The impetus to this was the potential common enemy, which appeared in the UK and France. Germany finally united into a single state and turned into a powerful player of pan-European policy. In early 1870, France lost to her and was interested in a serious ally, a natural candidate for whose role and was the United Kingdom.

In 1880, experts began the construction of test tunnels on both shores of the Strait, and for this, the first steam drilling machines, predecessors of modern tunnel-procetral shields have already been used. For three years, almost four kilometers managed to break through, and although it did not reach the actual underwater part, this experience confirmed the principal possibility of erecting such an object.

The continuation of the work again prevented geopolitics. By 1883, France again faced the Great Britain in and African colonies. In British society, new concerns appeared regarding the use of a tunnel under the promising conflict with the continent. The engineers immediately proposed to provide in its design a special mechanism for flooding the object, but politicians were inexorab: construction was frozen again, this time in almost a century.

Because of the too turbulent events of the first half of the 20th century, another return to the old topic occurred in the mid-1970s, but the economic crisis covered Europe postponed practical implementation until 1987. During this time, state figures and engineering and technical workers finally agreed on two fundamental things: first, after 185 years after the appearance of the idea, she was told to her decisive "yes", and secondly, they decided on the final scheme of the object.

Four options were seriously considered, each of which was supposed to perform the same function - to combine the island and the continent with a convenient transport link. The first (and most expensive) project was "Euro-", an amazing building, which was, in fact, a multi-level car overpass enclosed in a pipe, suspended on a height of 70 meters above the surface of La Mansha. The estimated cost of the structure was £ 5.9 billion.

The second option was the so-called Euroroute ("European" or "Euromarskut"), a set of several bridges and tunnels connected by artificial islands fastened in the strait. In addition to the high budget (£ 5 billion), such a scheme created great problems for shipping.

The third offer is called Channel Expressway ("highway through the channel") - provided for the construction of one large tunnel for alternate movement of cars and trains. It was much cheaper ("total" £ 2 billion), but probably caused serious logistics problems associated with the separation of railway and car flows.

Finally, the fourth project and turned out to be the variant that combined the relative ease of implementation with the budget acceptable for interested states. According to the concept, called "Eurotonnel", through La Mans was supposed to be paved in the fact of three separate tunnels. Two basic (7.6 meters diameter) were designed for railway traffic. Between them is the so-called "tunnel of the message" with a diameter of 4.8 meters and intended for the maintenance of the entire object and evacuation of passengers in case of emergencies.

Every 375 meters, the main tunnels were connected to service special passages, and air ducts were laid over the entire system, reduced pressure during the passage of high-speed trains and eliminated the "Piston Effect".

The length of the structure at the same time amounted to 51 kilometers, 39 of them accounted for the underwater part under La Mansha. Under the ground, a couple of travelings were arranged, allowing the compositions of the movement if necessary.

Construction work was significantly facilitated and reduced to relatively favorable geological conditions in which there was a penetration. Almost all of its entire length of Eurotonnel is located in the chalk layer, which, on the one hand, was relatively soft, on the other - sustainable, and with the third one in itself provided good waterproofing. At the same time, a total of 11 tunnel projects worked on the construction complex, which made it possible to finish drilling work quite quickly. The penetration began in December 1987, and exactly three years old, on December 1, 1990, the British were able to shake hands to the French at a depth of 40 meters from the bottom of La Manha.

At the disposal of builders during this period there were 8 million cubic meters of rock. The French chose to mix their half with water and pour away the resulting pulp back to the strait, the British ordered a little more economically. At his coast, they poured an artificial cape, which formed the Samphire Hoe Park. Now more than 100 thousand people arrive at the Flor and Fauna of the "traditional chalk meadow" every year.

Of course, the actual penetration of tunnels was only part of a large-scale work. Both exits from the object - English and French - large cargo-passenger stationary complexes were erected. The creation of them and a variety of engineering networks stretched over three and a half years. The solemn discovery of Eurotonnel took place only in May 1994, two years later later than the scheduled period. 13 thousand miners, engineers and other specialists coped with the task of once hitting Napoleon I, for seven years.

What someone dream about and what someone was afraid, was accomplished. Between London on the one hand and Paris and Brussels, passenger trains began to walk on the other. Getting from the British capital to French was perhaps only 2 hours 15 minutes. It was no longer necessary to make transplants to the ferry and fight maritime disease, although surprisingly the ferry transportation industry with the launch of Eurotonnel did not die: traffic, passenger and freight, turned out to be too large, and the bandwidth of the tunnel is not limitless.

