I think it's wonderful that they chose two of the workers at random to meet through the initial opening rather than politicians who, as you said, had absolutely nothing to do with the actual building of the tunnel. What a wonderful honor for those men and way to show true unity of humanity. Excellent decision indeed.
Colin Ferguson once voiced the concern that when the "Chunnel" was opened, hoards or rats would come over from France, which they did, but once they tried British food, they all went back to France.
I think the concern there was less the rats but the rabies they could carry because rabies wasn't enzootic in UK but it was still in France (Think only bat populations there carry it now though apparently but that is post 2001).
i don't get the stereotype British food is literally Food from everywhere on earth, Britain has always had the biggest variety of world wide food due to its empire days.
@@thetechoasis2179 It doesn't matter where the food is from if you cook like shit. And for a very long time British food wasn't much to brag about, especially compared to France. It's much better now, but of course old stereotypes hang around for a long time.
Not long after the Channel Tunnel opened, one of the tunnel boring machines was on hilltop just off the M20 with a sign saying, "For sale. One careful owner". British humour at its best😂
They dropped the North Land boring machine head, while trying to lift it out of the drive. Felt the shock wave a couple of miles down the tunnel. ;o) I still have my commemorative medal from the breakthrough.
I was an avid supporter of this endevour - it captured my imagination immediately. I waited (and waited, and waited) with great anticipation for my first trip through this modern marvel................and the opportunity finally arose and I took it!!! I was almost giggy with anticipation.................and it turned out to be - a train trip through a tunnel - something I had done hundreds of times before (and since). The experience was in no way remarkable, I found the trip to the top of the Tour Eiffel or my "behind the scenes" tour of the House of Lords more exciting. But I still think it is one of the greatest achievements of mankind - certainly to be marveled over, but there is no "experience" related to it beyond the cerebral (and a slight emotional edge when viewed culturally). Thanks, Simon - for another quality, comprehensive, entertaining, and edifying episode!
At least he would have a never ending stream of content. A lot of them might be only about 30 seconds long but he could bundle some like all the drug smuggling tunnels under the Mexico/USA border and make up for a few. Would wells be counted as tunnels?
By any chance, Did you also see the thumbnail and think of the Large Hadron Collider?.... 🙄 Maybe it's just me....😅 But thanks for asking for it to be added to the list. 👱🏻♀️✌🏻
Simon's opening remarks remind me of an episode of "Yes, Minister" where Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby were discussing the building of fallout shelters: Hacker: ... Anyway, the Americans will always protect us from the Russians, won't they? Sir Humphrey: Russians? Who's talking about the Russians? Hacker: Well, the independent deterrent. Sir Humphrey: It's to protect us against the French! Hacker: The French?! But that's astounding! Sir Humphrey: Why? Hacker: Well they're our allies, our partners. Sir Humphrey: Well, they are now, but they've been our enemies for the most of the past 900 years. If they've got the bomb, we must have the bomb! Hacker: If it's for the French, of course, that's different. Makes a lot of sense. Sir Humphrey: Yes. Can't trust the Frogs. Hacker: You can say that again!
0:35 - Chapter 1 - An umatched rivalry 4:10 - Chapter 2 - A long long road 9:50 - Chapter 3 - Diggin begins again 12:35 - Chapter 4 - The big day 14:10 - Chapter 5 - The big day part II 14:55 - Chapter 6 - Travelling through 16:25 - Chapter 7 - 16 years on 18:40 - Chapter 8 - A modern wonder of the world
Thanks, this definitely deserved an episode. I've never actually been through the thing, despite growing up near the English end, and my father having helped build it.
This is by far my fav channel. I love these types of videos and love all the channels you have. As Johnny Five would say “iiiinnnpuuuutttt”. You rock man. Delivery is solid and consumable.
@@deadfreightwest5956 :: coy Simon Whistler laugh :: I can't answer that, can I, really? I mean who in their right mind would use half-baked baguettes as a unit of measurement anyway?
@@kenoliver8913 Given the length of the Eiffel as 1,083 feet and the average length of a Baguette of 2.2 feet, there are 492.273 Baguettes to the Eiffel. I would not, however, recommend building an Eiffel from Baguettes... they get soggy in the rain.
@@obelic71 @Richard Smeets Indeed. If someone is hungry that tends to happen. Let's hope for everyone's sake the baguette gets enjoyed by all those who made it possible and those who made it and those who paid for it and those who eventually were nice at the dinner table and asked for some. Love, Respect, responsibility. 🍀 👊🐺☀️🌍🌘🧙♂️👍
14:57 you can also go from London to Marseille! And there's even a stop at Lyon :) And during winter there's a train going directly from London to French Alps (last stop is Bourg Saint Maurice) 😊
It seems like English and French people have been rivals for hundreds of years, and after fighting both world wars together this handshake was the thing that (to me at least) solidified your countries friendship. You guys will always have each other to lean on.
@@jackgibsxxx0750 Actually, it's technically true. The geology of the French side is much more difficult to tunnel through, so the British side can dig a bit faster and a bit further. At the moment the two digging met, the British diggers had crossed the UK-France border.
This is the first time i've ever heard of the Channel Tunnel. And that's why I love to watch Simon's videos. I love learning new things. Thank you Simon! Keep up the great work.
Yeah I love the Chunnel. Being a Civil Engineer, I followed this project from the beginning. I finally had a chance to drive onto it from the British side and right hand drive, and dumps you into Europe where it's all left hand drive. Seamless for me because I grew up with both. I say I drove onto it instead of into it. That's because you drive onto a train and stay with your car till you get to France. Not into the tunnel.
