The Channel Tunnel

Feature Trends in Rail Freight

The Channel Tunnel

John Noulton

investigation of the seabed—at great their continental neighbours with A 250-year Dream personal risk—was the groundwork for the considerable suspicion, particularly after eventual Eurotunnel project. the Napoleonic campaigns earlier in the Although the Channel Tunnel between century, and were reluctant to end their England and France only opened for ‘splendid isolation.’ Lord Palmerston, the business in 1994, the story of the project Why Not a Bridge? Tory Prime Minister, greeted one proposal is far, far longer. As much as 250 years with the words, ‘You surely do not expect ago, people in France, at least, were trying De Gamond showed that the chalk me to agree to shorten a distance I already to think of a better way than boat of measures underlying Kent and Nord/Pas consider short enough?’ crossing the Channel. de Calais also lay beneath the seabed. Many people did not share Palmerston’s In 1751, the Academy of Amiens Subsequent geological studies revealed distaste for things French. Even during launched a competition on how to cross that at an average depth of about 40 m Anglo-French hostilities, there was still a the Channel and history records that the below the seabed, the chalk merged with ready market in Britain for French wines winner was Nicolas Desmarets, who clay to form an almost uniform stratum of and brandy and cross-Channel trade suggested construction of a tunnel. In chalk marl, probably the best tunnelling continued without interruption, much of those days, cross-Channel travel was not medium in the world. This accident of it by smuggling. The south coast of dominated by the leisure business as it is geology was one of the two reasons why England closest to France has many relics today. Other than military action, the the fixed link is a tunnel and not a bridge. of the illegal trade, and the 18th- century main reasons were to do with trade. The other reason is that the Channel is smugglers have now been succeeded by For the next 100 years, a succession of the busiest seaway in the world, with over a much less romantic breed of villain who mainly French proposals emerged with 600 shipping movements each day. Any take advantage of the sharp differences in increasingly sophisticated ideas for the bridge or other structure in the Channel excise duty between Britain and its new link. Since this was before the would almost certainly be rammed by a neighbours. It is estimated that 20% of development of railways, these tunnels ship in due course. If anything, the risks the bottled or canned beer consumed in were inevitably road tunnels. of such an accident would have been even Britain is bought in France. Much of it is One proposal by Hector Thoreau involved greater during construction than during British beer that has been exported to two artificial islands where stagecoaches subsequent operation. France only to be reimported by British using the gas-lit tunnel would come above shoppers or ‘bootleggers.’ ground to change the horses. In the 1880s, it did begin to seem as Although Desmarets is the first Previous Tunnel Attempts though the dream of a tunnel would be documented proponent of a fixed link, the realized. Colonel Beaumont, a British generally acknowledged ‘Father of the Despite the French enthusiasm for a military engineer, led a construction team Tunnel’ was the 19th century French tunnel, actual excavation did not start until that bored nearly 2 km of undersea tunnel engineer Thomé de Gamond whose the latter 19th century. The British viewed from Dover. A French team of engineers began work on a similar tunnel from Sangatte. But it was not to be. Senior members of the British defence

One of runnning tunnels (Eurotunnel) Breakthrough of service tunnel on 1 December 1990 (Eurotunnel)

