The Le Shuttle locomotives have always been mysterious to me, probably because you see so little of them - they live most of their lives inside the tunnel and are not easily observed from most of the terminal area. That run by shot gave you a good sense of just how long the Shuttle trains really are and how powerful these locos must be to haul those long trains up and down the considerable gradients inside the tunnel at nearly 100mph! Unsung heros of the railway world for sure.
To get that one runby took tremendous effort and procedure red tape with security checks etc. We were only there to film a Eurostar so filmed that for the archive.
The reason the Sangatte Terminal is bigger that the Folkstone Terminal is entirely due to geography. Sangatte is in the Pas De Calais which is a flat plain with plenty of room for a terminal of almost any size. The Folkstone terminal is squeezed in between the downs to the North and Folkstone to the south with ground that falls away to sea level and Romney Marsh. A quick glance at a contour Map shows how difficult it must have been to find a place for the UK terminal unless you moved it up to Ashford.
3 роки тому+21
And to compensate, the british have actually dug more than the french under the channel.
@@karpizan Bullshit, the government isn't housing people there deliberately. If countries GAVE A SHIT about people they'd have a real home, instead of travelling thousands of kilometres through the worst conditions imaginable just to be given nothing and to live next to a motorway in a tent city. It's a fucking shame.
@@briannem.6787 You poor sod to think they're in Calais because they need to be. How many other countries have they come though? No. They are not escaping their home from necessity. They are not just looking for a safe place to live. Maybe if you had to drive trucks past them all while they pelted you with rocks and physically drag drivers from their cabs you'd understand. Get real.
This is exactly the kind of video I have wanted to see since I learned about this Tunnel. Loved seeing the actual journey and how its setup. I didn't know they always entered the same direction. And loved the extra bit that was never intended to be show that was a very cool aspect I didn't even know about.
I remember being a kid, ill in bed, when mum dragged their small telly into my room so I could watch the Queen inaugurating the Channel Tunnel. The two trains parked nose to nose, all very excellent. From then I was hooked and the occasional trips to France on the Chunnel were a real treat. Always wondered if I'd ever see a drivers' eye view. And now I have, cheers V125!
I've taken that train probably about 300 times. It was wonderful in the late 90s ... you showed up to a desolate terminal, and they found you a train from somewhere. It's a lot busier and more efficiently run these days. The wonder and romance from 25 years ago no longer hangs over the place, but that's 2022 for you!
@@creativejamieplays7185 I have seen a documentary similar to that as well. Although it is definitely from the train. Since the train is travelling at such a high speed when it enters the tunnel it compresses all the air in front of the train and forcing it at high speed down the tunnel similarly as in the video I would recommend looking up the phenomenon it’s very interesting
Went through the tunnel 7yrs ago whilst on holidays .Have a DVD of its construction and it certainly is a incredible engineering piece of work ,loved this video .
It's interesting looking backwards on things that are nowadays so "normal" and yet absolutely unimaginable a not so long time ago. Something like taking a train from France to the UK... I guess it's only looking backwards that one can appreciate the true magic of the present.
Putting a coach into one of those carriages was an interesting feat. You have to almost drive off the other side before you start to turn in. The mirrors get very close to the frame and walls of the carriages.
I have driven coaches onto the carriage many times. Yes you have to be careful if you have rabbits ear mirrors. We carried spares in case but you had a second driver to help when you were new to the route. First few times I took a reverse shunt and a second go. Now I just know where to go and hard lock and straight in the carriage. It is tight! Just like reverse shunting the coaches in the yard you get a feel for it with experience.
Now, for the question that nobody seems to have asked... why didn't you include the money shot aka cab footage of you entering the tunnel? The cut from 3:47 to 4:44 is odd, to say the least.
They already made a reply for this (basically things got far too dark so they had to change the lens filter and increase the exposure) "As explained before, we never intended to produce a Channel Tunnel Shuttle Driver's eye view. Therefore we never took any shots of the train. It just so happened that we filmed one entering the tunnel while waiting for a Eurostar we used that. Entering the dark tunnel it just went black until the cameraman opened up the iris and switched out the ND filters so there was nothing to see. Of course there is much more footage inside the tunnel in the film it was made for: Eurostar Brussels to St Pancras."
Thanks for covering this video! I've been on the Channel Tunnel multiple times by Eurostar and by the Shuttle Locomotives too, it's great to see what this long stretch of tunnel with you providing some background and context in this video
I went on the Eurostar, the one that carries passengers - and we got on in St. Pancras. I have never been on a smoother, quieter ride in my entire life regardless of mode of transport, and apart from flying I've never been faster either. It was truly amazing and ever since the tunnel was started I had always wanted to go through.
I dunno why but I caught Half Life 2 vibes from those train cars going by. Reminded me of those trains heading into Nova Prospekt. I could just hear that bleak music playing in my mind as the train went by into the tunnel.
12:42 makes me imagine replacing freeways with these trains... Vehicle throughput would be better than on a freeway if train frequency was maxxed out. Main detractor is fire and etc materials safety, oh, and stops along a route
Very cool. I had the opportunity to ride in the cabin of a freight train through the Karawankentunnel between Austria and Slovenia (8km)Also have it on camera. That thing is just cut into rock. Very exciting.
