Channel Tunnel anniversary 14/11/2013

Bon anniversaire au tunnel sous la Manche - happy birthday to the Channel Tunnel! Though it was officially opened by The Queen on 9th May 1994, passenger service didn't open until 14th November 1994, so let's celebrate the 19th anniversary of this tremendous feat of engineering with some fun facts:

• 24 miles of the 31.35 mile long Channel Tunnel are underwater
• The Channel Tunnel is actually three tunnels - two for the trains and a smaller one in the middle for a service tunnel
• The train tunnels are 24 feet in diameter
• In 2012 1,464,880 trucks, 2,424,342 cars, 58,966 coaches, 9,911,649 passengers and 2,325 rail freight trains travelled through the tunnels!
• Rabies cannot travel through the tunnel - special design elements were added to ensure the UK - rabies-free since 1902 - could not get infected
• If you type tunnel enough times it looks like a nonsense word!
• The Tunnel Manche has its own Twitter account, but it's in French so je suis désolée mais je ne comprends pas

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “It’s hard to imagine life before the Channel Tunnel and it’s even harder to believe that 19 years have passed since it first opened. As the statistics show, motorists have clearly enjoyed the extra freedom of being able to take their vehicles to Europe without having to use a ferry.

“Anyone planning to use the tunnel this autumn or winter should make sure they are fully prepared for their European journey by taking out RAC European Breakdown cover so they are protected should some kind of unexpected roadside incident occur.”