38 Japan Railway & Transport Review 26 • February 2001 Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved. establishment were still obsessed by the and the rail-based tunnel promoted by fear of invasion and persuaded the Eurotunnel. After a detailed assessment Not Just a Tunnel government to stop the project. of the four bids, the Eurotunnel proposal Oddly enough, it was not until after the was selected. The private-sector The winning scheme was a system two World Wars that the British defence promoters were awarded a concession of consisting of three 50-km tunnels: two objection to a Channel tunnel was finally 55 years (later extended to 99 years) in running tunnels of 7.5 m in diameter, and dropped. In 1957, it seemed the last which time they were ‘to finance, a service tunnel of 4.8 m in diameter. Each obstacle to construction of a tunnel had develop, design, construct and operate the running tunnel is unidirectional with a disappeared and by 1973, work had re- tunnel entirely at their own risk without structure gauge for the huge vehicle- started in a blaze of optimism. The recourse to government funds.’ carrying shuttles of the Eurotunnel engineers were encouraged when they By the time of the successful share offer transportation system as well as the more opened up the Beaumont tunnel of 1880 in 1987, the concessionaires had finally conventional international freight and to find that it was still intact, despite the answered Lenin’s scornful challenge of passenger trains. The service tunnel is a fact that it had never been lined. But 1913 in which he said, ‘The richest, the road tunnel used by purpose-built, narrow, within 2 years, the optimism had vanished most civilized, and the freest countries in diesel vehicles for maintenance and and the project was cancelled by the the world are now discussing, in fear and emergency access. British government again, although for a trepidation, the difficult question of Although the tunnel is not the longest in more complex set of political motives. In whether a tunnel can be built under the the world—at 50 km it is nearly 4 km particular, the trade-union supporters of English Channel. On all sides, at every shorter than the Seikan Tunnel linking the then Labour government were fiercely step, one comes across problems that man Honshu and Hokkaido—the 39-km opposed to the tunnel, because they were is quite capable of solving immediately, undersea section between Dover and concerned that members’ jobs in road but capitalism is in the way.’ Sangatte is the longest in the world. haulage and stevedoring would be lost with the massive shift of international freight from road and ship to rail.

Private Finance

The fears of the UK government about public expenditure was another reason for the cancellation of the 1973 project. By 1979, when the possibility of a tunnel was being considered again, the government’s view had hardened. The government would not stand in the way of a fixed link provided it was funded wholly by the private sector; there would be no public funding and no guarantees of a financial or commercial nature. Although the French government had no qualms about committing public funds to the link, they accepted the British insistence on private funding, and in 1985, an ‘Invitation to Promoters’ was issued calling for bids for a privately funded project. Four valid proposals were received by the October deadline—three road schemes Folkestone Terminal (Eurotunnel)

The tunnels themselves are only part of The rail system in the part of southern cooling system. the civil engineering story. The running England served by Channel Tunnel trains Tunnel engineers will tell you that the tunnels are linked to the central service is 750 V dc, whereas the French network French half of the tunnel was designed to tunnel by cross-passages every 375 m for is 25 kV ac. A further complication is that be watertight while the British half was emergency access and egress. During the British system delivers power through always intended to leak. This normal operations, where it meets the a third rail, while France has a standard oversimplification reflects the fact that the running tunnel, each end of each cross- overhead catenary. ground conditions in the British half of the passage is sealed by a heavy door. The tunnel are much more favourable than running tunnels themselves are linked those in French territory, particularly near directly by pressure relief ducts to reduce Tunnel Mechanical Systems the French coast where the very fractured the air pressure that builds up in front of ground necessitated a lining method moving trains. This in turn reduces the The tunnel contains four main mechanical involving segments that were bolted power required for traction and cooling. systems—ventilation, cooling, drainage, temporarily together pending grouting and About 15 km from each tunnel portal, and fire-fighting. The design of each of watertight neoprene gaskets between each trains pass through large crossover these systems was strongly influenced by lining segment. No such precautions were caverns. As the name implies, their the unique characteristics of the tunnel considered necessary for the British tunnel purpose is to permit trains to pass from itself, particularly its long length and drives and the drainage design assumes one tunnel to the other. Tunnel sections limited surface access. constant groundwater seepage. Water is can be bypassed during regular The normal ventilation system operates collected by gravity drainage lines in the maintenance or in an emergency using at all times. Large fans at each coast tunnel floor and is directed to holding these crossover caverns. Single-line blow fresh air into the service tunnel. sumps prior to discharge to the surface working is required at such times. The air reaches the running tunnels treatment plant via one of three pumping The shuttle trains require extensive through non-return air distribution units stations. The original tunnel design called terminal facilities at each end; the in selected cross-passage doors. There for five pumping stations and five Folkestone terminal covers 130 ha and are air locks at each portal of the service chambers were excavated, but the actual extends to a length of 2 km. However, tunnel to ensure that the air pressure in seepage is so much less than predicted this huge facility is dwarfed by the French the tunnel is always higher than in the that only three stations were equipped. terminal, covering nearly 700 ha—the size running tunnels—a vital feature in the The tunnel system has a wide range of fire of a major international airport like event of smoke from a fire. A second, detection and protection devices. To fight Heathrow. At the time, the French supplementary ventilation system a major fire, a single 273-mm diameter terminal was the largest construction site blows air directly into the running fire main runs the entire length of the in Europe. tunnels in certain emergencies. The service tunnel. Water tanks and pumping supplementary system only operates stations are provided at four locations: the after trains have been slowed to very two portals and where the tunnels cross Anglo-French differences low speeds. the two coasts. The Channel Tunnel is already one of the Quite apart from the differences in busiest railways in the world and when it attitude towards the tunnel between reaches its ultimate capacity it will handle Control and communications Britain and France, there were also 30 train movements per hour in each technical differences to overcome, not direction. The power required to run the Overall control of both engineering and least for the international freight and 2400-tonne shuttle trains and the rail operations is carried out from the main passenger trains that operate beyond the aerodynamic resistance of the tunnels control centre in the Folkestone terminal. boundaries of the Eurotunnel system. The (despite the pressure relief ducts) creates A standby control centre at the Coquelles British network is built mostly to a much waste heat ranging from about 60 MW at terminal would take over instantly if the more restricted structure gauge. Rolling present to about 100 MW at full capacity. Folkestone centre was put out of action stock from mainland Europe cannot The amount of heat that can be lost at the for any reason. operate in Britain, so trains for the tunnel portals is limited to about 1.8 MW and The tunnel has a variety of telephone and either had to be built specially or limited the heat dissipated by water seepage is radio systems for voice and data to the UK gauge. very slight. Therefore, the tunnel needs a communication. In addition to the

