It is unlikely that such an all-encompassing approach to a major construction work has been undertaken before. A great many strands of our economy and culture are focused on one unique engineering project, reflecting the opinion and experience of eight authors who have each researched the channel tunnel for some years. This book has both immediate and longer-term relevance in a multitude of disciplines. Providing an all-round appraisal of the 200 year long history of the Channel Tunnel projects, drawing together a complex web of politics, finance, economics, employment, environmental and technological issues that culminated in the offering of shares to the general public in the Autumn 1987.
Among the aspects covered are the financial wheeling and dealing behind the scenes, the economic outcomes, the reason for the choice of a rail tunnel, how chalk is bored through and transported away from the tunnel, the dangers faced by workers; the trains that have never been used before, the approach to public fears over rabies, fire and terrorism; the environmental problems, the politics and propaganda; the historical background to this engineering saga, and the long-term effects of the project.