I think it'd be interesting to also take a look at the "man-made" garbage islands Japan has made. Ones like the one that Kansai International Airport is built on. Yeah, Japan has a "garbage" airport. To be quite honest, it's actually really nice and it's amazing what they've done with what they have. Is it innovation or just a desperate grasp at trial and error waiting to go belly up? All I know is that's a ton of garbage that's gone through several typhoons.
@@jules9094 You should check the clutch and the gearbox. If you are able to run at 80 km/h or more, after 18 hours you should have left the state. Probably the upshift function does not work.
Thanks for another great vid! I'm loving this Channel (pun intended...) One of the most interesting things I learnt about the construction of the tunnels, was that due to the fact they were bored from each end and met in the middle, it was not economically viable to dismantle the TBMs and remove them. They couldn't be reversed back out, because they were larger in diameter than the completed tunnel behind them. So, the solution was to simply bore an offshoot to the side of or below the main tunnel for each TBM, and bury them there. So there the TBMs remain, buried in concrete deep under the Channel. Can't wait for your next Vid! Cheers...
@dendo111 i've heard that there are actually three countries in the world that use feet and inches, can't remember which ones and I'm too lazy to look it up. Metric is best, nonetheless.
Since this channel is in English I would think that it would cater to the largest number of people who speak English which is the Americans at 350 million. So metric isn’t necessary.
Felipe Nunes I think the us are the only ones that don’t use the metric system at all. but Canada and the uk use it along with the imperial and are transitioning. Some smaller countries I think are also transitioning in South America and Asia
@@prepperjonpnw6482 That is bs. Contrary most English or American people, the rest of the world speaks two or more languages, and therefore understands quite well what is be told in an English spoken channel.
Massive fan of your content. My uncle's company (Rhodes Industries) made the drills for the tunnel but, unbelievably, I had never watched anything about its construction...so thank you for remedying that for me! Another great video!
Only been through the tunnel once, and I was amazed at how smooth the journey was. Didn't even realise that the train had started moving! No shaking, no rattling, no feeling of acceleration or ANYTHING to indicate movement. Really impressive!
I genuinely enjoy your demeanor and how you portray the information. *side note your corona virus video was by far my favorite laugh and the reason I subbed all your channels
2:43 it's not that dumb, the BART tunnel under San Francisco bay sits on the bottom of the ocean, mostly in the water. That's mostly so it has some flexibility in the even of an earthquake.
I really enjoy your videos.... very enlightening as well as entertaining. I am from the US, and I've had the pleasure of riding on the Chunnel train from Paris to London. A great experience!
"One was holding Union Jack flag and the other one French white flag." On a serious note, it's crazy what countries can accomplish when they put their silliness aside.
Well done 👍🏻 This is quickly becoming one of my favorite channels! I enjoyed the borehole and the Dyson Sphere was Awesome 👏🏻... Keep up the good work!!!
Amusingly like alot of our elderly rail infrastructure the shakespeare cliffs tunnel section is still there and still being used, mostly original apart from a small section in which it was discovered that the sea had finally found its way in through the defence wall in 2015, a new defence and track bed had to be made rather quickly and at a high cost because the main line into Folkstone and Dover couldnt be closed for very long. The tailings dug out from the tunnel were dumped against the cliffs and a nature reserve was created on top of them, that too is really impressive and well worth a visit if your in the Dover area, the cafe on site does a mean bacon roll.
Simon "I don't remember when it opened." Me "Man, I feel old now!" Anyway Simon, you should do an episode on the Bridge/Tunnel across the Chesapeake Bay. I was UNDER a super carrier once while using it!
French and English upon meeting in the middle: English guy: Why didn't we do this centuries ago? French guy: Because we'd been at war with each other for over half a millennium. English guy: Millennium...that's a good name for a ride in London. French guy: YOU SON OF A B***H!
I've been on the eurostar twice with my with. first trip was london to paris and the second london to belguim. both journeys taking about 2 hours. its really interesting when you go under the tunnel. the first time I wasn't even aware we had entered the tunnel until they welcomed us to france, though my wife said she saw a sign about entering the channel tunnel just before before going in. Still I enjoyed the ride. the main advantage of taking the eurostar is that it takes you gare de nord. with a plane, you have to land at an airport and then worry about how to get into the city. eurostar youre already there.
When the Tunnel joined up it was longer from the British side because the type of TBM they used was much faster. It was faster but was much less complicated than the French counterpart. The French TBM's were slower but were fully incased to protect workers and to keep moving in the event of flooding or collapse. The British stopped for a few months because of them hitting water. This had to be rectified before tunneling could resume. But because the British Machines were faster they caught up and tunneled further than the French.
I used to always fly Ryanair between London and Eindhoven (or Weeze), which all things taken into account takes roughly 6-8 hours including all the waiting and travelling. Then I found out accidentally (due to a airport strike) that travelling by Eurostar takes about the same time but, for a couple of euros/pounds more, I could travel first class, get food and sit relaxed reading a book. Never flew that route ever again, always Eurostar 1st class.
Another winner, Mr. Whistler. On the topic of tunnels, you now simply cannot skip the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Twin 32' tunnels running 35 miles under the Alps.
Sadly..... I'm old enough to remember the project going on during the late 1980's. I've used it loads of times and it's a great way to cross the Channel in less time than the ferries that do the same journey..... which takes well over an hour.
