The Channel Tunnel

engineering marvel · transportation · UK and France · underwater

Trains, not cars. The Channel Tunnel is a railway tunnel, so only trains zoom through it, not regular cars. Special shuttle trains carry vehicles across, while passenger trains whisk people between London and Paris.

Under the sea. At its deepest point, the tunnel runs 75 metres below the sea floor of the English Channel. That's deeper than a 25-storey building is tall, all underwater.

Incredibly long. At 50 kilometres long, the Channel Tunnel is the world's longest undersea railway tunnel. It takes about 20 minutes for a train to travel through it.

Built from both sides. Workers in Britain and France dug towards each other, meeting in the middle in 1990 and creating three tunnels total: two for trains and one for safety and maintenance.

The only fixed link. Before the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, the only way to cross between Britain and mainland Europe was by boat or plane. Now you can take a train directly under the sea.