Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Big Dig

The Channel Tunnel includes three parallel tunnels, two for rail traffic and a central tunnel for services and security. The often-considered idea of constructing a tunnel under the English Channel was revived in 1986 by the United Kingdom and France and a rail tunnel was chosen over other proposals. Digging began on both sides of the Strait of Dover in 1987–88 and the tunnel officially opened 15 years ago on May 6, 1994. The tunnel runs for 31 miles (50 km) between England and France and is used by freight and passenger trains, which can travel at speeds as high as 100 miles (160 km) per hour. An accident in September 2008 completely shut the tunnel for two days, followed by a partial shutdown for five months for repairs. This partial closure was partly responsible for a considerable loss in revenue, including a drop of 23% in the first quarter of 2009. The tunnels were reopened on February 19, 2009 by the managing company, Eurotunnel.

Cortesía de la trivia diaria del Banco Alegría ;)

2 comments:

::júbilo::haku:: said...

y cosa curiosa... si lleva su auto en el tren, le piden que mantenga abiertas las ventanas.. uan no se por que.. pero temo que e spor algo de bernoulli

ego2005 said...

Yo solo lo he pasado en autobús, una vez.

Y sigo maravillado!