I ridden the channel tunnel twice. once to Paris and once to Brussels on our way to Bruges. The advantage the eurostar has to budget airlines is for the most part the train goes straight into the city. no need to worry about the airport traffic or anything.
I have quite literally just gotten back from a couple of days culture holiday in Bruges and i decided to go by my car and went via Le Shuttle. It was a long trip from Birmingham to Folkestone (and the same return) 3 hours but the hour wait before boarding and 30 mins train.. and only 1 1/2 hours from Calais to Bruges …. It really is a wonderous thing and I’m going by Eurostar around Christmas/new year for another short stay Also how many channels do you have ????? 😂
Another of the worlds greatest rivalries separated by only a slither of water.. Sweden and Denmark anyone... Talk about rivalry.. :D Edit.. Oh and we also have one of those megaprojects where we worked together.. :) The Öresundsbridge
Having Simon and family over for dinner seems like it would be one of the more interesting and entertaining evenings one could have. Especially if he enjoys brandy and a fine cigar.
Hi, there are two other megaprojects involving tunnels that might be interesting: The Big Dig in Boston, which is one of the most expensive tunnel/bridge complexes built, and includes a bridge-within-a-tunnel under the harbor; and the Alaskan Way Tunnel in Seattle, which was, at the time it was built, the largest diameter deep bore tunnel in the world. It might still be, but I'm not sure about that. Naturally, both had problems, delays, lawsuits, and were over budget. The one here in Seattle contributed to our mayor losing his job.
At 05:58 "The British had a bit of a distrust of their Gaelic neighbours...." Excuse-me Simon? Have the French got roots with the people on 'that other island' (or the Welsh/Scottish). Maybe you meant 'Gallic roots' ;).
@@lordgarion514 It was a joke. Simon is pretty smart and I'm aware he knows that the UK uses Pounds and I'm also aware that TH-cam is an American company and most of his viewers are likely to be American, but went for a dry sarcastic joke as is the British way
@@dannymorgan2654 Gotcha, and yeah,it can be a bit hard to see some humor. Especially when TH-cam is full of people saying things like that (especially about the metric system) who aren't joking. 🤓
I remember spending a number of weekends in the Folkstone area around the time just before it opened and while construction was going on prior to that. Was an incredible sight from the top of the hills surrounding the area.
I was born in Ashford, I never much liked the town and lived there for 21 years before moving out, but my god does Ashford have an amazing amount of history. One of the closest stations to the channel tunnel, one of the major rail travel hubs for the Southeast of Britain, one of the oldest rail networks in the country that helped with logistics for the 1st and 2nd world wars, had numerous V1 flying bomb dropped on it during world war 2, a World War 1 mark IV tank that sits in St James' Square in the town centre which fought in the battle of cambrai and was gifted to the town for its service during WW1 and transported back by train, then driven from the railyard to where it now stands at a steady 3.6 miles per hour. Ashford might be a boring town in the arse end of Britain, but it does have a rich history to be sure.
I live in Dover, and regularly drive past Folkestone terminal on my way to work. Also, yes, you can see France in good weather from multiple points in that area.
However, the usefulness of _Eurostar_ wasn't complete until the _High Speed 1_ line from the Channel Tunnel to London St. Pancras was operational in 2007. Once that opened, downtown London to downtown Paris turned into a 2 hour 15 minute trip.
I'm a tunneller and I work with some fine chaps who worked on the Channel Tunnel. They say the difference in length of tunnel dug by the French and the British is due to the ring bonus on the British side (performance pay). This is also reflected in the higher death toll on the British side.
I needed to know why they couldn’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for most of the mainline Trains so that they could extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock which will include the class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign all of them into an overhead wire line trains and also make most of them into Five carriages per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Scania N112, Leyland 510, Volvo D10M, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 6 Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 10 Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into 8 carriages per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers? A Stock Train and 7 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it even much more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. Then put the modernised 8 carriages per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 8 carriages per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly Line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Scania N112, Cummins M11, Volvo D10M, Leyland 510, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 87 Octagon and Every 46 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.10 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 147MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 147MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 14 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!!!!!!!, oh can you make all of those 18 Tonne Boxes of Coal for all of those 147MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!!!!!!!! So please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!!!!!!!! And PLEASE do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.
A great tale, the Chunnel is wicked cool! Norway is talking about a "Floating Tunnel", just like your childhood notions! That tunnel and the entire road system that Norway is considering would be a great Future Megaprojects video!
idk if you do projects that aren't completed yet, but the coastal highway project ongoing in Norway is shaping up to be one of the most impressive infrastructure projects ever, and notably DOES include a proposed tunnel through, not under, the ocean.
i've only used the channel tunnel once back when i was a kid on a school trip to Bruggee. Comfortable ride, didn't even notice we'd started moving. Didn't even feel like we were in there for long
Try eventually following the new built of a Danish built Tunnel to Germany, below The Fehmarn Belt? It is being built as long floating concrete elements to be shipped out and sunk into the bottoms newly made ditch, which is to be covered on top of the elements below, making the sea bottom as it had been before! And the cars may here drive for themselves + two rail tracks to one side.
The main reason the UK tunneled more of the Service tunnel is that they could build the tunneling machine underground in the 1974 tunnel whereas the French needed to wait for the huge shaft to be completed before they could build their machine. The French tunneling method was also slower, as a result of the different design of machine needed to tunnel through the loose chalk at the French end. The Running tunnels met much nearer half way as the French could build their other two machines in the same shaft but the UK teams had to construct two huge underground chambers to build their machines in.