Interesting video. Thank you. These class 9000 engines are beautiful loks. They are very powerfull, having undergone a retrofit to 9000 hp if I am not mistaken. The other side of the coin is the weight, hence their BBB axle setting. Unrelated I am surprised to see that the french signaling system is in use on the other side of the "Manche". I saw the typical HS line panel, plus a few "sectionnement" and "sifflez" signals ! Thanks again for the video !
The whole high speed line is signalled with the French High speed rail signalling, all the way to the London terminus. The UK has a rule that the fastest trains can go under conventional British signalling is 125 mph, any faster and trains go too fast for the driver to see the line-side signals. At the time the UK didn't have it's own high speed system and decided to just use the French one for simplicity.
Something I've wondered is why they don't have a shroud or deflector to smooth the air between the 9k and the cargo cars... One would think that without it there's more drag and turbulence due to the vertical flat surface
It would be great if the whole Eurostar Run from Brussels to Saint Pancreas was uploaded to This great channel for the whole world to watch especially here in the USA
Glad you found it interesting. Seeing it again after 12 years we also found it interesting and hadn't realised (due to the heavy security) how unique it was. We are even considering doing another 'Tracks' this time TGV Tracks using outtakes from 5 different DEVs (2 Eurostar and 3 TGV).
@@video125com I for one would look forward to seeing it if you do decide on making a fourth Tracks title after your last three. The HST one i found the most interesting in fact all three of them.
A non-professional camera will always amplify background noise. In reality, the sounds you hear in the video are much less. You don't hear the voices of the driver and his passenger so clearly but in the cabin it is just the opposite.
Awesome thanks for sharing. I know the route hasnt changed much since filming, but both DEVs 125 have done are coming into the UK, what about a DEV departing from the UK?
Very interesting 🤨.... I'm puzzled at what those massive long metal screens are for either on both sides or one side only near the tunnel and other overpasses .... does anyone know ?
Just been on Le Shuttle, went googling to see if it was points I went over in the Tunnel as I always thought it was one line in the tunnel. Glad found this video now which clearly showed the points at both ends. Now just need to work out what that first set go to as that wall didn't look moveable.
The two mid-channel cross overs have massive fire doors that also control the airflow important for ventilation at all times but also if there is a lot of smoke from a fire. The undersea crossovers required the boring/construction of a couple of the largest undersea caverns every built.
I did this journey from London to Frankfurt return changing at Brussels. On the outward journey we were delayed and the Deutsche Bahn train from Brussels to Frankfurt didn’t wait, so we had a 5 hour wait for the next train. When it came our seat assignments were invalid and we spent the rest of the journey on the floor in 1st class with wife and baby. An English Gentleman gave up his seat for my wife and baby and sat next to me on the floor, we’ve kept in touch ever since. We’ve flown ever since 😂
One could almost run North American equipment (double-stacked containers, tri-level auto racks and Amtrak Superliners, mplete with 'knuckle' couplers, through it!
A new house? Shift work job?? And there was all of us thinking you were sat watching ITV's 'This Morning' 😉 , instead of slicing up 8mm film for the next installment of UKDC.... 😜😁 (Good luck with the house, keep up the hard work, appreciate your videos and thanks for this weeks! 👍)
I worked on the Folkestone site as a Shuttle Bus driver at the start, ferrying the tunnel workers on double decker buses from the on site village, where hundreds of workers lived, down to the "Hole" for a twelve hour shift (6am to 6pm and 6pm to 6am) and back again. It was 24 hours non stop working and a dangerous environment for them. I managed a few months working there before I was burnt out and left. Sadly, some died and a lot got injured. May they RIP
Do you think its possible they'll upgrade the trains to shorten the trip time? Its fast enough now but I don't think anyone would complain if they pushed it to 200mph
Wonder what would be necessary for that - route is straight so that wouldn't be a limitation, but I could imagine issues with air pressure becoming more substantial, growing at least with the square of speed if not more. Unlike a train going through open air, the train fills almost the entire tunnel, so it pushes/pulls air with it rather than air going around it. Not sure what problems that would cause, but I have a feeling eventually it would make for serious problems as you try to go faster. Granted the Shikansen goes through tunnels at far higher speed, though those trains are smaller to my understanding. Given the relatively short distance of the route, the gains of going faster wouldn't make for a huge time savings. Thus could end up being a lot of cost/technical challenge for not a major time savings. Especially given that probably more time is spent loading/unloading than moving, the gains, relatively speaking, become even less substantial.
Probably quite hard considering the length, weight and dimensions of the shuttle trains, getting a big thing like that to travel at the current speed through a rail tunnel is impressive enough!
Went on one in the 2000s, we were on a coach on our way to Amsterdam. Ironically some people including me felt sick with the motion of the coach, so got off it. Very strange experience, but we got there safely.
Good footage, but as a current Eurotunnel Le Shuttle driver it's interesting to see how much has changed in 12 years. However, your fact/quote of 155kph max speed is incorrect. Eurostar travel through at 160kph, and all Eurotunnel shuttles travel at 140kph. It was tried once to run them through at 160kph for the 2012 Olympics but the poor old trains were rattling themselves to pieces so they kept the 140kph max speed. Thanks for uploading tho for all to see.
The driver says in the cab at one point that 155 is the maximum and that Eurostar is 160 so maybe that has changed. He DID say that they normally run at about 150.