Eurotonnel use four types of trains. First of all, it is high-speed passenger TGV EUROSTAR, running between the London Saint Pancras station, the Paris Northern Station and the MIDI / ZUID station in Brussels with several intermediate stops. In the tunnel, this train comes at a speed of 160 km / h, overcoming it in 20 minutes, and on the surface due to the modern infrastructure, its speed reaches 300 km / h.

In addition to TGV Eurostar and ordinary freight trains, passenger and freight Eurotunnel shuttle walk on the Eurotonnel line. The first are intended for the transport of passenger cars, vans and buses in closed cars between the station terminals at the exits, the second - trucks in open wagons. At the same time, people do not leave their cars in the passenger "shuttles".

The holiday of the long-awaited project is rapidly over. Began boring and largely disappointing weekdays of its operation. In the first year, shareholders and the GROUPE Eurotunnel leadership were calculated to transport about 16 million passengers. Reality turned out to be more prose: only 3 million people took advantage of the company's services. In the future, this figure gradually grew, but last year, Eurostar and Eurotunnel Shuttle trains transported only 10.4 million passengers.

At the same time, an object in £ 4.65 billion, the amount, which turned out to be 80% higher than the calculated one. On the first annual profit, Eurotonnel was able to report only 14 years after the start of his work: in 2008, the joint venture announced net profit of $ 1.6 million, and then due to the restructuring of his debts. In the future, profitable years continued to alternate with unprofitable, but in any case there is no speech on the payback of the construction in the foreseeable future. In fact, from the point of view of the financial indicators "Eurotonnel" became. However, the strategic value of the object is difficult to overestimate.

The passenger message under the ground could have tied the island with continental Europe even about 200 years before, but the British authorities have consistently braked the project, fearing the military invasion. For this imaginary, as he believed, the threat of politicians was mercilessly criticized by the writer Arthur Conan Doyle, who dreamed of the construction of the tunnel.

On May 6, 1994, Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitteran solemnly opened Eurotonnel - railway tunnel 50,450 m long, of which 39 km were laid under the bottom of the La Mans. Construction of a unique transport artery that connected Britain with continental Europe, took seven years. At the construction of the object, 13 thousand workers and engineers were involved. Eurotonnel is the longest underwater and international tunnel. The American construction engineers society considers the object with one of the modern miracles of the world. This organization included Eurotonnell among the 10 most significant construction facilities of the century as the best railway transport communication.

The need for an alternative to the seabed between the powers first arose about 200 years before the practical implementation of the project, when passenger, commodity and other transportations have reached serious volumes.

One of the first idea of \u200b\u200bthe construction of a tunnel under the strait was expressed in 1802 by the French engineer Albert Mathie Favye.

He offered to illuminate the underground sleeve with oil lamps and run equestrian crews on it. The project found approval from Napoleon, who offered the British immediately begin to earthworks. Superchambicious at that time, the idea threw the beginning of the war of the third coalition.

In the middle of the XIX century, the French have repeatedly returned to the idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding a tunnel. However, the British looked at a similar perspective with a big doubt, fearing the threat of invasion of their island underground. Another barrier every time financial difficulties became. The first practical steps to implement the "Project of the Century" were undertaken only in 1881, when geologists conducted the necessary surveys and drilling machines began to dig a tunnel from two sides.

However, after two years, work stopped. The British had time to break through 2026 meters, the French - 1829.

And as if engineers of both countries did not seek to realize their professional skills and make a real breakthrough in the field of tuning, the Government of Great Britain threw their ambitious plans, declaring a tunnel "Under the security of the security of the island". The events of the First World War allowed the official London to believe in their own right.

One of the convinced supporters of the tunnel was the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle. In his open letter called "On the project of construction of a tunnel under the strait," published in 1916 in one of the newspapers, the "father" of Sherlock Holmes subjected to the tough criticism of the project opponents and stated the need to keep up with the times, including in the technological Plan.

"They say, nations have to pay for sins, but stupidity costs them more expensive. We deserve piles and we, because by unbriges abandoned the obviously advantageous enterprise, allowing you to intimidate yourself with a ridiculous threat of an enemy invasion through a 26 miles long rabbit. Truly stupidity, the people found here the highest limit. Since the day, the likelihood of war with Germany increased, I sent three different appeals - to the Military Office, to Admiralty and the Council of National Defense, which has proven the enormous importance of the presence of such a tunnel for the state defense capability.

Prevagulating the threat from the submarine, I showed how it would eliminate its tunnel.

