Timeline
The Channel Tunnel: from Napoleon's era to Eurostar
A tunnel under the sea was first proposed in 1802. Follow the Channel Tunnel's story in eight dates, from early plans to the 1994 opening and Eurostar.
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In short
The idea of a tunnel under the Channel (la Manche) goes back to 1802, but construction only began in 1988, after the 1986 Treaty of Canterbury. The French and British teams met under the sea on 1 December 1990, and the tunnel opened on 6 May 1994. Eurostar trains started carrying passengers in November 1994.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
- 1802L'ingénieur Albert Mathieu propose un tunnel pour les diligences.Engineer Albert Mathieu proposes a tunnel for horse-drawn coaches.
- 1881Des essais de creusement commencent, puis s'arrêtent.Trial digging begins, then stops.
- 1986La France et le Royaume-Uni signent le traité de Canterbury.France and the UK sign the Treaty of Canterbury.
- 1988Le creusement commence des deux côtés.Digging begins on both sides.
- 1990Le 1er décembre, les ouvriers français et anglais se rencontrent sous la mer.On 1 December, French and British workers meet under the sea.
- 1994Le 6 mai, la reine Élisabeth II et François Mitterrand inaugurent le tunnel.On 6 May, Queen Elizabeth II and François Mitterrand open the tunnel.
- 1994 (novembre)Les premiers trains Eurostar transportent des passagers.The first Eurostar trains carry passengers.
- 2007Une nouvelle ligne rapide relie le tunnel à la gare de Saint-Pancras.A new high-speed line links the tunnel to St Pancras station.
Key words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| la Manche | the English Channel |
| creuser / le creusement | to dig / digging |
| un traité | a treaty |
| inaugurer | to open officially |
| relier | to link |
| sous la mer | under the sea |
The French call it le tunnel sous la Manche; the English Channel is la Manche (the sleeve), because of its shape. The tunnel is about 50 km long, with nearly 38 km under the sea. Trains between Paris and London now take about 2 h 20, and cars travel on shuttle trains (les navettes) between Calais and Folkestone.
On prend l'Eurostar ou la navette ?
Shall we take the Eurostar or the shuttle?
En 1990, les deux équipes se sont serré la main sous la mer.
In 1990, the two teams shook hands under the sea.