@@video125com hmmm, its impossible for them to run through at the speeds you/he mention as the in cab signalling is limited to 140kph. Can't see that that has ever changed but I maybe wrong.
@@Westierules2000 you clearly don't work for the railway. You first claimed they tried 160km/h in 2012 and you later claim cab signalling has always been limited to 140km/h. These two statements cannot both be true.
@@jamie514 hello Jamie514. I can assure I do work for Eurotunnel and have done since March 2014. If you would like to send me a direct message/private message with your email address I am more than happy to provide the proof you require. With regards to my comment above, I do clearly say “I maybe wrong” at the end of it. All I am saying is that since 1994 the in cab signalling equipment called TVM has a maximum speed limit of 140kph with the Eurotunnel class 9 locomotives. Now I’m guessing that it is feasible for a computer to be plugged in to amend the TVM to 160kph but that I don’t know for sure. Something must have been done to enable the tourist shuttles to run through at 160 for the London Olympics, what exactly it was, I’m afraid I do not know, and quite frankly don’t care about either. I certainly don’t appreciate being called a liar, as this is one thing I am not. I look forward to receiving your message in due course. Phil.
Interesting! It seemed the camera had difficulties in adjusting exposure to different lighting conditions at times. The train seemed to be quite slow for much of the time (outside the tunnel). Train maybe only running around 30 kph!? I was expecting a much faster run. Was/is there a temporary or permanent speed restriction in places? Would have been nice to have included a graphic indicating the speed of the train.
Great video. I live in New Zealand, heard a lot about the eurotunnel. Great feet of engineering. Just wish we would get a tunnel like that between the north and south islands here in New Zealand (nz). Our government here is useless for things like that. And too many people claim it can't be done.
Very good but I was surprised at how slow the train is I thought it would be like an express I’m guessing that’s because of the vehicles their carrying?
@@marcodamasio "It is run in push-pull, just one loco always on front and the other always on back." it is not though, he literally explained this in the first few minutes of this vid.
@@marcodamasio A loco at each end is not "Push-Pull". Push-Pull is when the train reverses direction at each end and has a loco at each end. The loop saves time because there are a lot of checks to perform when a train reverses direction, and it also avoids having conflicting paths at the ends - think about it. PS (a year later) : My second sentence contains a typo - should have said Push-Pull has a loco at one end only.
@@dukenukem5768 A train doesn’t need to “have a loco at each end” for it to be push-pull, just one, hence the term “push” when the cab car is leading. The loops cause excessive rail and wheel wear and create centripetal force for the passengers. We’d never do this style of track scheme in US or Canada. Poor design.
@@jkeelsnc With the fact that every airline has a hub and it is usually nowhere near anything else, and they fly to it instead of the destination you need to go, it typically takes me 2 hours to drive to the airport where the airlines go, then an hour to park and get the shuttle, then 4 hours in TSA, then the delays, usually another 4 hours, 2 hours flying to Atlanta, 6 hour layover, another hour in the air, an hour renting a car, and 2 more hours driving to where I actually need to go. 22 to 24 hours, and I can drive it at the speed limit in 13 hours. Amtrak is even worse, typically 48 hours to get from Penn Station to Savannah Georgia. Half that Time is spent on sidings because the railroads have only 1 track, to save money, and give their trains priority and Amtrak the least priority. CP Rail is the only exception. They give Amtrak priority on their line from Ballston Spa to Plattsburgh. It costs about 400 dollars to fly, 1 way. Amtrak is about the same cost, 1 way. I watch a lot of C-SPAN,2 and 3, and I watched the heads of the airlines tell Congress they would stop flying anywhere a high speed rail line was put in, because they could never compete. Imagine getting on the train in Allentown and 4 hours later getting off in Savannah. If we were China or Japan we would already have it. I don't know what happened to America. If we had to fight WW2 today, we would be defeated in 6 months. It breaks my heart.
Absolutely cool as hell. Though coming from the United States, a train that is half a mile long is like a little baby compared to a typical freight train here ;)
@@Pribumi1 Passenger rail in the US is mostly limited to commuter trains within cities. Amtrak does exist, but isn't economical and has few dedicated lines. Freight, however is very common, with the longest trains being about 3 miles long.
Nice Cabview. I have one question though: Is it possible to acces the cab of those locomotives even though you are not part of the staff. Shame this was not filmed later. Eurotunnel has bought some Class 6400 locomotives from DB Cargo Netherlands, at that point still Railion. Some locomotives sort of got their original colour scheme back and others got the Eurotunnel colour scheme. Their job is to pull a train that has broken down out of the tunnel, at least so I heard. I saw some of the locomotives briefly when I took the shuttle back from Folkstone.
In the video, they said that the train spends about 22 minutes in the tunnel, not counting 6 minutes in the UK yard, and 7 minutes in the French yard, and that most of that time in the railyards the train is coasting, to save energy.
I see that ERTMS is used ,,in which level of ertms ,,I see the smb with lamp for level 1 , and I see this lamp is not on, So do you drive level 2 or 3?
I’d love to know what width these freight and passenger carriages are. Have seen another video from inside of the vehicle carriages and they seem to have more room either side of the vehicle. I’d expect more than the regular 3 mtrs, I do know they can’t travel on any other network because of there width🇦🇺
@@rhodrage London to Amsterdam trains should go through Brussels, but nowhere near Paris. The route forks at Lille, heading southbound for Paris or eastbound for Brussels.
