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Channel Tunnel

Three tunnels under the Strait of Dover between Folkestone and Coquelles, by Calais: two single-track railway tunnels and a smaller service tunnel between them. It is 50.5 km long, 37.9 km of it under the sea, and opened in 1994. Eurostar's trains, the Shuttles that carry cars, coaches and lorries, and freight trains run through it.

50.5 kmPortal to portal
37.9 kmUnder the sea
1994Opened
3Tunnels side by side

Facts

Opened
6 May 1994; passenger services from November 1994
Ends
Folkestone (Cheriton) in Kent and Coquelles, by Calais; the portals are at Castle Hill and Beussingue
Owner and operator
Getlink, through its Eurotunnel business, under a concession
Power
25 kV 50 Hz overhead; the contact wire 19 ft 5 in to 19 ft 9 in (5,922 to 6,030 mm) above the rail in the tunnel
Speed limit
160 km/h (99 mph)
Connects to
High Speed 1 in England (to London St Pancras) and the LGV Nord in France

unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓

Who uses it 3

Eurostar

High-speed passenger trains from St Pancras to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, over High Speed 1.

Trains: Class 374 (Eurostar e320), Class 373 (Eurostar e300)

LeShuttle

The Shuttles: trains that carry cars, coaches and lorries between the two terminals, hauled by Class 9 locomotives. They never leave the tunnel and its terminals.

Trains: Eurotunnel Class 9, Channel Tunnel Shuttle wagons

Freight

Through freight trains, mostly hauled by Class 92 electric locomotives.

Map

Folkestone terminal (Cheriton); UK portal at Castle Hill Shakespeare Cliff Samphire Hoe: English cooling station Sangatte French shaft and cooling station Coquelles terminal next to Calais English crossover cavern 8 km out (about 7 km, Geol. Soc.) French crossover cavern 12 km out English Channel ENGLAND FRANCE 10 km under the sea under land crossover cavern (not to scale) terminal or works

The crossing. The tunnel follows OpenStreetMap’s line of the north running tunnel; the south one is 98 ft (30 m) beside it. The crossover caverns are marked where the published distances put them, and their marks are far larger than the scale allows. Land from Natural Earth.

St Pancras International Stratford International Ebbsfleet International Ashford International Folkestone terminal Coquelles terminal Channel Tunnel ENGLAND FRANCE English Channel 50 km High Speed 1 (stations joined by straight lines; the real line curves) Channel Tunnel (real line)

London to Calais. High Speed 1 is drawn as straight lines between its stations: its real line curves. The Shuttles don’t use it: cars and lorries reach the terminals by road.

Along its length

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 kilometres from the English portal English portal Castle Hill, Cheriton Shakespeare Cliff 9.3 km under England English crossover 8 km out (Geol. Soc. 7) Lowest point ~13 km out French crossover 12 km off France French coast Sangatte shaft French portal 3.3 km under France under England under the sea: 37.9 km To scale along the bore (total 50.5 km). The vertical profile is not drawn: the sources read give a few depths, not a profile (148 ft (45 m) below the seabed leaving Kent, 115 ft (35 m) leaving France, lowest point 377 ft (115 m) below the sea surface).

Cross section

wire 19 ft 3 in (5.87 m) above the rail wire 19 ft 3 in (5.87 m) above the rail 98 ft (30 m) between the two running tunnels' centres (Wikipedia; see the note) 24 ft 11 in (7.6 m) inside diameter 24 ft 11 in (7.6 m) inside diameter RUNNING TUNNEL single track, one direction RUNNING TUNNEL single track, one direction SERVICE TUNNEL 15 ft 9 in (4.8 m) inside diameter kept at a higher air pressure than the running tunnels cross passage, 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m) every 1,230 ft (375 m; design spacing) piston relief duct: 6 ft 7 in (2 m) across, every 820 ft (250 m; design spacing) arches over the service tunnel and joins the two running tunnels Ground: West Melbury Marly Chalk (formerly Chalk Marl) flint-free, very low permeability; about 148 ft (45 m) below the seabed on average 16 ft 5 in (5 m) Schematic, to scale from the sourced diameters. Indicative: rail level, the height of the service tunnel and duct, and the lining (no thickness in the sources read). Cross passages are shown cut.

Schematic, to scale from the published inside diameters. The rail level, the heights of the service tunnel and the relief duct, and the lining are indicative. A Shuttle’s outline will be added once its width and height are found in a source.

Statistics 20

Headline

FigureValueNotes
Length, portal to portal50.5 kmWikipedia gives 50.46 km in one place, 50.5 km in another; Getlink's own page says 50.45 km. Rounding, not a conflict.
Under the sea37.9 kmThe longest undersea tunnel section in the world. 9.3 km under England, 3.3 km under France.
Deepest pointHeldWikipedia gives 246 ft (75 m) below sea level; the Geological Society gives 377 ft (115 m) below the sea surface, with 246 ft (75 m) of rock above the tunnel. Held until a primary source settles it.