I argued that since our communication lines were not afraid of our communication lines, a significant part of the fleet (not to mention the conversion ships) will be possible to fulfill other tasks. Our today's deficiency tonnage is largely due to the fact that it was not possible to do this. I do not know how much tens of millions of pounds would be saved if at least one of the three mentioned institutions met my arguments with sympathy. After all, we had the opportunity to build a tunnel before the start of the war. Now, when it became clear that the only wave of the poisonous gas flew into the tunnel would destroy the whole enemy army there, it remains to hope that the ridiculous horrors that scared us will dismiss themselves and at the end of hostilities, common sense in solving this issue finally then enthusiasm. "

Nevertheless, supporters of the tunnel did not give up. Until 1945, they were proposed about 300 new projects for connecting two coasts. Among them were not only underground tunnels, but also bridges, and combinations of bridges with a tunnel. So, in 1922, the Strait revealed equipment for drilling. However, and then politics intervened. Further 128 meters the next attempt did not go.

Only after World War II on the island was convinced that a military threat from the continent no longer exists.

In 1963, the United Kingdom and France announced the achievement of a fundamental agreement on the construction of a tunnel under the La Mansha.

The beginning of the work has long been postponed. There were still a sufficient weight of the voices of skeptics who were scared by terrible accidents underground and other hazards. Only in 1986 the document was signed on the joint implementation of the project. He provided for a gasket in a chalk geological layer - rather easy for the penetration and at the same time a waterproof breed at a depth of 40 m under the bottom of the Strait. It was decided to join the tunnel City of Calais from the French side and Foxton with British. DUVR, in which, for many centuries, ships were moored from France, remained aside from the new transport artery.

The historical agreement in the solemn atmosphere ratified the Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher and French President Mitteran.

His arrival in Kentersbury, by the way, was accompanied by protests with throwing eggs and slogans "Floor, get out home!"

The British began laying on its territory on December 15, 1987, having previously calculated the trajectory using satellite observatory. The French started drilling 2.5 months later, since the layer of blue chalk in their area of \u200b\u200bresponsibility went deep into depth. At the same time, the digging was engaged in up to 11 cars with a length of 250-300 m and weighing 1-2.5 tons. Each team served from 40 specialists. From the French side, where we had to deal with floating, the cars were sealed as submarines. In the head part there was a rotating disk with a diameter of 8 m and a rotation frequency of 2-3 about. / min. Tungsten cutters crushed the breed.

The bucket loaded it on the conveyor, which sent the destroyed soil on the cargo train - and he already extended the material to the surface.

In total, more than 8 million m³ of soil were extracted from under La Mans. The French mixed their part of the earth with water and poured it into the sea, and the British formed an artificial Cape Shakespeare with an exported soil with an area of \u200b\u200b0.36 km², which later equipped the park.

Depending on the conditions, the passage cars were moved at a speed of up to 300 m per week. Every 1.5 m, the tunnel walls were strengthened with high-strength reinforced concrete segments. Six fragments made a single ring.

On December 1, 1990, the builders of the two countries - the Briton Graham Fagg and the Frenchman Philip Kozett - met in the outlined point at a depth of 40 m under the bottom of La Mans 22.3 km from the United Kingdom and 15.6 km from France.

The last meters of the tunnel of the British and the French were manually trained with the help of a milestone and shovel.

Eurotonnel consists of three tunnels - two main, having a rail route for trains next to the north and south, and one small service tunnel. The distance between them is 30 m. A service tunnel every 375 m has passes that combine it with the main. Each 250 m, both main tunnels are connected to each other by the ventilation system located on top of the service tunnel. This aircraft system allows you to reduce the piston effect, formed by moving trains, distributing air flow into the adjacent tunnel.

Daily EurotonNely run four types of trains - passenger high-speed, shuttle "shuttles" for the transport of passengers, cars and buses, shuttles for transportation of trucks and their drivers, as well as cargo trains. Every year, about 8-9 million passengers move through an underground corridor, more than 2 million passenger cars are transported, over 1 million trucks and up to 100 thousand buses. The tunnel allows you to get from Paris to London in 2 hours 15 minutes.

The tunnel of the train of various companies overcome in 20-35 minutes.

At the same time, the tunnel has not yet paid off. According to Bloomberg, the estimation exceeded the initial cost twice and amounted to 9.5 billion pounds of sterling, and in the first year of operation of the loss tunnel amounted to 925 million

Eurotonnel Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel Le Shuttle) provides railway communication between Great Britain and France. Time on the way from Falkstone to Kale takes only 35 minutes - the fastest way to get from the UK to France by car.

The departure of the Eurotunnel trains is very frequent, up to 4 shipments per hour (at peak hours).

The minimum time on the way, the lack of luggage restrictions, a flexible schedule, the ability to reserve a ticket for 11 months before the trip turn the intersection through Eurotonnell to a lightweight and convenient way to get to the continent.

Registration usually begins 45 minutes before the sentiment, and passengers have enough time to pass to ensure security, visit the toilet and use the services of restaurants, ATMs, currency exchange offices, 24-hour information center. There is a special zone for walking four-legged pets.