They r double deck or large enough for road coaches to for inside. (Buses) no point in making bigger engines just to match. Don’t be tricked though, these engines are v heavy and powerful.
To be precise the front half of the train is single deck for coaches / buses, vans, SUVs, etc. The back half is double deck for regular cars and their passengers can stand up with clearance outside their cars on both decks. If you watch closely at the first and last cars you'll see they are different : the first one grows in size from front to back as it is the unloading car for the single deck half train. The walls and ceiling slide forward towards the locomotive to open a full size exit at the front end of the second car. The sloped, increasing height and width helps with air pressure and piston effect, that's why the single deck half is normally always at the front. At the middle of the train you will find the single deck loading car with the same sliding top, except it slides towards the rear. Then immediately after this car you'll see the double deck unloading car with 2 lateral doors, the slope from the upper deck is inside that car. And at the very back of the train, just before the rear locomotive there's the double deck loading car with also 2 lateral doors and an internal slope to the upper deck. All the cars of the double decker / back half are of the same with and height whereas the first and last cars of the first / single deck half have gradual height and width for the sliding mechanism. There was no need for larger engines and their small size compared to the cars behind them help with the air pressure in the tunnel. If they were of same size as the cars it would be like a wall entering the tunnel. And the looks of the trains wasn't really a problem as they're only used on the tunnel loop. Have a look on other videos of the tunnel and rolling stock or to the 4 episodes of the British documentary about the 25 years anniversary, it's called "The Channel Tunnel - Life on the Inside", and it's here on UA-cam. The documentary series is very interesting and has plenty of views of many aspects of the system. By the way, if you're wondering why it's not a simple loop but a 8 shaped track with the crossing on the French side : it makes the train do a 180 turn to the left on the French end. Without that overpass / crossing, trains would only do right U-turns and would end up with an imbalanced wear on the wheels. So the 8 shape on the French side helps equalize wear and tear of the wheels on both sides of the trains. And if you're wondering why there's a rear locomotive on a one way train : for security reasons, passengers must be able to leave one half of the train and take refuge in the other half. That refuge half must be able to separate from the other half and exit the tunnel by itself. If the refuge half is the back one the rear locomotive pulls it back out of the tunnel. This is only one of the safety features, there are also bunker doors every 250 or 350 meters that connect to the over-pressurized service (3rd) tunnel. In one episode of the documentary I told you about they also show one of the two "cathedrals", the huge underground exchange crossings that are located at about one third of the tunnels from each end and feature huge sliding doors each weighing 94 tons. I hope this answered your question.
The locomotives are built to European loading gauge to enable them to travel off site if necessary for maintenance etc. The shuttle wagons are trapped on site and would have to be taken out by road.
![★ 4K 🇨🇭 St. Moritz - Chur Glacier express cab ride w/ heavy snowfall [02.2024] Führerstandsmitfahrt](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rbW4-x6vJmk/mqdefault.jpg)
Legend says that David is still waiting for him to call back.
´l’lmjk
David understands cab discipline.
😂
ha
@@jahidk123 ...or no network in the tunnel :)))
The Le Shuttle locomotives have always been mysterious to me, probably because you see so little of them - they live most of their lives inside the tunnel and are not easily observed from most of the terminal area. That run by shot gave you a good sense of just how long the Shuttle trains really are and how powerful these locos must be to haul those long trains up and down the considerable gradients inside the tunnel at nearly 100mph! Unsung heros of the railway world for sure.
To get that one runby took tremendous effort and procedure red tape with security checks etc. We were only there to film a Eurostar so filmed that for the archive.
Thank the traction motor & wheels & low wheel friction for that much pulling power
They are basically the TGV power car on steroids in a way.
The last British built locomotives, although i heard adtranz helped build these.
The reason the Sangatte Terminal is bigger that the Folkstone Terminal is entirely due to geography. Sangatte is in the Pas De Calais which is a flat plain with plenty of room for a terminal of almost any size. The Folkstone terminal is squeezed in between the downs to the North and Folkstone to the south with ground that falls away to sea level and Romney Marsh. A quick glance at a contour Map shows how difficult it must have been to find a place for the UK terminal unless you moved it up to Ashford.
And to compensate, the british have actually dug more than the french under the channel.
I thought it was to accommodate all the illegals camping there
@@karpizan Bullshit, the government isn't housing people there deliberately. If countries GAVE A SHIT about people they'd have a real home, instead of travelling thousands of kilometres through the worst conditions imaginable just to be given nothing and to live next to a motorway in a tent city. It's a fucking shame.
@@briannem.6787 You poor sod to think they're in Calais because they need to be. How many other countries have they come though? No. They are not escaping their home from necessity. They are not just looking for a safe place to live.
Maybe if you had to drive trucks past them all while they pelted you with rocks and physically drag drivers from their cabs you'd understand. Get real.
@@karpizan I hope you have to flee your home one day It'd be very funny
Used to work on the eurostar, the tunnel is a wonderful piece of engineering and had a great time.
Are those random beep sounds related to ERTMS?
@@tommasomartignago3978 Nope. TVM430.
That and the B.A.R.T. tunnel are pieces of engineering history.