40 Japan Railway & Transport Review 26 • February 2001 Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved. administrative telephone network, there are operational and emergency telephones, linked to the control centre, in a multitude of locations above and below ground. The underground emergency telephone lines are protected against fire. The signalling system incorporates full automatic train protection (ATP). When there is a stationary train ahead, the permitted speeds are gradually reduced so that a driver following the proper braking procedure slows down smoothly and comes to a halt a full block section before the stopped train. A shuttle train travelling at the normal 140 km/h needs 1500 m—three block sections—to make a normal service stop. If the driver disregarded the instructions to brake, the Railway control centre at Folkestone (Eurotunnel) ATP system would take over and bring the train to a halt.

Power Supply

The tunnel has a high demand for electrical power. Traction accounts for about 80% of total consumption with remainder used for auxiliary facilities such as ventilation, cooling and lighting. Unusually, the power comes simultaneously from the British and French national grids. In the event of a total power failure on one side, it is possible for tunnel services to be kept running with power from one side.

Capacity/Services Terminal traffic control centre at Folkestone (Eurotunnel)

The capacity is measured in standard paths, being used. Improved operating techniques meaning the capacity required for a shuttle will stretch the available capacity to about National Trains train travelling at the normal operating 24 standard paths per hour. The ultimate speed of 140 km/h. Trains travelling at capacity, which would require moving The opening of the Channel Tunnel speeds greater than 140 km/h use more block signalling, is 30 standard paths per connected Britain’s 16,000-km railway capacity. hour. Under a usage contract signed by network to more than 150,000 km of The presently available number of standard Britain and France, up to 50% of tunnel standard-gauge tracks in continental paths in each direction is 20 per hour, and capacity is available for international Europe. Before the Tunnel opening, about two-thirds of this capacity is already passenger and freight trains. international rail freight between Britain