Freight goes beyond Folkstone and Calais on Freightliner (Intermodal) and certain other Wagon types. Using Class 92 locomotives. The trains being to UK loading guage as after coming through Europe and tunnel once on UK metals need to be comparable with our small loading guage
For what it's worth, @2:39, it's not "dumb" to think that the tunnel went THROUGH the ocean rather than under it. Tunnels are, in fact, often made "through" the ocean. They make big tubes on land, barge them out to sea, sink them, and link them altogether. Pump the water out, and you now have a tunnel that goes "through" the ocean, laying on the ocean floor. Though, that said, there are none that you can look at the window of. ;)
It's not anywhere close to large enough to do that safely. It's only 16 feet wide as stated in the video, enough for two VERY NARROW lanes with no shoulders. If there was an accident either with the cars or the trains it would be effectively impossible to get emergency vehicles to it.
I think it's wonderful that they chose two of the workers at random to meet through the initial opening rather than politicians who, as you said, had absolutely nothing to do with the actual building of the tunnel. What a wonderful honor for those men and way to show true unity of humanity. Excellent decision indeed.
Colin Ferguson once voiced the concern that when the "Chunnel" was opened, hoards or rats would come over from France, which they did, but once they tried British food, they all went back to France.
I remenber the newspapers titles : Ratatouille est de retour !
Lol.
I think the concern there was less the rats but the rabies they could carry because rabies wasn't enzootic in UK but it was still in France (Think only bat populations there carry it now though apparently but that is post 2001).
i don't get the stereotype British food is literally Food from everywhere on earth, Britain has always had the biggest variety of world wide food due to its empire days.
@@thetechoasis2179
It doesn't matter where the food is from if you cook like shit.
And for a very long time British food wasn't much to brag about, especially compared to France.
It's much better now, but of course old stereotypes hang around for a long time.
Not long after the Channel Tunnel opened, one of the tunnel boring machines was on hilltop just off the M20 with a sign saying, "For sale. One careful owner". British humour at its best😂
I am the liquor Have another drink, Layhey 🤣👍
They retrieved one TBM but steered the second one deeper down into the sea bed and buried it.
They dropped the North Land boring machine head, while trying to lift it out of the drive. Felt the shock wave a couple of miles down the tunnel. ;o)
I still have my commemorative medal from the breakthrough.
This American may not always understand British humor but it’s hilarious.
@@philipocarroll Yeah, can't believe he missed this awsome fact :D
I was an avid supporter of this endevour - it captured my imagination immediately. I waited (and waited, and waited) with great anticipation for my first trip through this modern marvel................and the opportunity finally arose and I took it!!! I was almost giggy with anticipation.................and it turned out to be - a train trip through a tunnel - something I had done hundreds of times before (and since). The experience was in no way remarkable, I found the trip to the top of the Tour Eiffel or my "behind the scenes" tour of the House of Lords more exciting. But I still think it is one of the greatest achievements of mankind - certainly to be marveled over, but there is no "experience" related to it beyond the cerebral (and a slight emotional edge when viewed culturally).
Thanks, Simon - for another quality, comprehensive, entertaining, and edifying episode!
Nice post, George. :-)
Yes, the actual Eurostar journey does not match one's romantic expectations. But wow, in no time I was in Brussels.
I read the title as "the tunnel channel: planned since 1802"
was thinkin "wow simon's been planning this one for a while."
Same. In fact, I still thought it said that until I read your comment.
At least he would have a never ending stream of content. A lot of them might be only about 30 seconds long but he could bundle some like all the drug smuggling tunnels under the Mexico/USA border and make up for a few. Would wells be counted as tunnels?
Bob Beelze You are
@@mlyssy2 No a well is not really a tunnel, a well is more of a shaft
I saw 1802, too.
Next Mega Project should be the Large Hadron Collider!
By any chance, Did you also see the thumbnail and think of the Large Hadron Collider?.... 🙄
Maybe it's just me....😅 But thanks for asking for it to be added to the list.
👱🏻♀️✌🏻
Yeah that would be very interesting!
With guest narrator, Prof. Brian Cox.
The tunnel to nowhere!
@@kirivt1785 yes it was the first things I thought of I would love to see a video of the ol atom smasher in action
Simon's opening remarks remind me of an episode of "Yes, Minister" where Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby were discussing the building of fallout shelters:
Hacker: ... Anyway, the Americans will always protect us from the Russians, won't they?
Sir Humphrey: Russians? Who's talking about the Russians?
Hacker: Well, the independent deterrent.
Sir Humphrey: It's to protect us against the French!
Hacker: The French?! But that's astounding!
Sir Humphrey: Why?
Hacker: Well they're our allies, our partners.
Sir Humphrey: Well, they are now, but they've been our enemies for the most of the past 900 years. If they've got the bomb, we must have the bomb!
Hacker: If it's for the French, of course, that's different. Makes a lot of sense.
Sir Humphrey: Yes. Can't trust the Frogs.
Hacker: You can say that again!
I remember that episode! :-)
0:35 - Chapter 1 - An umatched rivalry
4:10 - Chapter 2 - A long long road
9:50 - Chapter 3 - Diggin begins again
12:35 - Chapter 4 - The big day
14:10 - Chapter 5 - The big day part II
14:55 - Chapter 6 - Travelling through
16:25 - Chapter 7 - 16 years on
18:40 - Chapter 8 - A modern wonder of the world
Thanks, this definitely deserved an episode. I've never actually been through the thing, despite growing up near the English end, and my father having helped build it.
