Channel Tunnel

Waterloo International train station in London, England. Waterloo station is one of London's major train stations. One of the most modern and advanced train stations in the world, it is now the principal link between London and the Channel Tunnel.

Tunnel built beneath the English Channel, linking Britain with mainland Europe. It comprises twin rail tunnels, 50 km/31 mi long and 7.3 m/24 ft in diameter, located 40 m/130 ft beneath the seabed. Construction began in 1987, and the French and English sections were linked in December 1990. It was officially opened on 6 May 1994. The shuttle train service, Le Shuttle, opened to lorries in May 1994 and to cars in December 1994. The tunnel's high-speed train service, Eurostar, linking London to Paris and Brussels, opened in November 1994.

The final cost of the tunnel was £12 billion, and left Eurotunnel plc, the Anglo-French company that built the tunnel, £9 billion in debt. In its first year, it made a loss of £925 million. Its first net profit was announced in March 1999.

A fire broke out in a freight train in the tunnel on 18 November 1996, involving 34 people who were removed to safety. It was predicted that the tunnel would not be fully operational again for at least three months; limited passenger and freight services were resumed in December 1996. Closure of the tunnel has lost Eurotunnel revenue and damaged public confidence in the project. It has been disclosed that the cost of the fire could reach nearly £300 million, but Eurotunnel claims that the losses will be largely covered by insurance and will not jeopardize the deal to restructure its £8.7 billion of debts. Revenues before the fire were running at £1.5 million a day.