This is exactly the kind of video I have wanted to see since I learned about this Tunnel. Loved seeing the actual journey and how its setup. I didn't know they always entered the same direction. And loved the extra bit that was never intended to be show that was a very cool aspect I didn't even know about.
I remember being a kid, ill in bed, when mum dragged their small telly into my room so I could watch the Queen inaugurating the Channel Tunnel. The two trains parked nose to nose, all very excellent. From then I was hooked and the occasional trips to France on the Chunnel were a real treat. Always wondered if I'd ever see a drivers' eye view. And now I have, cheers V125!
I've taken that train probably about 300 times. It was wonderful in the late 90s ... you showed up to a desolate terminal, and they found you a train from somewhere. It's a lot busier and more efficiently run these days. The wonder and romance from 25 years ago no longer hangs over the place, but that's 2022 for you!
Correct pal!
That tunnel shot at 5:17 is nuts! The sound of the air rush!
I watched a video on the fans they have at each end. I think the wind rush is more likely from this than the trains.
@@creativejamieplays7185 I have seen a documentary similar to that as well. Although it is definitely from the train. Since the train is travelling at such a high speed when it enters the tunnel it compresses all the air in front of the train and forcing it at high speed down the tunnel similarly as in the video I would recommend looking up the phenomenon it’s very interesting
Like a near death experience 😊
Especially eyes closed it really feels so intense.. impossible to describe
Would be even more intense if it was a Eurostar train as those travel at higher speeds
Went through the tunnel 7yrs ago whilst on holidays .Have a DVD of its construction and it certainly is a incredible engineering piece of work ,loved this video .
It's interesting looking backwards on things that are nowadays so "normal" and yet absolutely unimaginable a not so long time ago. Something like taking a train from France to the UK...
I guess it's only looking backwards that one can appreciate the true magic of the present.
Putting a coach into one of those carriages was an interesting feat. You have to almost drive off the other side before you start to turn in. The mirrors get very close to the frame and walls of the carriages.
Been there done that, and totally agree.
If you can manage that, I'm very jealous of you as I don't think that could ever be me! Such a tight fit to get in those, it's nuts...
I have driven coaches onto the carriage many times. Yes you have to be careful if you have rabbits ear mirrors. We carried spares in case but you had a second driver to help when you were new to the route. First few times I took a reverse shunt and a second go. Now I just know where to go and hard lock and straight in the carriage. It is tight! Just like reverse shunting the coaches in the yard you get a feel for it with experience.
This was great, thanks for uploading it. These rare videos are very worth the watch
Glad you think so!
@@video125com Thank you Very much for this Video.
Hi Video 125, Maybe your next feature can be an extra’s series and include this.
Thank you for this especially for those of us who may never have the opportunity of travelling the Chunnel…👍💝
Now, for the question that nobody seems to have asked... why didn't you include the money shot aka cab footage of you entering the tunnel? The cut from 3:47 to 4:44 is odd, to say the least.
Im guessing focus issues
Yes, that's really annoying
They already made a reply for this (basically things got far too dark so they had to change the lens filter and increase the exposure)
"As explained before, we never intended to produce a Channel Tunnel Shuttle Driver's eye view. Therefore we never took any shots of the train. It just so happened that we filmed one entering the tunnel while waiting for a Eurostar we used that. Entering the dark tunnel it just went black until the cameraman opened up the iris and switched out the ND filters so there was nothing to see. Of course there is much more footage inside the tunnel in the film it was made for: Eurostar Brussels to St Pancras."
I've been on the Eurostar often (I do prefer it over flying to London) and it just never seizes to amaze me.
I wish the border was as secure as this railway.
Thanks for covering this video! I've been on the Channel Tunnel multiple times by Eurostar and by the Shuttle Locomotives too, it's great to see what this long stretch of tunnel with you providing some background and context in this video
I went on the Eurostar, the one that carries passengers - and we got on in St. Pancras. I have never been on a smoother, quieter ride in my entire life regardless of mode of transport, and apart from flying I've never been faster either. It was truly amazing and ever since the tunnel was started I had always wanted to go through.
I dunno why but I caught Half Life 2 vibes from those train cars going by. Reminded me of those trains heading into Nova Prospekt. I could just hear that bleak music playing in my mind as the train went by into the tunnel.
Absolutely lovely footage! And that run by was as the french say Magnifque!
So good to be able to watch this from the wilds of North America. Excellent job!
12:42 makes me imagine replacing freeways with these trains... Vehicle throughput would be better than on a freeway if train frequency was maxxed out. Main detractor is fire and etc materials safety, oh, and stops along a route
@@will123134 Upfront cost, but not cost over time
I was amazed at how clean the tunnel was - - but then it is electric. Eye opener.
Very cool. I had the opportunity to ride in the cabin of a freight train through the Karawankentunnel between Austria and Slovenia (8km)Also have it on camera. That thing is just cut into rock. Very exciting.
Thank you for a very interesting behind the scenes peek at the Chunnel.
Stunning footage!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you for uploading this. Personally I found the return loop on the UK side the most interesting bit of the video.
Interesting video. Thank you. These class 9000 engines are beautiful loks. They are very powerfull, having undergone a retrofit to 9000 hp if I am not mistaken. The other side of the coin is the weight, hence their BBB axle setting.
