• An employee works next to a Eurotunnel freight train at the Channel tunnel maintenance center in Coquelles, near Calais. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
    An employee works next to a Eurotunnel freight train at the Channel tunnel maintenance center in Coquelles, near Calais. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
  • Trucks are unloaded from a Eurotunnel freight train after crossing the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles. The tunnel project cost £4.65 billion to build, 80 per cent more than expected. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
    Trucks are unloaded from a Eurotunnel freight train after crossing the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles. The tunnel project cost £4.65 billion to build, 80 per cent more than expected. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
  • An Eurotunnel freight shuttle exits the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles, near Calais. The Channel Tunnel is 31.4 miles long, making it the 11th longest tunnel in use. Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
    An Eurotunnel freight shuttle exits the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles, near Calais. The Channel Tunnel is 31.4 miles long, making it the 11th longest tunnel in use. Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
  • A high-speed Eurostar train exits the Channel tunnel in Coquelles. The average depth of the tunnel is 50 metres below the seabed, and the lowest point 75 metres below. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
    A high-speed Eurostar train exits the Channel tunnel in Coquelles. The average depth of the tunnel is 50 metres below the seabed, and the lowest point 75 metres below. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
  • In top photo, Channel Tunnel workers Philippe Cozette from France, right, and Graham Fagg from England shake hands while holding their respective national flag during the ceremonial breakthrough on December 1, 1990. The two met again on February 10, 2014 in the maintenance tunnel, bottom tunnel. AFP
    In top photo, Channel Tunnel workers Philippe Cozette from France, right, and Graham Fagg from England shake hands while holding their respective national flag during the ceremonial breakthrough on December 1, 1990. The two met again on February 10, 2014 in the maintenance tunnel, bottom tunnel. AFP
  • French and British workers look at the tunnel-boring machine Europa during the link-up in the north gallery of the Channel Tunnel on May 22, 1991. / AFP
    French and British workers look at the tunnel-boring machine Europa during the link-up in the north gallery of the Channel Tunnel on May 22, 1991. / AFP
  • French president François Mitterrand, centre, and Queen Elizabeth II cut a ribbon at the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel in Calais, France on May 6, 1994. Gerard Fouet / AFP
    French president François Mitterrand, centre, and Queen Elizabeth II cut a ribbon at the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel in Calais, France on May 6, 1994. Gerard Fouet / AFP
  • The inaugural TGV-Eurostar train leaves the Paris Gare du Nord station, carrying French president François Mitterrand and prime minister Edouard Balladur to their rendezvous with Queen Elizabeth II on May 6, 1994. Jean-Loup Gautreau / AFP
    The inaugural TGV-Eurostar train leaves the Paris Gare du Nord station, carrying French president François Mitterrand and prime minister Edouard Balladur to their rendezvous with Queen Elizabeth II on May 6, 1994. Jean-Loup Gautreau / AFP
  • French president François Mitterrand, foregound, welcomes Queen Elizabeth II during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel on May 6, 1994. Jacques Demarthon / AFP
    French president François Mitterrand, foregound, welcomes Queen Elizabeth II during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel on May 6, 1994. Jacques Demarthon / AFP
  • A machinist drives a trans-channel shuttle during a technical trial run on May 6, 1994. Up to 400 trains pass through the tunnel each day, carrying an average of 50,000 passengers, 6,000 cars, 180 coaches and 54,000 tonnes of freight. Jacques Demarthon / AFP
    A machinist drives a trans-channel shuttle during a technical trial run on May 6, 1994. Up to 400 trains pass through the tunnel each day, carrying an average of 50,000 passengers, 6,000 cars, 180 coaches and 54,000 tonnes of freight. Jacques Demarthon / AFP
  • Above, train driver Willy Crooks, who drove Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand between Calais and Folkestone during the tunnel's inauguration on May 6, 1994. A record 20.4 million passengers were transported between Britain and France using the tunnel in 2013. Denis Charlet / AFP
    Above, train driver Willy Crooks, who drove Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand between Calais and Folkestone during the tunnel's inauguration on May 6, 1994. A record 20.4 million passengers were transported between Britain and France using the tunnel in 2013. Denis Charlet / AFP
  • Eurotunnel trains in a hangar for maintenance in Coquelles, northern France. Up to 400 trains pass through the tunnel each day, carrying an average of 50,000 passengers, 6,000 cars, 180 coaches and 54,000 tonnes of freight. Denis Charlet / AFP
    Eurotunnel trains in a hangar for maintenance in Coquelles, northern France. Up to 400 trains pass through the tunnel each day, carrying an average of 50,000 passengers, 6,000 cars, 180 coaches and 54,000 tonnes of freight. Denis Charlet / AFP

Business

In pictures: The Channel Tunnel is 20 years old

Liz Claus

May 07, 2014

  • English
  • Arabic

The Channel Tunnel is one of the biggest engineering projects in the UK, with over 13,000 workers taking more than five years to complete one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

TechnologyEconomy