Engineering

FigureValueNotes
Average depth below the seabed148 ft (45 m)Geological Society: 148 ft (45 m) leaving Kent, 115 ft (35 m) leaving France.
BoresTwo running tunnels, 24 ft 11 in (7.6 m); one service tunnel, 15 ft 9 in (4.8 m)Inside diameters. The running tunnels are 98 ft (30 m) apart.
Cross passages270 (every 1,230 ft (375 m) by design)One every 1,230 ft (375 m) by design, joining each running tunnel to the service tunnel: 135 places along 50.5 km, two passages at each. Design diameter 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m).
Piston relief ducts194 (every 820 ft (250 m) by design)6 ft 7 in (2 m) across, joining the two running tunnels over the service tunnel to ease the air pushed ahead of a train. 50.5 km at 820 ft (250 m) would be 202; 194 were built.
Crossover caverns2: English 8 km from Shakespeare Cliff; French 12 km from SangatteWhere trains can cross between the running tunnels. Their sizes differ between sources: Wikipedia gives 492 ft × 59 ft × 33 ft (150 x 18 x 10 m); the Geological Society gives 541 ft × 72 ft × 49 ft (165 x 22 x 15 m) for the English one and 591 ft × 82 ft × 62 ft (180 x 25 x 19 m) for the French.
Power25 kV 50 Hz overhead, wire 19 ft 3 in (5.87 m) above the railEurotunnel's own network statement gives the contact wire 19 ft 5 in to 19 ft 9 in (5,922 to 6,030 mm) above the rail in the tunnel; the cross section draws Wikipedia's 19 ft 3 in (5.87 m).

Operations

FigureValueNotes
Tunnel speed limit160 km/h (99 mph; designed for 200)The Class 9 locomotives run at up to 160 km/h (99 mph); Eurostar's trains are held to the tunnel's limit too.
Shuttle crossing35 minutes platform to platformAbout 35 minutes platform to platform; the time in the tunnel itself is shorter.
TerminalsTwo, each with ten 2,625 ft (800 m) island platformsFolkestone (about 140 ha) and Coquelles (more than 1,700 acres). Loops: Folkestone clockwise, Coquelles anticlockwise.

Traffic

FigureValueNotes
LeShuttle passenger vehicles, 20252,234,093Up 2% on 2024. 2017: 2.6 million cars, 51,000 coaches.
LeShuttle Freight trucks, 20251,163,124Down 3% on 2024 (1,198,052). 2017: 1.6 million HGVs.
High-speed passengers, 202511.8 millionRead from a chart label in search results, not yet from the results document. Eurostar carried 10.3 million in 2017; cross-tunnel passenger traffic peaked at 18.4 million in 1998.
Rail freight1.2 million tonnes in 2017An older figure. All freight through the tunnel, Shuttles included, was 19.6 million tonnes in 2007.

History

FigureValueNotes
Tunnel boring machines11 (6 English, 5 French)Peak workforce 15,000; ten workers died 1987 to 1993.
Cost£4.65 billion at 1985 prices (£2.6 billion estimated)An 80% overrun. Wikipedia gives £9.8 billion in 2025 prices.
Construction1 December 1987 to 6 May 1994Service tunnel breakthrough 1 December 1990 (pilot hole 30 October); passenger service from November 1994.
FiresNovember 1996, 11 September 2008, 17 January 20151996: damage over 151 ft (46 m), about six months to full operation. 2008: repairs about 60 million euros, full service 9 February 2009.

1 figure held: the sources disagree, and the page waits for a primary source. Every figure is cited in Sources.

History 7

  1. Tunnelling starts.
  2. The service tunnel breaks through under the sea, joining England and France.
  3. The tunnel opens.
  4. Eurostar's passenger trains start running through it.
  5. A fire on a lorry Shuttle damages 151 ft (46 m) of tunnel; about six months to full working.
  6. High Speed 1 opens in full, and Eurostar moves to St Pancras.
  7. A second lorry Shuttle fire; full service again on 9 February 2009.

Sources

How we source figures →  ·  Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)

Show the 11 sources from Wikipedia, Getlink, The Geological Society and 3 more
unverified
  • Most figures rest on Wikipedia and the Geological Society, not yet on Getlink's own documents
  • The deepest point: Wikipedia gives 246 ft (75 m) below sea level, the Geological Society 377 ft (115 m) below the sea surface with 246 ft (75 m) of cover; held until a primary source settles it
  • The cross section's rail level, the service tunnel's and the relief duct's heights, and the lining are drawn indicatively; the diameters are sourced
  • The maps: High Speed 1 is drawn as straight lines between its stations; the tunnel follows OpenStreetMap's line of the north running tunnel
  • High-speed passengers in 2025 (11.8 million) were read from a chart label in search results

Know a source for one of these? Send it to us → (opens in a new tab)

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