Unrelated I am surprised to see that the french signaling system is in use on the other side of the "Manche". I saw the typical HS line panel, plus a few "sectionnement" and "sifflez" signals !
Thanks again for the video !
The whole high speed line is signalled with the French High speed rail signalling, all the way to the London terminus. The UK has a rule that the fastest trains can go under conventional British signalling is 125 mph, any faster and trains go too fast for the driver to see the line-side signals. At the time the UK didn't have it's own high speed system and decided to just use the French one for simplicity.
@@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042 Wow. that’s a nice thing to know. Thanks
Something I've wondered is why they don't have a shroud or deflector to smooth the air between the 9k and the cargo cars... One would think that without it there's more drag and turbulence due to the vertical flat surface
Very nicely put together video and very entertaining as well. Thanks for posting this.
Interesting, I do have the Blu-Ray of the mentioned film and had no idea the tunnel section was filmed from a different train!
It would be great if the whole Eurostar Run from Brussels to Saint Pancreas was uploaded to This great channel for the whole world to watch especially here in the USA
Or just order the dvd...
Those were some very interesting facts included in this clip thank you for sharing this.
Glad you found it interesting. Seeing it again after 12 years we also found it interesting and hadn't realised (due to the heavy security) how unique it was. We are even considering doing another 'Tracks' this time TGV Tracks using outtakes from 5 different DEVs (2 Eurostar and 3 TGV).
@@video125com I for one would look forward to seeing it if you do decide on making a fourth Tracks title after your last three. The HST one i found the most interesting in fact all three of them.
Is that humming noise always on in the cab? It’s enough to drive a man crazy.
A non-professional camera will always amplify background noise. In reality, the sounds you hear in the video are much less. You don't hear the voices of the driver and his passenger so clearly but in the cabin it is just the opposite.
What's up with those fences?! Fences everywhere!
The best part was not shown?? Driving INTO the tunnel. Come on guys!!!😢😢😢
I commissioned all of the air conditioning unit on every drivers cab that was interesting at the time kev
Where are all the passengers? The stations looks so empty.
The shuttle trains only carry people in vehicles. Passengers use Eurostar trains. Different trains, different stations.
Chemin de fer extroadinaire! Amazing footage and incredible engineering.
Awesome thanks for sharing. I know the route hasnt changed much since filming, but both DEVs 125 have done are coming into the UK, what about a DEV departing from the UK?
Not viable due to the sloping windscreen and direction of the sun I am afraid.
@@video125com how about different time of the day?
@@video125com That's a fascinating insight no one would ever consider! Amazing. Thanks for the response.
that was brilliant guys and thank you, you do a great job.
VIDEO 125 I am eternally thankful to you for releasing this !
So many block markers(stop signals),when departing Calais !
i wish you had kept the front view through the whole tunnel.
Very interesting 🤨.... I'm puzzled at what those massive long metal screens are for either on both sides or one side only near the tunnel and other overpasses .... does anyone know ?
They are to keep the area secure - keeping the immigrants out and deter them from trying to cross on foot
To protect against Witch Hillary Clinton cackling on her broomstick 🧹
Illegal immigrants
I figured it was to keep out immigrants who are good at high jumping.
Cool train. I went on this once when I came back from a school trip on a coach.
The car carriers made the locomotive look tiny! Those little locomotives have impressive pulling power to move that many carriers.
The film shot within the tunnel reminds me of the THUNDERBIRDS movie where Lady Penelope is held hostage hanging over the tracks of the mono train
Just been on Le Shuttle, went googling to see if it was points I went over in the Tunnel as I always thought it was one line in the tunnel. Glad found this video now which clearly showed the points at both ends. Now just need to work out what that first set go to as that wall didn't look moveable.
The two mid-channel cross overs have massive fire doors that also control the airflow important for ventilation at all times but also if there is a lot of smoke from a fire. The undersea crossovers required the boring/construction of a couple of the largest undersea caverns every built.
@@video125com Thanks!! Off to see if a video of those caverns exists.
Man man man, what an amazing speed...i felt asleep, so thanks!
I did this journey from London to Frankfurt return changing at Brussels. On the outward journey we were delayed and the Deutsche Bahn train from Brussels to Frankfurt didn’t wait, so we had a 5 hour wait for the next train. When it came our seat assignments were invalid and we spent the rest of the journey on the floor in 1st class with wife and baby. An English Gentleman gave up his seat for my wife and baby and sat next to me on the floor, we’ve kept in touch ever since. We’ve flown ever since 😂
4:30 that loading gauge is enormous!
One could almost run North American equipment (double-stacked containers, tri-level auto racks and Amtrak Superliners, mplete with 'knuckle' couplers, through it!
4:45 onwards reminds me of the opening credits scene to the Warriors
Really interesting, I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour in 2003, sadly with the current climate I don't think I'll get another
If only the UK border were as secure as this railway.
How does the climate interfere with tunnel tours ? Do visitors bring to much humidity or what ?
@@holger_p yes hot air , it’s popular
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 The problem is that no matter how secure you make the border, wankers like Boris Johnson will somehow still get in.
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 UKIP Gammon alert.
What is the humming noise that stops at 3:30?
Air compressor re-pressurising the main reservoir. Train brakes are pneumatic.
Very nice to see. Amazing clip thanks.
