The channel tunnel runs between England and France, and it was one of the greatest civil engineering projects of the 20th century. The tunnel is 49.4 km (30.7 miles) long, of which 38 km (23.6 miles) are under the sea. There are three tunnels, two for high-speed trains and a third for maintenance, ventilation and emergency services. Trains traveling up to 300 km per hour (186 miles per hour) link London and Paris in just three hours.
A French mining engineer first suggested the idea of a tunnel under the English Channel in 1802, but the tunnel was not completed until May 1994; at a cost of 15 billion US dollars.
The Channel Tunnel Made the old dream of a ground link between Great Britain and continental Europe a reality for the first time since the Ice Ages.
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