The English terminal of Eurotonnel is located near the city of Falkstone, with a convenient departure through Knot 11a on the M20 motorway with which you can get to anywhere in England. The French terminal is located next to the city of Kale with a convenient departure to the A16 motorway through the knot 42. A trip from London to Paris through Eurotonnel takes about 6 hours by car.

The idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding a tunnel under La Mansha was first announced in 1802, but real projects began to be developed only in the 80s of the last century. One of the rejected projects assumed the construction of a 4.5 km long bridge. Finally, in 1988, the construction of Eurotunnel Le Shuttle began.

How was it built? 11 drill vehicles, each weighing 1100 tons, moved daily by 250 feet. From the rock raised as a result of drilling in the English side, an artificial cape of 90 acres was formed at the British shore. Trains 775 m long, run through the tunnel, transport cars and buses.

Eurotonnel with a length of 50.5 km and a medium depth of 50 m - the pride of engineering skill of the UK. The project cost is £ 9.5 billion, in which more than 13 thousand workers from France and the UK were employed, was completed five years after the start of construction. On May 6, 1994, Eurotonnel was solemnly opened by the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II and President France Francois Mitteran.

Offers and trying

In 1955, the arguments about the need to protect the country seemed insignificant due to the development of air vehicles. British and French governments supported technical and geological research.

Construction work began on both banks in 1974, two tunnels were provided, one of them is official, where suburban cars could ride. In January 1975, the British government closed the project to disappointment of French partners. The fact is that the Workers' Party (Labour Party) came to power with doubts about the entrance to the EU, the growing cost of the project (up to 200%) and with problems in the national economy. By that time, the British TBM company was ready for work, and the Ministry of Transport (Ministry of Transport) to finance 300 experimental meters. However, representatives of the British side soon refused this short tunnel.

In 1979, "Mouse-How" project ("Mouse-Hole Project") was proposed for consideration by the Conservative Party, which came to power in the UK. His concept is the only railway tunnel with a service tunnel, but without terminals at the exit. The British government announced that it was not interested in this project, but the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reported that if this project would be private, no questions would arise. In 1981, the British and French leaders Margaret Thatcher and Francois Mitterrand agreed on the creation of the Working Group within the private project and in April 1985 passed the process of consideration of the future tunnel scheme. For consideration were presented:

Railway plan, compiled on the basis of the 1975 project, Channel Tunnel Group (France-Manche), abbreviated CTG / F-M
EuroBridge (EuroBridge) - a bridge of a long 4.5 km in the form of a pipe
Europe (Euroroute) - a tunnel of a long 21 km between artificial islands, which, in turn, was planned to get on bridges
Channel ExpressWay - a wide tunnel with ventilation towers in the middle of the channel.

Protesters united in a company called "Flexilink" ("Flexilink"). In 1975, no protest campaign was organized, the state owner was made by one of the largest railway companies - Silink / Sealink. Flexilink continued opposition actions in 1986-1987. At the same time, public opinion unanimously supported the project, but security issues, in particular, of various incidents, caused fear, which led to a reduction in the list of candidates to work on the project to the only CTG / F-M company.

Organization

Channel Tunnel Group (Channel Tunnel Group) includes two banks and five construction companies, part of its French colleague, France-Mans, - three banks and five construction companies. The role of banks is to give advice on financing and ensure safe loans. On July 2, 1985, the groups were united as Channel Tunnel Group / Frans-Mans (Channel Tunnel Group / France-Manche, CTG / F-M). Their project was founded on the plans of 1975, and also covered the ecological side of the project.

The design and design were fully fulfilled by ten construction companies CTG / F-M. The French terminal and the Sangeite plot were equipped with five French construction companies united in the Gie Transmanche Construction (Gie Transmanche Construction) group (GIE TRANSMANCHE CONSTRUCTION). English Terminal and Plot to Shakespeare's Rock were implemented by five English construction companies within TRANKSLink Joint Venture (TRANKSLINK JOINT VENTURE). Two companions were connected by Transmans Link (TML), the Franco-English Organization. Madre d'Oeuvre) is an engineering company hired by Eurotonnell to monitor the development of the project and draw up reports to governments and banks.