This is by far my fav channel. I love these types of videos and love all the channels you have. As Johnny Five would say “iiiinnnpuuuutttt”. You rock man. Delivery is solid and consumable.
This video is from 2020, and it says "16 years on" (see 16:20) while the tunnel opened in 1994. I guess those are 16 imperial years, and not metric.
Came her to pull Simon upon this 😂
I was born at the back end of 1993. By this logic I’m 16 not 26!
@@ashcoates25 You mean I can't go to jail for having a crush on a 17 year old? /s
@@kirknay if he's from England's it's not illegal either way
@@domp2729 Are we really lowering this video to arguing over the definition of "statutory rape"? Come on..... :/
10:45 Ah yes, the classic 20 story house.
I nearly choked on my water as he said that with a straight face 😆
If I'm going to keep watching Simon's channels, I'm definitely going to have to learn the dimensions of a football pitch.
Same as American football I think
Well, after some sleuthing, they're anywhere from 138 to 200 baguettes in length...
@@stevedownes5439 hahahaha!
@@stevedownes5439 - Half baked or full baked?
@@deadfreightwest5956 :: coy Simon Whistler laugh :: I can't answer that, can I, really? I mean who in their right mind would use half-baked baguettes as a unit of measurement anyway?
Forget Metric. Forget Imperial. What I've learned from this channel is that all megaprojects are measured in Eiffels.
How many Baguettes to the Eiffel?
@@kenoliver8913 Given the length of the Eiffel as 1,083 feet and the average length of a Baguette of 2.2 feet, there are 492.273 Baguettes to the Eiffel.
I would not, however, recommend building an Eiffel from Baguettes... they get soggy in the rain.
Commenter from the future: So this is where the Great Baguette Length War began.
Don't even..
Baguette is not a competition. It is delicious.
@@gumunduringigumundsson9344 and thats why the lenght of a baguette will always be discused damn it gets shorter by the minute.
@@obelic71 They get shorter cuz they get eaten.. as they should be. That's why new baguettes are important.
@@gumunduringigumundsson9344 exactly they can even disapear in thin air 😋
@@obelic71 @Richard Smeets Indeed. If someone is hungry that tends to happen. Let's hope for everyone's sake the baguette gets enjoyed by all those who made it possible and those who made it and those who paid for it and those who eventually were nice at the dinner table and asked for some.
Love, Respect, responsibility.
🍀
👊🐺☀️🌍🌘🧙♂️👍
"The Channel - twenty miles wide,; a thousand years deep"
Underrated comment
14:57 you can also go from London to Marseille! And there's even a stop at Lyon :)
And during winter there's a train going directly from London to French Alps (last stop is Bourg Saint Maurice) 😊
It seems like English and French people have been rivals for hundreds of years, and after fighting both world wars together this handshake was the thing that (to me at least) solidified your countries friendship. You guys will always have each other to lean on.
"The British side had tunneled slightly further than the French"
UK Wins!
When he said 55mm off he meant to the side. Missed it by that much.
Which is not much at all under the circumstances.
@@jackgibsxxx0750 Actually, it's technically true. The geology of the French side is much more difficult to tunnel through, so the British side can dig a bit faster and a bit further. At the moment the two digging met, the British diggers had crossed the UK-France border.
This is the first time i've ever heard of the Channel Tunnel. And that's why I love to watch Simon's videos. I love learning new things. Thank you Simon! Keep up the great work.
Yeah I love the Chunnel. Being a Civil Engineer, I followed this project from the beginning. I finally had a chance to drive onto it from the British side and right hand drive, and dumps you into Europe where it's all left hand drive. Seamless for me because I grew up with both.
I say I drove onto it instead of into it. That's because you drive onto a train and stay with your car till you get to France. Not into the tunnel.
Oh, so everyone stays within their car? Not asked to disembark like on RoRo ferries?
I think an episode on the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Tokyo would be pretty interesting
The wat
TtheNerd the MAOUD Channel. Duh. (No, I've never heard of it either 😅)
Yeah nah. Its semi interesting, but not whole episode of Megaprojects interesting.
I think it'd be interesting to also take a look at the "man-made" garbage islands Japan has made. Ones like the one that Kansai International Airport is built on. Yeah, Japan has a "garbage" airport. To be quite honest, it's actually really nice and it's amazing what they've done with what they have. Is it innovation or just a desperate grasp at trial and error waiting to go belly up? All I know is that's a ton of garbage that's gone through several typhoons.
I am interested. Tom Scott did a little bit on it.
“Went on a casual day trip to France.”
You can drive for 18 hours in Texas and STILL be in Texas 😂
Years ago I had a similar car like that.
Yeah big and empty like most Texans heads. I'll stick to London and Paris thanks.
this is true for any place larger than 2x the turning radius of your car. just drive in circles
In Australia you can drive for 18 hours and still be on your own driveway
@@jules9094 You should check the clutch and the gearbox. If you are able to run at 80 km/h or more, after 18 hours you should have left the state. Probably the upshift function does not work.
Thanks for another great vid! I'm loving this Channel (pun intended...) One of the most interesting things I learnt about the construction of the tunnels, was that due to the fact they were bored from each end and met in the middle, it was not economically viable to dismantle the TBMs and remove them. They couldn't be reversed back out, because they were larger in diameter than the completed tunnel behind them. So, the solution was to simply bore an offshoot to the side of or below the main tunnel for each TBM, and bury them there. So there the TBMs remain, buried in concrete deep under the Channel.