and France was limited to some 2 million There are about 30 Eurostar services each tonnes per year, all of which had to cross way each day between London and Paris Shuttle Services the Channel on train ferries. Due to the or Brussels. Each train is operated by a restricted loading gauge in Britain, most single driver, working from one capital to Unlike the roll-on/roll-off ferries crossing continental freight wagons cannot use the the other. The Eurostar trains also have the Channel, passenger and freight Tunnel and most freight traffic consists of TVM430 in-cab signalling system used customers of Eurotunnel’s shuttle services intermodal containers that are transferred in the tunnel as well as the conventional are conveyed separately by dedicated from rail to road for final delivery. To carry in-cab warning systems used on the three shuttles and separate terminals. these containers, it was necessary for the national rail networks. In the tunnel, the The passenger shuttles are 776-m long and operators to purchase a new fleet of Eurostar trains run at speeds of 160 km/h, their vehicles are the largest in the railway wagons with low-level decks. but when they reach the high-speed lines world. Each shuttle comprises two To haul freight trains through the Tunnel, in Belgium and France, they accelerate rakes—12 double-deck wagons for cars, completely new Class 92 electric to 300 km/h. Because the higher-speed and twelve single-deck wagons for locomotives were built. These Eurostars are relatively wasteful of tunnel coaches caravans and other high-sided locomotives can operate on both 750 V capacity, the Brussels and Paris services vehicles. Customers drive their vehicles dc third-rail and 25 kV ac catenary pass through in ‘flighted’ pairs with 4- into special loader wagons at the rear of systems. They have a maximum output minutes headway. each rake and continue through the body of 5 MW (6700 hp) and normally operate Journey times are 3 hours from London to of the train until told to stop by a member in pairs, but are designed to a full train Paris and 2 hours and 25 minutes from of the crew. During transit through the plus a ‘dead’ locomotive up the 1:90 (11 London to Brussels, making them very tunnel, fire-resistant doors between the per mill) grade to the Folkestone portal at competitive with air in terms of city centre wagons are closed. Passengers stay in 30 km/h. The Class 92s have Tunnel- to city centre journey times. As a result, their vehicles during the 35-minute compatible TVM430 in-cab signalling. the Eurostar services have captured a 60% journey to the other terminal. A unique Freight volumes have grown slowly but share of these markets with over 6 million feature of the shuttle system is that British steadily since freight services began in people travelling by Eurostar each year. outward and French inward border 1994 and more than 3 million tonnes will High-speed lines have been constructed controls are carried out in Folkestone (the be carried through the Tunnel this year. on the French and Belgian sections of the reverse occurs on the return journey). This Like the Class 92s, the Eurostar high-speed Eurostar routes and work has started on a means that on arrival at the other terminal, passenger trains were built specially. They new 112-km high-speed line in Britain to customers can drive directly onto the can operate on three separate systems connect the tunnel to St. Pancras Station motorway with no further controls. The (Britain, France and Belgium), and, unlike in London. When this section is fully shuttle locomotives, which are used for the French TGVs (on which they are opened in 2007, Eurostar journey times both passenger and freight services, are based) are able to operate on the British will be cut by a further 30 minutes. among the most powerful in the world. network. They produce 5.6 MW (7500 hp) and can

Loading passenger shuttle at Folkestone and Coquelles (right) (Eurotunnel)