In France, with a long tradition of investing in infrastructure, the project received widespread approval and in April 1987. The French National Assembly financed the project, and then the Senate was doing the same thing in June 1987. In the UK, special committees studied offering outside Westminster, in Kent. In February 1987, the third reading was held on the project of the La Mans tunnel and it was approved by 94 votes against 22 who spoke against. The act of a tunnel of La Mans (Channel Tunnel Act) became British law in July. Boot The La Mans Tunnel Project was accepted. TML will build and issue a tunnel, but financing was carried out through a separately registered organization: Eurotonnel. CTG / F-M entered the Eurotonnel and signed a contract with TML; However, the British and French governments controlled the work of work and the level of security of the process. The British and French government issued the Eurotonnnel 55- (later 65-) Summer loan to pay a debt and pay dividends. Railway Use of the Railway (Railway Usage Agreement) was signed between the Eurotonnell, British Railways (British Rail) and the National Community of French Railways (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), guaranteeing future income in exchange for railways that took half tunnel .

Private investments have reached an unprecedented scope. The initial amount of £ 45 million, the collected CTG / F-M increased by £ 206 counted for private revenues, another £ 770 million was added after the press and television is connected, the Syndicate bank organized a loan at £ 5 million. In general, all private investments at 1985 were £ 2,600 million. By 1994, costs in 1985 were £ 4650, or 80% more. Partially it happened due to problems with improving the level of security and environmental requirements. The final amount exceeded the scheduled amount by 140%.

Progress

Eurotonnell graduated from the project on time, the tunnel was opened by the Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitteranda in Kale on May 6, 1994 Queen drove on the tunnel in Kale on the Eurostar train, who got his nose to the nose with the President Mitterrnd from Paris. According to the ceremony, President Mitterand and Queen traveled to Le Shuttle at the same event in Folkstone. Channel Tunnel Rail Link (The Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Ctrl), today called high-speed path 1 (High Speed \u200b\u200b1), extends 111 km from St Pancras railway station (St Pancras) in London to Channel Tunnel (Channel Tunnel) in Filkstone in Kent. Its cost is £ 5.8 million. On September 16, 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair opened the first section of the high-speed path 1, from Folkstone to the Northern Kent. On November 6, 2007, the Queen officially opened the speed path 1 at the International Station in St. Pancras, replacing the usual railway line to the International Waterloo station. In the speed line of 1 trains run at speeds up to 300 km / h, the trip from London to Paris takes 2 hours 15 minutes, and from London to Brussels - 1 hour 51 minutes.

Use and flights

The number of passengers and cargo transported is increasing annually. The number of cargo flights fell in 1996-1997. Because of the fire in November 1996, the British Terminal in Cheriton (Ceriton) in West Folkstone. Terminal services are associated with the M20 motorway. White Horse (White Horse) in Folkstone - the last thing you see passengers in England, who, sitting on the train in Cheriton. Services offered by the tunnel:

Eurotonnel Shuttle / Eurotunnel Shuttle (Original Le Shatle / Le Shuttle) - Road for Rolker
Passenger train Eurostar
Cargo trains

Traffic both on freight and passenger flights was originally overvalued, although Eurotonnel carefully calculated the future commissions. Although traffic in the canal zones (near the sea and air) was predicted correctly, high competition and reduced traffic led to less high income. IN

Passenger traffic

The peak of passenger traffic at 18.4 million fell in 1998, then fell to 14.9 million in 2003 and again rose to 16.1 million in 2008. When it was decided to build a tunnel, it was assumed that 15.9 million passengers would take advantage of Eurostar trains in the first year After opening. In 1995 - in the first full year - the number of passengers exceeded 2.9 million, by 2000, reaching a mark of 7.1 million and again decreased to 6.3 million in 2003. However, Eurostar was also limited due to lack of high-speed roads In Great Britain. After opening a high-speed path 1 (initially CTRL) to London with two stages - in 2003 and 2007. - Traffic has increased again. In 2008, Eurostar transported 9,113,371 passengers on the La Mans tunnel, 10% more than last year, even despite the fire of 2008.

Volume of freight traffic

The volume of freight traffic is unstable, in 1997 he sharply falls due to a fire on the cargo train. Since then, the volume is growing, the tunnel has proved its competitiveness with the sea. Now the volume of traffic almost coincides with the predictions of the Eurotonnel in the 1980s., However, the calculations of 1990 and 1994. turned out to be overestimated. For the first year for freight trains, the volume of traffic should be 7.2 million tons, but in 1995 this figure ran at 1.3 million tons. The maximum shipping volume was registered in 1998 - 3.1 million tons. However, due to unsolved problems, this figure returned to 1.21 million tons in 2007, adding a little by 2008 to 1.24 million tons. However, taking into account the suburban freight flights, a gradual and constant increase in traffic can be traced, from 6.4 million tons in 1995, up to 18.4 million tons in 2003 and 19.6 million tons in 2007. The subsidiary of Eurotonnel - Europort 2 (Europorte 2). In September 2006, EWS, the largest British railway operator, announced the termination of Franco-British government subsidies in the amount of £ 52 million to cover the "minimum cost" ("Minimum User Charge") of the La Mans tunnel (subsidy about £ 13,000 for Train at 4,000 trains a year), from November 30, cargo trains will stop their flights.