I'm Australian
that was a fantastic video
how close are those carriages to the tunnel walls
wow!
Too close
@@ramblingrob4693you've never seen the tube then
@@ramblingrob4693nope
I passed the tunnel four times (2 trips / each way) by "Eurostar" in 1997 & 1998. The tunnel was 3-4 years old (complete construction) after opening.
A new house? Shift work job?? And there was all of us thinking you were sat watching ITV's 'This Morning' 😉 , instead of slicing up 8mm film for the next installment of UKDC.... 😜😁 (Good luck with the house, keep up the hard work, appreciate your videos and thanks for this weeks! 👍)
My grandfather was one of the many people who built the tunnel
I worked on the Folkestone site as a Shuttle Bus driver at the start, ferrying the tunnel workers on double decker buses from the on site village, where hundreds of workers lived, down to the "Hole" for a twelve hour shift (6am to 6pm and 6pm to 6am) and back again. It was 24 hours non stop working and a dangerous environment for them. I managed a few months working there before I was burnt out and left. Sadly, some died and a lot got injured. May they RIP
I don't understand the route in this clip, was it out and back again in the area of the French terminal?
Do you think its possible they'll upgrade the trains to shorten the trip time? Its fast enough now but I don't think anyone would complain if they pushed it to 200mph
Wonder what would be necessary for that - route is straight so that wouldn't be a limitation, but I could imagine issues with air pressure becoming more substantial, growing at least with the square of speed if not more. Unlike a train going through open air, the train fills almost the entire tunnel, so it pushes/pulls air with it rather than air going around it. Not sure what problems that would cause, but I have a feeling eventually it would make for serious problems as you try to go faster. Granted the Shikansen goes through tunnels at far higher speed, though those trains are smaller to my understanding. Given the relatively short distance of the route, the gains of going faster wouldn't make for a huge time savings. Thus could end up being a lot of cost/technical challenge for not a major time savings. Especially given that probably more time is spent loading/unloading than moving, the gains, relatively speaking, become even less substantial.
Probably quite hard considering the length, weight and dimensions of the shuttle trains, getting a big thing like that to travel at the current speed through a rail tunnel is impressive enough!
not really, trains go slower in the tunnel for safety reasons
I'm guessing that all those rectangular units between the rails is some kind of train control/cab signal gizmo.
1:31 what is the purpose of these high fences? I guess not for intruders cuz they can go around.
Went on one in the 2000s, we were on a coach on our way to Amsterdam. Ironically some people including me felt sick with the motion of the coach, so got off it. Very strange experience, but we got there safely.
thank you for this history. Will ever do Extra Cuts of Driver Eye View
Our TRACKS series is just that. Take a look at our website.
Good footage, but as a current Eurotunnel Le Shuttle driver it's interesting to see how much has changed in 12 years. However, your fact/quote of 155kph max speed is incorrect. Eurostar travel through at 160kph, and all Eurotunnel shuttles travel at 140kph. It was tried once to run them through at 160kph for the 2012 Olympics but the poor old trains were rattling themselves to pieces so they kept the 140kph max speed. Thanks for uploading tho for all to see.
The driver says in the cab at one point that 155 is the maximum and that Eurostar is 160 so maybe that has changed. He DID say that they normally run at about 150.
@@video125com hmmm, its impossible for them to run through at the speeds you/he mention as the in cab signalling is limited to 140kph. Can't see that that has ever changed but I maybe wrong.
@@Westierules2000 you clearly don't work for the railway. You first claimed they tried 160km/h in 2012 and you later claim cab signalling has always been limited to 140km/h. These two statements cannot both be true.
@@jamie514 hello Jamie514. I can assure I do work for Eurotunnel and have done since March 2014. If you would like to send me a direct message/private message with your email address I am more than happy to provide the proof you require.
With regards to my comment above, I do clearly say “I maybe wrong” at the end of it. All I am saying is that since 1994 the in cab signalling equipment called TVM has a maximum speed limit of 140kph with the Eurotunnel class 9 locomotives. Now I’m guessing that it is feasible for a computer to be plugged in to amend the TVM to 160kph but that I don’t know for sure. Something must have been done to enable the tourist shuttles to run through at 160 for the London Olympics, what exactly it was, I’m afraid I do not know, and quite frankly don’t care about either. I certainly don’t appreciate being called a liar, as this is one thing I am not. I look forward to receiving your message in due course. Phil.
@@jamie514 that’s for different trains mate
De ce nu există o filmare integrală a traversării eurotunelului pe sub canalul Mînecii între
Franța și Londra.
Există, este Eurostar ochiul șoferului vedere de la Bruxelles la Londra St Pancras. Brussels to London St Pancras.
Wow fascinating to watch.
What is that humming sound that keeps switching on and off in the cab.
I think considering it’s a Brush/Metrocammel/Bombardier loco its most likely Inverters of some kind or cooler
It's the old HVAC blowers we had in the locos before they all got changed to much quieter ones.
@@Westierules2000 thanks for the correction my freind.
No way side signals? Is the Train governed by cab signals? Thanks for sharing.
Yes, a French system called TVM-430.
@@jb17kx I recognized the blue and yellow signs indicating in-cab signalling.
I wonder how the cab windows of the Class 374 Eurostars compare to the 373?
