Utilizing the Eurostar train the $15 billion Channel Tunnel makes the old dream of a ground link between Great Britain and continental Europe a reality for the first time since the Ice Ages. Nicknamed the "Chunnel" by some and known to the French as "le tunnel sous la Manche", it consists of 3 interconnected tubes: one rail track each way plus the service tunnel. 31 miles long, of which 23 miles are under water, its average depth is 150 feet under the seabed. The channel crossing time for Eurostar is only 17 minutes.

A few factoids about the Channel Tunnel:

*First suggested by a French engineer in1802 he envisioned travellers making the journey by horse and carriage, with lanterns to light the way.

*Started in 1987, tunneling completed in 1994.

*95 miles of tunnels were dug by nearly 13,000 engineers, technicians and workers.

*The volume of rubble removed from the tunnel is three times greater than that of the Cheops Pyramid in Egypt and as it was dumped on the UK side, it has increased the size of Britain by 90 acres. Equivalent to 68 football fields, this area has been made into a park.

Eurostar trains travel at high speeds in France and on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link where the tracks are modern and custom-made for the standard TGV cruising speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), and within the tunnel at up to 160 km/h (100 mph). The first section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, between the tunnel & Ebbsfleet in North Kent, opened in 2003. Until the second section between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras opens in 2007, Eurostar trains use 'traditional' lines for the final part of the journey into Waterloo, running at much lower speeds. After 2007, the time from London to Paris will drop to 2