The Channel Tunnel Project Management
A PROJECT ANALYSIS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Channel Tunnel is one of Europe's biggest infrastructure projects ever. The 50.45km long tunnel has fulfilled this old dream by linking Britain and the rest of Europe. The idea of a fixed link between Britain and France was first mooted by a French engineer in 1802; it connects England and France 50m below the seabed of the English Channel. It's not just a tunnel, but a huge infrastructure containing massive machinery and control systems in an underwater tunnel system (Lemley, 1995; Kirkland, 1995). In 1990 the service tunnels broke through at the halfway point. The main rail tunnels met on May 22, 1991 and on June 28, 1991, each accompanied by a breakthrough ceremony (Cannon, 2002). The next few years were spent refining, equipping, and finishing the tunnels. In 1994 the Channel Tunnel was considered completed. It opened for business in late 1994, offering three principal services: a shuttle for vehicles, Euro-star passenger service linking London with Paris and Brussels, and through freight trains.
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Fig 1: A map representation of the Channel Tunnel. (Source: http://svr225.stepx.com:3388/channel-tunnel)
The Channel Tunnel was a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) project with a concession. The TransManche Link Group (TML) – a merger of the British contractors Translink Contractors and the French consortium Transmanche Construction, designed and built the tunnel, but financing was through a separate legal entity: Eurotunnel. Eurotunnel absorbed the Channel Tunnel Group (CTG) and France Manche (FM), two groups representing the British and the French governments, and signed a construction contract with TML in 1986, however, the British and French governments controlled final engineering and safety decisions. The British and French governments gave Eurotunnel a 55- (later 65)-year operating concession to repay loans and pay dividends. The Channel Tunnel cost in excess
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Channel Tunnel is one of Europe's biggest infrastructure projects ever. The 50.45km long tunnel has fulfilled this old dream by linking Britain and the rest of Europe. The idea of a fixed link between Britain and France was first mooted by a French engineer in 1802; it connects England and France 50m below the seabed of the English Channel. It's not just a tunnel, but a huge infrastructure containing massive machinery and control systems in an underwater tunnel system (Lemley, 1995; Kirkland, 1995). In 1990 the service tunnels broke through at the halfway point. The main rail tunnels met on May 22, 1991 and on June 28, 1991, each accompanied by a breakthrough ceremony (Cannon, 2002). The next few years were spent refining, equipping, and finishing the tunnels. In 1994 the Channel Tunnel was considered completed. It opened for business in late 1994, offering three principal services: a shuttle for vehicles, Euro-star passenger service linking London with Paris and Brussels, and through freight trains.
[pic]
Fig 1: A map representation of the Channel Tunnel. (Source: http://svr225.stepx.com:3388/channel-tunnel)
The Channel Tunnel was a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) project with a concession. The TransManche Link Group (TML) – a merger of the British contractors Translink Contractors and the French consortium Transmanche Construction, designed and built the tunnel, but financing was through a separate legal entity: Eurotunnel. Eurotunnel absorbed the Channel Tunnel Group (CTG) and France Manche (FM), two groups representing the British and the French governments, and signed a construction contract with TML in 1986, however, the British and French governments controlled final engineering and safety decisions. The British and French governments gave Eurotunnel a 55- (later 65)-year operating concession to repay loans and pay dividends. The Channel Tunnel cost in excess
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