Can't wait for your next Vid! Cheers...
Thanks for always mentioning meters, unlike many english native channels.
@dendo111 i've heard that there are actually three countries in the world that use feet and inches, can't remember which ones and I'm too lazy to look it up. Metric is best, nonetheless.
Since this channel is in English I would think that it would cater to the largest number of people who speak English which is the Americans at 350 million. So metric isn’t necessary.
Felipe Nunes I think the us are the only ones that don’t use the metric system at all. but Canada and the uk use it along with the imperial and are transitioning. Some smaller countries I think are also transitioning in South America and Asia
@@prepperjonpnw6482 India has the largest number of English speakers, but the US has the largest TH-cam audience.
@@prepperjonpnw6482 That is bs. Contrary most English or American people, the rest of the world speaks two or more languages, and therefore understands quite well what is be told in an English spoken channel.
Massive fan of your content. My uncle's company (Rhodes Industries) made the drills for the tunnel but, unbelievably, I had never watched anything about its construction...so thank you for remedying that for me! Another great video!
Only been through the tunnel once, and I was amazed at how smooth the journey was. Didn't even realise that the train had started moving! No shaking, no rattling, no feeling of acceleration or ANYTHING to indicate movement. Really impressive!
Though I've never been in one, I think that's the whole point of a high-speed train. The line is extremely smooth to allow for such velocities.
@@pvuccino They have done a magnificent job in the building of this project. I was amazed and very impressed!
I genuinely enjoy your demeanor and how you portray the information. *side note your corona virus video was by far my favorite laugh and the reason I subbed all your channels
The Dutch Delta Works would make for a good episode
Jeroen J The tunnel in progress between Denmark and Germany as well.
@@monkeydank7842 no wait till it is finished
It does.
When the two tunnels finally met, Guinness book of world records named the channel tunnel the "Most expensive glory hole ever"
Would be funny if one guy stuck his dick through the hole and the other accidentally shook it 😂
@@gravyboat2370 Lmao
An episode on O’Neil cylinders would be awesome
And In 1800 bridge was planned but scrapped, Maybe With the Traffic in UK London, being so bad, they will build one across Dover someday
2:43 it's not that dumb, the BART tunnel under San Francisco bay sits on the bottom of the ocean, mostly in the water. That's mostly so it has some flexibility in the even of an earthquake.
I really enjoy your videos.... very enlightening as well as entertaining. I am from the US, and I've had the pleasure of riding on the Chunnel train from Paris to London. A great experience!
"One was holding Union Jack flag and the other one French white flag."
On a serious note, it's crazy what countries can accomplish when they put their silliness aside.
Even under a video on the Channel Tunnel you have to make that joke. It's mindboggling of stupidity.
Well done 👍🏻 This is quickly becoming one of my favorite channels! I enjoyed the borehole and the Dyson Sphere was Awesome 👏🏻... Keep up the good work!!!
Megaproject Suggestion: The First Transcontinental Railroad.
America's or Australia's? Or how about the Trans-Siberian Railway?
@@alexv3357 all
Yes to all 3, as each had it's own tremendous challenges.
@@ChadWilson I'm especially interested in the challenges of the Trans-SIberian Railway
@@alexv3357, the taiga is no one's friend.
Wow, I found that very informative I really enjoyed it very much I watched all the series so far and love every min of it. Keep up the good work.
I saw the title as The Channel Tunnel and thought, Oh he started another TH-cam channel
At last count he has 9. A few more and he will be able to do megaproject on his self. 😅😅
Amusingly like alot of our elderly rail infrastructure the shakespeare cliffs tunnel section is still there and still being used, mostly original apart from a small section in which it was discovered that the sea had finally found its way in through the defence wall in 2015, a new defence and track bed had to be made rather quickly and at a high cost because the main line into Folkstone and Dover couldnt be closed for very long. The tailings dug out from the tunnel were dumped against the cliffs and a nature reserve was created on top of them, that too is really impressive and well worth a visit if your in the Dover area, the cafe on site does a mean bacon roll.
I'm surprised the British guy didn't hand over a German flag and say "guten tag!" just to troll the French...
French than replies : Oh sh*t, here we go again !
The French should or brought a white flag.. just saying
@@maxandmols9526 an Irish flag. Sorry guys, wrong direction
Chinese Flag Number 1
FOR SALE: FRENCH WWII MILITARY RIFLE. NEVER FIRED, DROPPED ONLY ONCE. 😉
Great channel and a great presenter ...also love the bio graphics channel as well ... keep them coming please ...
Simon "I don't remember when it opened." Me "Man, I feel old now!"
Anyway Simon, you should do an episode on the Bridge/Tunnel across the Chesapeake Bay. I was UNDER a super carrier once while using it!
I completely geeked out in this !!! Awesome!
Simon is so cute. I love how much more casual he is on this channel and he gives us little details about his life and who he is.
Thanks so much for a really enjoyable video. It is much appreciated.
French and English upon meeting in the middle:
English guy: Why didn't we do this centuries ago?
French guy: Because we'd been at war with each other for over half a millennium.
English guy: Millennium...that's a good name for a ride in London.
French guy: YOU SON OF A B***H!
I don't get the joke.
So many possible subjects for this channel, but this is the video I was looking forward to most.
