Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott acknowledges the breakthrough of the North Downs Tunnel on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
On Thursday 8th June, 2000 deputy prime minister John Prescott witnessed the breakthrough of the North Downs Tunnel, part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The tunnel was completed two months ahead of schedule and under budget. John Prescott is the politician most closely associated with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project and, many believe, the man but for whom the Link might never have been built. Back in 1998, he said the time had come to stop talking and start digging and his rescue of the ailing private project is considered to be the outstanding legacy of his political career. The £ billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now High Speed One) was built between 1998-2007 and partly funded by the European Union, it forms a section of the Trans European Rail Network. It is basically a French-style high-speed rail line linking London with the Channel Tunnel, the Eurostar trains were developed on proven technology from the French TGV high-speed system. Stations on the CTRL are the existing Ashford International and new stations at Ebbsfleet and Stratford. The line ends at the rebuilt St. Pancras. Fourteen new tunnels were constructed, the longest being the London Tunnel which is long from Ripple Lane to Stratford, after which the line briefly comes to the surface at Stratford Station. Five huge shafts of diameter ventilate the twin bore, single-track tunnels and provide emergency access and evacuation points. The line passes in tunnel under the River Thames and crosses the M25 at Thurrock. For the Thames crossing (a 3km twin-bore tunnel), the line drops 1 in 40 down under the river and then climbs 1 in 40 up, curving at the same time. The CTRL then negotiates the M25 motorway, going under the southbound and over the northbound carriageway. Lengthy loops at two places along the route allow trains to be overtaken so freight and faster domestic trains can be mixed with 300 kph Eurostar high-speed services.
Size: 2432px × 1603px
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Photo credit: © qaphotos.com / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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