The Channel Tunnel began operations in 1994, following eight years of constructon. It marked the first time since the last Ice Age that England and the European mainland were linked.
The Channel Tunnel begins at Folkestone in the Kent district of England and emerges near Calais, France. The tunnel is part of the Eurostar railway network that links London, Paris and Brussels.
The Channel Tunnel consists of three tunnels, two for trains and one for service, each 50 kilometers. About 38 kilometers of the tunnel are under the English Channel.
The high-speed trains that traverse the Channel Tunnel can cross the English Channel in just over 30 minutes, about three times quicker than traveling by ferry. The trains travel almost 200 miles per hour and reach Paris from London in just over two hours.
The Channel Tunnel contains the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world. The American Society of Civil Engineers named it one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
