What (who) is chunnel - definition
![Class 319]] EMUs ran excursions trips into the tunnel from [[Sandling railway station]] on 7 May 1994, the first passenger trains to go through the Channel Tunnel](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/319008 at Sandling.jpg?width=200 "Class 319]] EMUs ran excursions trips into the tunnel from [[Sandling railway station]] on 7 May 1994, the first passenger trains to go through the Channel Tunnel")
.jpg?width=200 "120px")
![Varne sandbank]] mid-Channel](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Channel Tunnel 1856 idea from Gamond 1a.png?width=200 "Varne sandbank]] mid-Channel")
![Eurostar train]]. Also visible is the segmented tunnel lining](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Channel Tunnel NRM.jpg?width=200 "Eurostar train]]. Also visible is the segmented tunnel lining")
![Cheriton]] in west Folkestone. The terminal services shuttle trains that carry vehicles, and is linked to the [[M20 motorway]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Channel Tunnel Terminal.jpg?width=200 "Cheriton]] in west Folkestone. The terminal services shuttle trains that carry vehicles, and is linked to the [[M20 motorway]]")
![Geological profile along the tunnel as constructed. For most of its length the tunnel bores through a chalk [[marl]] stratum (layer)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Channel Tunnel geological profile 1.svg?width=200 "Geological profile along the tunnel as constructed. For most of its length the tunnel bores through a chalk [[marl]] stratum (layer)")
![Car being driven onto a shuttle carriage at the French terminal in [[Coquelles]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Chargement voiture Eurotunnel.jpg?width=200 "Car being driven onto a shuttle carriage at the French terminal in [[Coquelles]]")
![Interior of the [[Eurotunnel Shuttle]], used to carry motor vehicles through the Channel Tunnel. These are the largest railway wagons in the world.<ref name="Anderson Story p xvi-xvii"/>](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/ETunnelhoch.jpg?width=200 "Interior of the [[Eurotunnel Shuttle]], used to carry motor vehicles through the Channel Tunnel. These are the largest railway wagons in the world.<ref name=\"Anderson Story p xvi-xvii\"/>")
.svg?width=200 "Typical cross section, with the service tunnel between the two rail tunnels; shown linking the rail tunnels is a piston relief duct, necessary to manage changes in air pressure caused by the very fast movement of trains")
![The 2003 [[Folkestone White Horse]] viewed at Cheriton terminal](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Folkestone White Horse cropped.jpg?width=200 "The 2003 [[Folkestone White Horse]] viewed at Cheriton terminal")
![General Wolseley]] riding on the fleeing lion.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LionCannotFaceTheCrowingOfCock.png?width=200 "General Wolseley]] riding on the fleeing lion.")
Tonight I'm going to my aunt's house. She wants to chunnel Che Guevera and she needs a translator.
The Channel Tunnel (French: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35 mi) railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles (Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 metres (250 ft) deep below the sea bed and 115 metres (380 ft) below sea level. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, and is the third longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph). The tunnel is owned and operated by the company Getlink, formerly "Groupe Eurotunnel".
The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles and international freight trains. It connects end-to-end with the high-speed railway lines of the LGV Nord in France and High Speed 1 in England. In 2017, through rail services carried 10.3 million passengers and 1.22 million tonnes of freight, and the Shuttle carried 10.4 million passengers, 2.6 million cars, 51,000 coaches, and 1.6 million lorries (equivalent to 21.3 million tonnes of freight), compared with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries and 2.2 million cars by sea through the Port of Dover.
Plans to build a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802, but British political and media pressure over the compromising of national security had disrupted attempts to build one. An early unsuccessful attempt was made in the late 19th century, on the English side, "in the hope of forcing the hand of the English Government". The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. Estimated to cost £5.5 billion in 1985, it was at the time the most expensive construction project ever proposed. The cost finally amounted to £9 billion (equivalent to £21.8 billion in 2021), well over its predicted budget.
Since its construction, the tunnel has experienced a number of mechanical problems. Both fires and cold weather have temporarily disrupted its operation.
Since at least 1997, aggregations of migrants around Calais seeking irregular, undocumented and/or otherwise illegal entry to the United Kingdom, such as through the tunnel, have prompted deterrence and countermeasures, as well as increased examination of ways to relieve the lands from which they are fleeing.
Wikipedia
The Channel Tunnel (French: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35 mi) underwater railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles (Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 metres (246 ft) deep below the sea bed and 115 metres (377 ft) below sea level. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, and is the third longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph). The tunnel is owned and operated by the company Getlink, formerly "Groupe Eurotunnel".
The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles and international freight trains. It connects end-to-end with the high-speed railway lines of the LGV Nord in France and High Speed 1 in England. In 2017, through rail services carried 10.3 million passengers and 1.22 million tonnes of freight, and the Shuttle carried 10.4 million passengers, 2.6 million cars, 51,000 coaches, and 1.6 million lorries (equivalent to 21.3 million tonnes of freight), compared with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries and 2.2 million cars by sea through the Port of Dover.
Plans to build a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802, but British political and media pressure over the compromising of national security had disrupted attempts to build one. An early unsuccessful attempt was made in the late 19th century, on the English side, "in the hope of forcing the hand of the English Government". The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. Estimated to cost £5.5 billion in 1985, it was at the time the most expensive construction project ever proposed. The cost finally amounted to £9 billion (equivalent to £21.8 billion in 2021), well over budget.
Since its construction, the tunnel has experienced a number of mechanical problems. Both fires and cold weather have temporarily disrupted its operation.
Since at least 1997, aggregations of migrants around Calais seeking irregular, undocumented and/or otherwise illegal entry to the United Kingdom, such as through the tunnel, have prompted deterrence and countermeasures, as well as increased examination of ways to relieve the lands from which they are fleeing.
