Eurotunnel was established in 1986 and was awarded the contract for building, financing and operating the Channel Tunnel at the 1986 Franco-British Treaty of Canterbury. Construction on the tunnel began in the U.K. on December 15, 1987 and in France two months later. The two teams met finally on December 1, 1990, 22.3 km from the U.K. and 15.6 km from France. Between 1993 and 1994 the equipment was installed into the tunnel and final tests were carried out. The official opening ceremony took place on May 6, 1994 with Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterand in attendance.
The original cost of the construction of the tunnel was put at £4.7 billion. On completion, the actual cost was around £9.5 billion. It was financed from a combination of shareholder investment, but mostly from £8 billion of debt. In its first year of operation, the company made a loss of £925 million because of disappointing ticket sales and interest on its massive debt. It wasn't until 2007 that the firm was able to post a profit for the first time, at a mere £1 million. The profit in 2008 was £40 million and this was the first time that Eurotunnel was able to issue a dividend to its shareholders of €0.04 per Euro.
At 50 km long, the Channel Tunnel is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. It is made up of three tunnels 40m below the surface of the seabed. One is used by trains heading north, while the other is used by trains heading south. The third is a service tunnel that is used by maintenance and is also used as an evacuation tunnel in the event of an accident or fire. Both rail tunnels are 7.6 meters in diameter and are located 30 meters apart. In addition to rail tracks each tunnel has two walkways, one used by maintenance staff and the other is used in the case of an evacuation.
As of 2010, 247 million people had traveled through the Channel Tunnel since it opened in 1994. Eurotunnel, which operates the train shuttles used by cars, coaches and trucks, had transported 144 million passengers; Eurostar, which operates a passenger train service, had taken 103 million. According to Eurotunnel, this was a total of 46,000 passengers a day by 2009.
Eurotunnel is keen to advertise its green credentials. Between 2006 and 2008, the company cut its greenhouse gas emissions from 85,000 tons to 43,000 tons. The company purchases most of its energy needs from French electricity companies with 90 percent coming from either nuclear or hydroelectric sources which do not produce carbon dioxide. The firm also built three wind turbines at the Coquelles Terminal in France in 2009. They produce 2.3 megawatts of power, enough to power 2000 homes. This energy is used by the company to help power its operations.