Economic atmosphere

Eurotonnel shares were released at a price of £ 3.50 per piece December 9, 1987. By the mid-1989, their price rose to £ 11.00. Delays and excess of the planned value of the object "dropped" the value of shares; During the demonstrations in October 1994, the stock price reached its smallen meaning. Eurotonnel delayed payments in September 1995, fearing bankruptcy. In December 1997, the British and French governments increased the loan period of 34 to 2086. Financial restructuring of Eurotonnel in mid-1998 reduced the debt and financial burden. However, despite the restructuring of the newspaper, the economist (The Economist) in 1998 stated that the EurotonNely would have to increase prices, traffic and number of shares to survive this period. Analysis of expenses and profits from the La Mans tunnel showed that the British economy felt better if the tunnel was not built. Within the same project, Eurotonnel was obliged to explore the possibility of building an additional tunnel. In December 1999, the project of the usual and the anda-railway tunnel was presented to British and French governments, however, it was decided that the project did not meet the requirements for the second tunnel. A tripartite agreement between the United Kingdom, France and Belgium determined the boundaries and zones where certain responsibilities of representatives of other countries can perform. For greater convenience, these powers are distributed from the ends of the tunnel, for example, the French post from the British departure from the tunnel and the British post - in French. For some trains, the train itself is a control zone. Franco-English emergency plan coordinates the actions of the British and French services.

Fires

In the tunnel, fires took place three times, because of which it had to close it, all cases occurred in heavy cargo trains.

1996

On November 18, 1996 there was a fire in the cargo car, but no one seriously suffered. The exact reason is unknown, but the accident occurred not because of the equipment of Eurotonnel or problems with rails; Perhaps the reason became arson. It is estimated that the temperature reached 1,000 ° C (1,800 ° F) during the fire, the tunnel was partially damaged on a stretch of 46 meters long (151 ft), a plot of 500 meters was also damaged to some extent. All flights resumed in full six months after the fire.

2006

The tunnel was closed for several hours on August 21, 2006, when the contents of one of the freight trains were torn.

2008

September 11, 2008 Fire in Tunnel La Mans began at 13:57 GMT. The incident occurred on a cargo train, heading to France, 11 kilometers from French departure from the tunnel. No one was killed, but several people affected by suffocation were delivered to the hospital and with minor injuries. The tunnel was closed for all traffic, unprincipled southern tunnel (South Tunnel) opened two days later. February 9, 2009 Repair was estimated at € 60 million.

Influence on regions

The report of the European Commission of 1996 said that Kent and North Kale could face a significant increase in traffic as a result of traffic growth in the tunnel. In Kent, the high-speed railway is designed to resolve this problem. The regional development of the Kent is accelerated by the proximity of the tunnel, but limited due to the proximity to London. It wins mostly the traditional industry and in general this benefit depends on the development of the international passenger station in Asford, without which Kent would be gradually in the territory of the growing London. Nord-Pa-de-Calais (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) enjoys the most powerful effect caused by the proximity of the tunnel, thanks to which there was a big horse racing in the producing industry. Getting rid of traffic jams with such projects such as the La Mans tunnel does not necessarily lead to the economic benefit of nearby regions, the fact that there are high-speed transport in these regions, and they are actively involved in political activities - much more important for their development. The south-west of England, most likely wins evolutionary and socially due to the proximity of fast and cheaper transport to continental Europe, but this benefit is characteristic only for some areas of the region. In general, the ecological influence of the tunnel is negative. Five years after the opening of the tunnel, the effect on the economy was almost never felt, therefore it is difficult to associate serious changes with the advent of the tunnel.

Bums and immigrants

Illegal immigrants and roof seekers over their heads used tunnel to get into Britain. By 1997, the problem attracted the attention of the international press and the French Red Cross (French Red Cross) opened a center for immigrants to Santgate in 1999, using a warehouse that existed during the construction of the tunnel; By 2002, he accompanied up to 1500 people at the same time, most of them tried to get to the UK. On the one hand, most of them arrived from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, but also presented, albeit at least Africa and Eastern Europe. Most of those who arrived here were traveled on the cargo train, and the rest on Eurostar trains. Although the tunnel is guarded and it was believed that it is impossible to penetrate there, the emigrants even jumped from the bridges on moving trains. In several cases, people suffered during their travel through the tunnel; Others hid among the equipment, causing delays and sometimes even repairs. Eurotonnel said that he loses £ 5 million per month due to these problems. Dozen emigrants died, trying to get through the tunnel. In 2001 and 2002 In the course of several demonstrations, the Group of emigrants broke through to Sagit (up to 550 in December 2001), they attacked fences and tried to crawl through the entire mass. Immigrants also arrived as Eurostar passengers, but without identity documents. Local authorities in France and in the UK were called on to close Sangeit, Eurotonnel received twice received a prescription. The United Kingdom accused France in the insufficient security of Sangate, and France is UK - in not enough strict laws for immigrants. This caused other problems, including the detention of journalists. In 2002, after the European Commission did not declare France that it violates the EU facilities, allowing free transportation of goods, and calling delays and closing the result of insufficient protection, the double fence was built for £ 5 million, having reduced the number of emigrants from 250 per week Almost to zero. Among other measures - CCTV cameras and elevated police patrols. At the end of 2002, the Sangeite Center closed after the United Kingdom agreed to accept some emigrants.

