The Channel Tunnel (French: Le tunnel sous la Manche), known coloquially as the Chunnel, is a 50.5 km (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent near Dover in the UK with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is 75 m (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 km (23.5 mi), the Channel Tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world although th...
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The Channel Tunnel (French: Le tunnel sous la Manche), known coloquially as the Chunnel, is a 50.5 km (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent near Dover in the UK with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is 75 m (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 km (23.5 mi), the Channel Tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world although the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is both longer overall, at 53.85 km (33.46 mi) and deeper, at 240 m (790 ft).
The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, Eurotunnel roll-on/roll-off vehicle transport - the largest in the world - and international rail freight trains. In 1996 the American Society of Civil Engineers identified the tunnel as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Ideas for a cross-Channel fixed link existed as early as 1802, but British political and press pressure over compromised national security stalled attempts...
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