42 Japan Railway & Transport Review 26 • February 2001 Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved. each pull a 2400-tonne train through the restricted passenger shuttle service tunnel, although they are invariably used Fire! operated together with national trains. in pairs, one at each end of a train. The freight shuttle service was suspended Eurotunnel operates two to three The very serious fire in November 1996 until both tunnels were open. passenger shuttles per hour in each was on one of the freight shuttles. Late in A police investigation showed that the fire direction, rising to four at peak times. As the evening, two security guards in the was arson but no one has been charged originally conceived, passenger shuttles Beussingue Cutting, close to the French so far. were to have operated on a ‘turn up and tunnel portal noticed smoke coming from go’ basis, with no pre-booking. When a wagon towards the back of a freight capacity was restricted following the 1996 shuttle that was about to enter the tunnel. Ancillary businesses fire, a booking system was introduced and They reported the smoke and the rail this proved so popular with customers and control centre in Folkestone advised the As well as running trains and managing provided such operational benefits, that driver. By this time, the train was in the the Tunnel infrastructure, Eurotunnel has it was made a permanent feature even tunnel and the control centre had begun become involved in other business after full capacity was restored. It is still to receive indications from the activities. Before the end of duty-free sales possible to simply ‘turn up and go’ but underground smoke and fire alarms. in Europe, Eurotunnel was a very booking ahead is advisable at times of In accordance with the standard operating successful retailer with income from its high demand. practice, the driver was instructed to duty-free shops rising to £170 million a The major business of the passenger continue his transit and a route was set year. It is also in the telecommunications shuttles is leisure travel and the biggest for the train to enter the emergency siding business and has laid several flows are in the summer holiday period. at the Folkestone terminal. telecommunications cables through the The short-break business is also Just after passing the French crossover, the tunnel for major telephone companies. flourishing, but the end of duty free sales driver received a cab warning of a possible in Europe in June 1999 saw a dramatic trailing jack (jacks are used during loading fall in traditional day-trip traffic. Over 3 to steady the train). As he still had to pass Future developments million cars used the passenger shuttles the English crossover, the trailing jack in 1999 as did 82,000 coaches.. could have caused derailment. In Because of the very strong growth in the Unlike the passenger shuttles, the freight discussion with the control centre, the cross-Channel road freight market, shuttle wagons are semi-open. Truck driver brought the train to a controlled following its recovery from the 1996 fire, drivers do not stay with their vehicles but halt, with the ‘club’ car alongside a cross- Eurotunnel decided to double its fleet of travel instead in a ‘club’ car at the front of passage. Anxious minutes passed as the 8 freight shuttles. This expansion of its the train where they are served a meal. front of the train became enveloped in freight business was the key ingredient in Originally 28-wagons long, the freight smoke. Fortunately, the control centre Eurotunnel’s strategy to replace the lost shuttles have been extended to 32 wagons was able to identify and open the cross- £170 million in annual revenues from because of rapidly rising demand. Up to passage door. The inflow of ventilation duty-free sales. The current fleet of freight four trains run each hour in each direction air from the service tunnel cleared the shuttles numbers 11 and further trains are and carried 839,000 trucks in 1999. smoke and the train captain was able to being manufactured. This expansion of The cross-Channel road freight market evacuate the truck drivers to the safe capacity enabled Eurotunnel to carry 42% uses both driver-accompanied trucks and haven of the service tunnel. Meanwhile, more trucks in the first half of 2000 unaccompanied trailers. Eurotunnel’s rescue teams had arrived on the scene and compared to the same period in 1999. shuttles only cater for accompanied the evacuated passengers and crew were The freight shuttle is the most successful vehicles, although the system does accept loaded onto a shuttle that had been of Eurotunnel’s businesses. It is also a very vehicles weighing up to 44 tonnes—the stopped in the other tunnel and taken back satisfying business because it is year-round maximum permitted in Europe on to Coquelles. and not seasonal like the passenger international journeys. The fire burned all night before it was business. Freight peaks in the early finally brought under control and the morning, late evening and mid-week extensive damage closed the affected occur conveniently at times of low tunnel for 7 months while repairs were passenger-shuttle demand. However, this carried out. During that period, a success is not without its problems.

Since the opening of the Tunnel there has doubling the number of platforms from 8 the project. However, the governments been a concentration of road freight traffic to 16. Fortunately, space for such an would be free to invite other promoters on the Channel Tunnel and Dover ferry expansion was provided in the original to build such a link that would enter routes, at the expense of the longer ferry designs. service no earlier than 2020. routes in the North Sea and the western One direct result of the fire was the To comply with this requirement, Channel. This means that if there is decision to develop an on-train fire Eurotunnel submitted a feasibility study disruption of either the ferries or Tunnel, suppression system for freight shuttles. for a second tunnel to the British and queues build up rapidly on the approach The existing safety systems proved that French governments in December 1999. motorways. The volume of trucks likely they could save the lives of passengers and Because of changes in public attitudes to be held up in this way is so huge that crew, but the Tunnel itself was not towards pollution and the motor car, the the police have introduced ‘Operation protected. A prototype system is now study looked at both ‘drive through’ Stack’ in which the motorway is closed to undergoing in-service trials. schemes and at the possibility of a second all other traffic and is used as a lorry park. rail tunnel. It identified two possible Apart from technical difficulties, options, one rail and one road. Both were disruption has been caused recently by Next—A Road Tunnel? large single tunnels of about 15 m in bad weather in the Channel, strikes by external diameter, within which, it is seamen and port operators, and blockades When the governments awarded believed, all the safety features of the in France by farmers, fishermen and Eurotunnel its concession in 1986, there present three tunnels could be combined. hauliers. The Tunnel was even blocked was some disappointment in both The road tunnel was based on two one- on one occasion by people protesting the countries that the chosen scheme was a way two-lane carriageways on separate end of duty-free sales. rail tunnel. Competing ‘drive through’ levels for cars and light vehicles only. The new trains are not identical to those projects had been judged impractical but Heavy vehicles would continue to use the in the original fleet. Experience of the promoters of those schemes attracted freight shuttle as now. operating the existing vehicles has led considerable public and political support. The rail option would have two Eurotunnel to develop a simpler design The governments therefore imposed an unidirectional tracks side-by-side, but more suited to the intensive shuttle-based obligation on Eurotunnel to develop separated by a fire wall. It would cater system. proposals for a ‘drive through’ link by last to Eurostar passenger trains and Expansion of the freight shuttle business year. The company does not have to build international freight trains, leaving the is not simply a matter of buying more such a link unless it is technically and whole capacity of the present tunnel for trains. Substantial modification of the financially feasible and, even then, there the Eurotunnel shuttles. terminals will also be necessary, such as is no binding obligation to go ahead with Paradoxically, the road option would not

