Is there an underwater road tunnel from England to France?

What is the Chunnel? The Channel Tunnel (often called the 'Chunnel' for short) is an undersea tunnel linking southern England and northern France. It is operated by the company Getlink, who also run a railway shuttle (Le Shuttle) between Folkestone and Calais, carrying passengers in cars, vans and other vehicles.



No, there is no underwater road tunnel that allows you to drive your car directly from England to France. The only fixed link is the Channel Tunnel (often called the "Chunnel"), which is strictly a railway tunnel. However, you can still "drive" across by using the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle service. You drive your car onto a specialized closed rail carriage in Folkestone, Kent, and stay with your vehicle for the 35-minute journey under the sea to Coquelles (near Calais), France. This is distinct from the Eurostar, which is a high-speed passenger-only train. While there have been various proposals for a road bridge or tunnel over the decades, the technical and safety challenges of ventilating a 31-mile road tunnel beneath the English Channel make it unfeasible. For now, the shuttle train remains the fastest and most popular way for motorists to cross between the two countries.

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You and your pets stay in your vehicle throughout the journey - sit back and relax, it only takes 35 minutes to cross.

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Connect the UK to continental Europe with an undersea tunnel The Channel Tunnel opened in May 1994 after 6 years of construction. It's the longest undersea tunnel in the world.

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Generally speaking the ferry is usually slightly cheaper, but whichever option you choose, make sure to shop around for deals and book well ahead of time to get the best-value fares.

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1 Answer. To allow for adequate fire suppression, in the event of a vehicle fire in the tunnel. The tunnel's fire suppression system depends upon complete mixing of the released halon gas with all air, without having pockets of high (or low) halon concentration.

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The tunnel is actually designed to leak. As Eurotunnel explain on their website, 'seawater from the rocks above the tunnel drips through and is then pumped away.

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Engineers used two systems of tunnel linings – cast iron segments bolted together and precast concrete rings. The TBMs excavated a huge amount of chalk. On the French side, the chalk was crushed, mixed with water, and pumped inland behind a specially built dam 37m high.

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English Channel tunnel opens The Chunnel cut travel time between England and France to a swift 35 minutes and eventually between London and Paris to two-and-a-half hours. As the world's longest undersea tunnel, the Chunnel runs under water for 23 miles, with an average depth of 150 feet below the seabed.

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The Channel Tunnel is under the English Channel for 37.9 km or 23.5 miles, which is the worlds longest undersea tunnel. When riding the Eurostar you'll be underwater for about 13 minutes.

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You can pay a lot to just turn up without a booking. There are plenty of crossings (up to 4 per hour) and it runs all night, so it is never fully booked for days on end, though you might have fewer choices of departure time still available when you do book. Guess your arrival time as best you can.

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If you are thinking of leaving your car on the ship, you will not be able to, and you must park your car at Dover and cross as a foot passenger. If you take your car on the ferry, you drive on, leave the car, join it again when told at Calais and drive off.

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