In the prologue to his 1962 book Adventure Underground, Joseph Gies reported on “Lunch at Luchow’s,” a seemingly incidental event that would have major ramifications on the channel tunnel project. As Lord Palmerston said in 1858, “What! You pretend to ask us to contribute to a work the object of which is to shorten a distance which we already find too short!” And it was Lord Randolph Churchill who, in his 1889 speech before the House of Commons, famously proclaimed: “The reputation of England has hitherto depended upon her being, as it were, virgo intacta.” LUNCH AT LUCHOW’S The British were skittish about a fixed link. But the British War office stopped the project. Work went as far as sinking shafts on both coasts. In 1876, the goals and agreements were part of the Draft Anglo-French Treaty. Both the French and the British parliaments authorized preliminary work as early as 1875. Subsequent flowering of railway technology gave further impetus to a tunnel. Thomé de Gamond proposed a tunnel and alternate plans for a bridge. In 1803, Hector Horeau designed an “immersed tube,” a pipeline that could be laid in a dredged trench. The idea of a tunnel may have begun with a proposal presented to Napoleon when he was first consul. La Manche, as it is known in French, is just a bit more than 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point – the Strait of Dover, or Pas de Calais. Napoleon envisioned an artificial island mid-channel “to rest and breathe the horses.” ( Building the World, p. One of the earliest mentions of a tunnel linking France and England was by Napoleon Bonaparte who is said to have discussed the idea with Charles James Fox, an English statesman who came to Paris for a meeting. And chic cuisine served on Eurostar during its 2 hour, 20 minute crossing draws passengers to this convenient, pleasant mode of transport. Commerce increased on both sides of the channel – 10 million tons of freight transit annually. Passengers ride between city centers of London and Paris, often transferring to Tube or Metro instead of taking a taxi. Pollution from ferries and airplanes has eased. Greenhouse gas emissions improved by 45% over a two-year period. In May 2009, Eurotunnel was awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for commitment to managing and reducing its carbon footprint. WHY FRANCE AND ENGLAND? With the Channel Tunnel’s opening in 1994, the environment of La Manche/The English Channel improved greatly.
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