Cross Section of Channel Tunnel Structure

Piston relief duct Shuttle train Eurostar

Cross-passage Cross-passage Running tunnel Service tunnel Running tunnel

(Eurotunnel)

44 Japan Railway & Transport Review 26 • February 2001 Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved. inhibit transfer of road freight to rail, because a road tunnel would free capacity in the existing tunnel for the passage of 51 million tonnes of rail freight each year, or 13 times the volume expected to be carried this year. The rail option would permit carriage of up to 73 million tonnes per annum, 20 times the current level. Both schemes appeared to be technically feasible, but the viability of the rail option depends very much on the evolution of the cross-Channel freight business.

Changing Public Attitude

One reasons why the feasibility study View of tunnel system showing shuttle train, Eurostar and service tunnel vehicle (Eurotunnel) encompassed both road and rail options was the perceived change in public Unfortunately, as things stand, rail freight of 283 billion tonne-km in 1970 to 241 attitudes to roads since the Eurotunnel is anything but competitive with road since billion tonne-km by 1998. In the same concession was awarded. European the European road haulage market has been period, the volume of road freight grew by governments have repeatedly said that fully liberalized. Less than 20 years ago, 50% to 1255 billion tonne-km and the they want to encourage a massive shift of road hauliers needed a permit for every growth is quickening. It is no coincidence traffic, particularly freight traffic, from road international journey, but today there is that the length of motorways in the EU to rail. The 10-year transport plan recently complete freedom of access to most roads tripled from 16,000 to 49,000 km between published by the UK government has in Europe. Hauliers also have the right to 1970 and 1998, while the length of railway suggested a target of 80% growth in rail practice cabotage and, if necessary, can set lines fell from 170,000 to 153,000 km in freight within the next 10 years. This up in business in another member state with the same period. would translate to an increase in rail’s little difficulty. Liberalization, in turn, has Eurotunnel has until 2010 to decide market share from the present 6% to 10% caused strong competition and whether it wants to pursue a second over the same period. International rail consolidation in the market, leading to a tunnel. After that date, the British and freight, which can operate over the marked fall in freight rates. The completion French governments can invite others to distances at which rail competes of the European single market has seen prepare proposals if they wish. The effectively with road, clearly has an double-digit annual growth in international financial restructuring prospectus important part to play if these targets are road freight. published in 1997 shows that the present to be met. By contrast, rail freight has been in the system will not reach saturation until at There is growing resistance in the so- doldrums and it is not just market share that least 2023, suggesting that the long story called ‘transit’ countries of Europe has been lost. Freight volumes carried on of the Channel Tunnel still has several (Switzerland, Austria, Hungary) to the EU railway networks fell 14% from a peak unwritten chapters. I flood of heavy vehicles using their roads. Switzerland has imposed a maximum weight limit of 28 tonnes on trucks passing John Noulton through its territory and is developing new rail-based tunnels through the Alps for the Mr Noulton is Eurotunnel Director of Public Affairs. Prior to this, he was Director of Administration at Transmanche-Link, the Channel Tunnel contractors. He has also held a number of other public posts carriage of goods vehicles. Germany has including Director of International Transport at the British Department of Transport and in the British its rolling motorways, with heavy freight Civil Service. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport and a Companion of the Institution vehicles carried ‘piggyback’ on rail of Civil Engineers. wagons. Consequently, the omens for rail freight look good.