Engineering

The service tunnel uses the service tunnel transport system (Service Tunnel Transport System, STTS) and light service tunnel vehicles, Ladogs. Fireguard was a separate aspect for criticism. Between entry in Bessingue and Castle Hill (Castle Hill) The length of the tunnel is 50.5 km (31 miles), of which 3.3 km under the earth on the French side, 9.3 km under the ground in the British side and 37 , 9 km under water. Thus, the Tunnel of La Mans is the second railway tunnel in the world, after the Sisan Tunnel (Seikan Tunnel) in Japan, but the longest underwater plot is still in La Mansha. The average depth of 45 meters from the bottom of the sea. On the British side of 5 million cubic meters (6.5 * 106 cubic yards) of dug-out Earth 1 million cubic meters was used when building a terminal, the residues were removed to the Shakespeare Rock for Dambia, taking 30 hectares of the Earth. In the consequence, this land was used for the Samphire Hoe Country Park City Park. The environmental situation did not create risks for the project, subsequent study of safety, noise level and air pollution were positive. However, the high-speed line from the tunnel to London affected the environmental situation.

Research

Measurements of the depth of the Strait of Tome de Gumondom in 1833-1867. It was shown that the maximum indicator is 55 meters, and below are geological layers. Studies continued for many years with 166 marine and 70 earth drilling wells and 4000 km of the studied seabed. Studies were taken in 1958-1959., 1964-1965, 1972-1974. and 1986-1988 Research in 1958-1959. I demanded the attraction of the subway and the bridge, as well as the proofled area, the whole zone was research. At this time, marine geological studies for engineering projects were only born, there were no seismic devices. Research 1964-1965. It was concentrated in the north in the English shore at the Buli Bay (Dover), 70 drilling wells were done in solid as a rock of the earth in the south of the Bay of Bridge. After preliminary results and difficulties with access, the territory was explored a little south in 1972-1973, where it was decided to lay a tunnel. Also, within the framework of this study, other information came, while he was not closed in 1975. On the French side of Sangate, a large mine with several galleries was made. On the English side of the Rock Shakespeare, the government was allowed to dig a tunnel with a diameter of 250 meters from 4.5 meters. The modern tunnel was designed in the same way as they tried to do in 1975 during the study in 1986-1997. It was found that 85% of the soil falls on chalk and limestone. For this, geophysical techniques from the oil industry were used.

Geology

For the successful implementation of the Tunnel Project under the channel, a clear understanding of geology and topography was needed, as well as proven building materials for trunnel finishing from the inside. Geological studies are mainly in the chalome layer, partly on the spurs of the mountains in Veldon and Boulogne. The following characteristics were given:

According to Westgan's observations in 1698, the slopes on both are presented with chalk rocks without significant changes
The slopes consist of four geological reservoirs, sea sedimentary rocks, who have seen 90-100 million years ago; The upper and medium chalk layers above the lower chalk layer and, finally, waterproof alumina. The sandy layer and glauconite limestone were found between the chalk layer and clay.
25-30 meter chalk limestone layer (French Craie Bleue) at the bottom of the chalk layer was recognized as the best place for laying the tunnel. The chalk contains 30-40% of clay, which makes it waterproof and at the same time easy for earthworks and powerful without excessive reference structures. Ideally, the tunnel was to be laid at a depth of 15 meters from the chalk limestone layer, allowing water to flow from the openings and ensuring the smallest number of joints, but over the clay pressure layer on the tunnel could increase, as well as fear of high humidity and unpleasant odor. On the English side of the channel, the bias is about 5 °, but in French - 20 °. Small shifts are present on both sides. On the English side of the bias are small, not more than meters. But on the French side, they reach 15 meters, to anticline folds. These displacements are limited in width, filled with calcium, pyrite and clay. The increasing tilt and some defects limited the choice of the path on the French side. To avoid engines of other soils, with the help of special equipment searched for places with chalk limestone soil. On the French side, especially next to the shore, the chalk was more hard and smaller than in the English side. Therefore, different techniques used on different shores.

