INFRASTRUCTURE
Photograph taken during the initial construction phase of the Channel Tunnel at Shakespeare Cliff , Dover in 1988
buildings and more , taking the opening date to May 6 1994 .
Record-breaking Not just the time-scale impressed . The tunnel has been recognised as the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century , and one of the seven wonders of the modern world .
Keefe said : “ For a combination of the scale of the engineering that went into it , the time it took to build and the economic impact it has had on its region , it is one of the most significant pieces of infrastructure built in the 20th century .
“ Thirteen-thousand people worked on the construction . The tunnelling in total distance is 150km , done in six years . The UK terminals are 150 hectares and in France 650 hectares plus 100 hectares of development land used for commercial zones .
“ It uses continental high-speed rail technology , an overhead catenary power supply of 25,000 volts and an automatic train protection system , so instead of using signals it is all automated and controlled from duplicated control centres in the UK and France .”
Reliability is another standout
12 July 2014