It's my boi Simon without the Blaze
My x4 Great grandfather was the engineer William Low who came up with the 2 tunnel design that we now have today. So proud of his work!
but then we'd need the baguette to bap conversion instead...
I've been on the eurostar twice with my with. first trip was london to paris and the second london to belguim. both journeys taking about 2 hours. its really interesting when you go under the tunnel. the first time I wasn't even aware we had entered the tunnel until they welcomed us to france, though my wife said she saw a sign about entering the channel tunnel just before before going in.
Still I enjoyed the ride. the main advantage of taking the eurostar is that it takes you gare de nord. with a plane, you have to land at an airport and then worry about how to get into the city. eurostar youre already there.
I'd love to see a top 10 of megaprojects that finished on time and on budget, if there are even 10 lol
The Sagrada Familia! 😁😁
When the Tunnel joined up it was longer from the British side because the type of TBM they used was much faster. It was faster but was much less complicated than the French counterpart. The French TBM's were slower but were fully incased to protect workers and to keep moving in the event of flooding or collapse. The British stopped for a few months because of them hitting water. This had to be rectified before tunneling could resume. But because the British Machines were faster they caught up and tunneled further than the French.
We need a Mega Projects on the Empire State Building. Thanks.
Oooh, yes!
It would have been an interesting fact to talk about how accurate the navigation was. I was quite impressed to see the breakthrough exactly on point.
Off by 55mm. 😉😉
I used to always fly Ryanair between London and Eindhoven (or Weeze), which all things taken into account takes roughly 6-8 hours including all the waiting and travelling.
Then I found out accidentally (due to a airport strike) that travelling by Eurostar takes about the same time but, for a couple of euros/pounds more, I could travel first class, get food and sit relaxed reading a book.
Never flew that route ever again, always Eurostar 1st class.
Another winner, Mr. Whistler. On the topic of tunnels, you now simply cannot skip the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Twin 32' tunnels running 35 miles under the Alps.
Sadly..... I'm old enough to remember the project going on during the late 1980's. I've used it loads of times and it's a great way to cross the Channel in less time than the ferries that do the same journey..... which takes well over an hour.
I ridden the channel tunnel twice. once to Paris and once to Brussels on our way to Bruges.
The advantage the eurostar has to budget airlines is for the most part the train goes straight into the city. no need to worry about the airport traffic or anything.
The world should just quit humouring America and just quit referring to anything in imperial.
I have quite literally just gotten back from a couple of days culture holiday in Bruges and i decided to go by my car and went via Le Shuttle. It was a long trip from Birmingham to Folkestone (and the same return) 3 hours but the hour wait before boarding and 30 mins train.. and only 1 1/2 hours from Calais to Bruges ….
It really is a wonderous thing and I’m going by Eurostar around Christmas/new year for another short stay
Also how many channels do you have ????? 😂
Another of the worlds greatest rivalries separated by only a slither of water.. Sweden and Denmark anyone... Talk about rivalry.. :D
Edit.. Oh and we also have one of those megaprojects where we worked together.. :) The Öresundsbridge
That was only possible when, discussing financing, the Swedes said, "We'll go Dutch!"
I listened multiple times to confirm: Simon did in fact call it a “slither” rather than a “sliver” of water 😂
@@goosebump801 Yeah i reacted to that as well. But since he's the master i used the same word.. :D
Having Simon and family over for dinner seems like it would be one of the more interesting and entertaining evenings one could have.
Especially if he enjoys brandy and a fine cigar.
wouldnt it be 26 years?
sure, if you're going to be a stickler for maths
Hi, there are two other megaprojects involving tunnels that might be interesting: The Big Dig in Boston, which is one of the most expensive tunnel/bridge complexes built, and includes a bridge-within-a-tunnel under the harbor; and the Alaskan Way Tunnel in Seattle, which was, at the time it was built, the largest diameter deep bore tunnel in the world. It might still be, but I'm not sure about that.
Naturally, both had problems, delays, lawsuits, and were over budget. The one here in Seattle contributed to our mayor losing his job.
He did the big dig
Called it "the big dig. 😉😉
At 05:58 "The British had a bit of a distrust of their Gaelic neighbours...." Excuse-me Simon? Have the French got roots with the people on 'that other island' (or the Welsh/Scottish). Maybe you meant 'Gallic roots' ;).
He did, but you should note the Bretons of northwestern France speak a language in the same family as Welsh and Scottish.
I really enjoy this channel!! Thank you!!
"...cost the UK 16 million dollars"
Err, Simon, sorry mate but we use Pound Sterling in the UK..
Yes, but you're literally watching this on the American TH-cam site.......
You ever heard of a currency converter???
@@lordgarion514 Woooooosh!!!
@@dannymorgan2654 ??
@@lordgarion514 It was a joke. Simon is pretty smart and I'm aware he knows that the UK uses Pounds and I'm also aware that TH-cam is an American company and most of his viewers are likely to be American, but went for a dry sarcastic joke as is the British way
@@dannymorgan2654
Gotcha, and yeah,it can be a bit hard to see some humor. Especially when TH-cam is full of people saying things like that (especially about the metric system) who aren't joking. 🤓
I remember spending a number of weekends in the Folkstone area around the time just before it opened and while construction was going on prior to that. Was an incredible sight from the top of the hills surrounding the area.
"33km for you europeans" says the european guy living in the middle of europe
But in Britain, even though we're a metric country officially we still use miles.
@@jamiemilbourne4498 he is in Prague.