During the studies, there was no significant risks, but the underwater valley of the Fosse Dangeried (Fosse Dangaered) and Castle Hill Hill (Castle Hill) should have been affected. In 1964-1965 Geophysical research of the Fosse Dungered showed that the length of the valley is 80 meters and it is located 500 meters south, approximately in the middle of the channel. The study of 1986 showed that underground rivers pass along the place where the tunnel was planned, so it was moved to the highest and north. The English terminal was supposed to take a seat on Castle Hill, which is a chalk layer, glauconic limestone and a malleable clay. This area has been strengthened at the expense of counterphorts and drainage galleries. The service tunnels were pilot projects before laying the main tunnels to know the geology in advance, the areas of destroyed rocks and the wet zones. Research samples were taken in service tunnels, including from above, from below and side of it.

Tunnel

A typical tunnel with a service tunnel between the two main railways. The connection of two railway tunnels shown in the diagram is represented by the piston necessary to control the pressure varying due to the movement of the trains. The tunnel between England and France was the largest project, not counting the tunnel of the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. The most serious risk to which any underwater tunnel is subject to the proximity of water and its pressure on the surface of the tunnel. The Tunnel of La Mans had its own problem: as they were mainly invested in the project mostly private companies and entrepreneurs, it was necessary to realize it as soon as possible and pay with the lender. The goal was to build: two railway tunnels with a diameter of 7.6 meters, 30 meters from each other, 50 km long; service tunnel with a diameter of 4.8 meters between two main tunnels; Pairs perpendicular tunnels with a diameter of 3.3 meters, connecting railway tunnels with a service tunnel in space in 375 meters; Auxiliary 2-meter pistons connecting railway tunnels every 250 meters; Two underwater caves associated with railway tunnels. The service tunnel has always been built at least 1 km faster to familiarize themselves with the composition of the soil, in the mining industry already had to lay tunnels through chalk soils. Underwater intersecting caves have become a serious engineering problem. The French cave was created according to the Maunt Biker Ridge Mount Tunnel in the United States.

The British cave was connected to the service tunnel before building the main to avoid delays. Prefabricated segmental attachments were used in TBM main engines, but in different ways in the French and English sides. On the French side, neoprene mounts made of reinforced cast iron or reinforced concrete were used. On the English side, preference was given to speed, and the segments were connected by bolts only there, where geology required. Eight fasteners and key segments were used in British tunnels, on the French side - five fasteners and a key segment. On the French side for descent, a 55-meter mine in Sangate with a diameter of 75 meters was used. On the English side, this platform was located 140 meters below the top of the Shakespeare Rock, here the new Austrian method of laying tunnels was first applied (New Austrian Tunnelling, NATM). On the English side, underground tunnels were laid from Shakespeare's Rock, as well as underwater, and not from Folkstone. The platform at the base of the cliff was not large enough, so the ground was placed behind the reinforced concrete dam, but provided that the chalk soils will be transferred to the closed lagoon to avoid spraying them. Because of the limited space, the Factory team was located on the Isle of Grayne (Isle Of Grain) in Estairia Thames. On the French side due to insufficient waterproof soil, TBM was used that put pressure on the mail.

TBM were hidden on the first 5 kilometers of the way, then they were open and rested in the chalk limestone soil. This minimized the pressure on the base of the tunnel and allowed us to maximize the flood safety. Such actions on the French side demanded the attraction of five TBM: two main marine machines, one main ground machine (engines allowed the machine to advance by 3 km in one direction, then change it and continue moving in another direction using another engine) and two machines in the service Tunnel.

The North and South Tunnels were completed, respectively, on May 22, 1991 and June 28, 1991. Followed the installation of equipment. On May 6, 1994, Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II (Elizabeth II) and French President Francois Mitteran (François Mitterrand) officially opened the tunnel.

Eurotonnel is a complex engineering structure, which includes two trunnel of circular outlines and an inner diameter of 7.6 meters located at a distance of 30 meters from each other, and located between them a service tunnel with a diameter of 4.8 meters.

The road from Paris to London takes two hours 15 minutes, and from Brussels to London - two hours. At the same time, in the tunnel itself, the train is not more than 35 minutes. Since 1994, EUROSTAR has transported more than 150 million passengers, and the last decade passenger traffic has steadily grew.

In 2014, EUROSTAR services used 10.4 million passengers.

The European Union has discarded the acquisition transaction by the French railway operator SNCF company EUROSTAR. After the completion of the transaction, SNCF will have to allow competing firms to make flights on the same routes.

Material prepared on the basis of RIA news and open sources