@@jamiemilbourne4498 Several countries still use Metric units. Places like Ireland, Brazil, Myanmar, the Czech Republic, etc.
I was born in Ashford, I never much liked the town and lived there for 21 years before moving out, but my god does Ashford have an amazing amount of history. One of the closest stations to the channel tunnel, one of the major rail travel hubs for the Southeast of Britain, one of the oldest rail networks in the country that helped with logistics for the 1st and 2nd world wars, had numerous V1 flying bomb dropped on it during world war 2, a World War 1 mark IV tank that sits in St James' Square in the town centre which fought in the battle of cambrai and was gifted to the town for its service during WW1 and transported back by train, then driven from the railyard to where it now stands at a steady 3.6 miles per hour. Ashford might be a boring town in the arse end of Britain, but it does have a rich history to be sure.
Making tunnels is boring
Ba dum TSSS.
Great episode sir!
Also known as "The Chunnel".
I live in Dover, and regularly drive past Folkestone terminal on my way to work. Also, yes, you can see France in good weather from multiple points in that area.
Golden softball ....
.
"We made a video about the world's deepest hole, but Kim Kardashian filed a copyright claim."
Buh-dum-dum-PSSHH!!
I gave you a thumbs down for no reason at all
However, the usefulness of _Eurostar_ wasn't complete until the _High Speed 1_ line from the Channel Tunnel to London St. Pancras was operational in 2007. Once that opened, downtown London to downtown Paris turned into a 2 hour 15 minute trip.
IMO, Simon your style of presentation in this video is the best so far.
I'm a tunneller and I work with some fine chaps who worked on the Channel Tunnel. They say the difference in length of tunnel dug by the French and the British is due to the ring bonus on the British side (performance pay). This is also reflected in the higher death toll on the British side.
Great episode!!
Simon, keep making this great content!
Wow, in less than two months this channel is nearly at 100k subscribers. The power of Simon Whistler is massive.
I needed to know why they couldn’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for most of the mainline Trains so that they could extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock which will include the class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign all of them into an overhead wire line trains and also make most of them into Five carriages per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Scania N112, Leyland 510, Volvo D10M, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 6 Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 10 Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into 8 carriages per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers? A Stock Train and 7 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it even much more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. Then put the modernised 8 carriages per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 8 carriages per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly Line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Scania N112, Cummins M11, Volvo D10M, Leyland 510, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 87 Octagon and Every 46 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.10 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 147MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 147MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 14 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!!!!!!!, oh can you make all of those 18 Tonne Boxes of Coal for all of those 147MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!!!!!!!! So please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!!!!!!!! And PLEASE do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.
Stellar. Well done.
A great tale, the Chunnel is wicked cool! Norway is talking about a "Floating Tunnel", just like your childhood notions! That tunnel and the entire road system that Norway is considering would be a great Future Megaprojects video!
idk if you do projects that aren't completed yet, but the coastal highway project ongoing in Norway is shaping up to be one of the most impressive infrastructure projects ever, and notably DOES include a proposed tunnel through, not under, the ocean.
I'm surprised you didn't cover what happened to all the material dug out, as that's a worthwhile story as well.
i've only used the channel tunnel once back when i was a kid on a school trip to Bruggee. Comfortable ride, didn't even notice we'd started moving. Didn't even feel like we were in there for long
Try eventually following the new built of a Danish built Tunnel to Germany, below The Fehmarn Belt? It is being built as long floating concrete elements to be shipped out and sunk into the bottoms newly made ditch, which is to be covered on top of the elements below, making the sea bottom as it had been before! And the cars may here drive for themselves + two rail tracks to one side.
I keep waiting for Simon's stitch fix sponsorship, he is always on point
The main reason the UK tunneled more of the Service tunnel is that they could build the tunneling machine underground in the 1974 tunnel whereas the French needed to wait for the huge shaft to be completed before they could build their machine.
The French tunneling method was also slower, as a result of the different design of machine needed to tunnel through the loose chalk at the French end.
The Running tunnels met much nearer half way as the French could build their other two machines in the same shaft but the UK teams had to construct two huge underground chambers to build their machines in.
I've wanted a video like this on the channel tunnel for years 😊😊
Fun fact: these are filmed in an abandoned part of the chunnel.... that also has magnificent lighting..
Freight goes beyond Folkstone and Calais on Freightliner (Intermodal) and certain other Wagon types. Using Class 92 locomotives. The trains being to UK loading guage as after coming through Europe and tunnel once on UK metals need to be comparable with our small loading guage
Great channel. Two things I would like to see. The CERN Hadron Collider, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Like button smashed!
For what it's worth, @2:39, it's not "dumb" to think that the tunnel went THROUGH the ocean rather than under it. Tunnels are, in fact, often made "through" the ocean. They make big tubes on land, barge them out to sea, sink them, and link them altogether. Pump the water out, and you now have a tunnel that goes "through" the ocean, laying on the ocean floor.
Though, that said, there are none that you can look at the window of. ;)
With EVs becoming popular, I can imagine the service tunnel being opened to ZEVs for some extra cash someday.
It's not anywhere close to large enough to do that safely. It's only 16 feet wide as stated in the video, enough for two VERY NARROW lanes with no shoulders. If there was an accident either with the cars or the trains it would be effectively impossible to get emergency vehicles to it.
Unidirectional every other hour?
At the very least, retrofit EV chargers into Le Shuttle’s wagons.
I love how even though Simon is usually so impartial and professional, when it comes to the french he always takes a dig lol.