This euro tunnel. How many meters below the english channel?.. anyone with information on this...thanks..
There is a good wikipedia article. And google.
Interesting!
It seemed the camera had difficulties in adjusting exposure to different lighting conditions at times.
The train seemed to be quite slow for much of the time (outside the tunnel). Train maybe only running around 30 kph!? I was expecting a much faster run. Was/is there a temporary or permanent speed restriction in places?
Would have been nice to have included a graphic indicating the speed of the train.
Very nice video, I rode there, namely in May 2009. On Eurostar Class 373
Great video. I live in New Zealand, heard a lot about the eurotunnel. Great feet of engineering. Just wish we would get a tunnel like that between the north and south islands here in New Zealand (nz). Our government here is useless for things like that. And too many people claim it can't be done.
Feat? 😂
@@video125com ah, so my spelling aint that good. Ya knew what i ment 😀
@@kenbearsley8322 You're forgiven.
My understanding of NZ, is soon as you leave the coast, the ocean floor drops by thousands of feet, the Channel is only 207 feet in average.
@@jonathonblacker299Correct, A Cook Strait tunnel would have to contend with a 330m deep ocean trench - 5 times the depth of the channel tunnel.
I wish Europe would once again take on huge construction projects such as this one to bring people together.
Umm Fehmer tunnel. Denmark Germany?? Longest combined rail and ROAD tunnel in the world.
@@joepatroni8777 LYon -Turin tunnel through the Alps, all the way to Venice and Slovenia ?
plenty of them going on
Very good but I was surprised at how slow the train is I thought it would be like an express I’m guessing that’s because of the vehicles their carrying?
You're only seeing the start and end of the journey - most of what we came here to see was cut out.
Great ride! Thanks for sharing this
I'd love to see a live webcam of the French portals!
Just wondering, How BIG Are The Train Cars? (Btw It almost Looks like Snowpiercer)
Why does it run around in a loop at either end? Why is not ran in push-pull?
It is run in push-pull, just one loco always on front and the other always on back. This is to allow easier load and unload of vehicles
@@marcodamasio "It is run in push-pull, just one loco always on front and the other always on back."
it is not though, he literally explained this in the first few minutes of this vid.
@@marcodamasio A loco at each end is not "Push-Pull". Push-Pull is when the train reverses direction at each end and has a loco at each end. The loop saves time because there are a lot of checks to perform when a train reverses direction, and it also avoids having conflicting paths at the ends - think about it.
PS (a year later) : My second sentence contains a typo - should have said Push-Pull has a loco at one end only.
The second locomotive is a redundant safety feature. The figure-eight loop is so that all the parts of the train wear evenly.
@@dukenukem5768 A train doesn’t need to “have a loco at each end” for it to be push-pull, just one, hence the term “push” when the cab car is leading. The loops cause excessive rail and wheel wear and create centripetal force for the passengers. We’d never do this style of track scheme in US or Canada. Poor design.
Very interesting :)
Im heading on the Eurotunnel on my bike in July, first time using it, I'm looking forward to it :)
Very impressive. I wish America could have high speed rail, but the airlines will never allow it
Well that and America isn't good at keeping its infrastructure in a good state of repair.
@@jkeelsnc With the fact that every airline has a hub and it is usually nowhere near anything else, and they fly to it instead of the destination you need to go, it typically takes me 2 hours to drive to the airport where the airlines go, then an hour to park and get the shuttle, then 4 hours in TSA, then the delays, usually another 4 hours, 2 hours flying to Atlanta, 6 hour layover, another hour in the air, an hour renting a car, and 2 more hours driving to where I actually need to go. 22 to 24 hours, and I can drive it at the speed limit in 13 hours. Amtrak is even worse, typically 48 hours to get from Penn Station to Savannah Georgia. Half that Time is spent on sidings because the railroads have only 1 track, to save money, and give their trains priority and Amtrak the least priority. CP Rail is the only exception. They give Amtrak priority on their line from Ballston Spa to Plattsburgh. It costs about 400 dollars to fly, 1 way. Amtrak is about the same cost, 1 way. I watch a lot of C-SPAN,2 and 3, and I watched the heads of the airlines tell Congress they would stop flying anywhere a high speed rail line was put in, because they could never compete. Imagine getting on the train in Allentown and 4 hours later getting off in Savannah. If we were China or Japan we would already have it. I don't know what happened to America. If we had to fight WW2 today, we would be defeated in 6 months. It breaks my heart.
There isn't the same population density in the USA - by a factor of 3, more or less, and the distances are larger.
Absolutely cool as hell. Though coming from the United States, a train that is half a mile long is like a little baby compared to a typical freight train here ;)
Sure everything is bigger in the US mainly Americans waist line .
But does they carries passangers?
One passenger called trump.
@@Pribumi1 Passenger rail in the US is mostly limited to commuter trains within cities. Amtrak does exist, but isn't economical and has few dedicated lines. Freight, however is very common, with the longest trains being about 3 miles long.
What year was this recorded in?
2009, it says at 0:51
@@nativenewlondoner oh, thanks
Nice Cabview. I have one question though: Is it possible to acces the cab of those locomotives even though you are not part of the staff. Shame this was not filmed later. Eurotunnel has bought some Class 6400 locomotives from DB Cargo Netherlands, at that point still Railion. Some locomotives sort of got their original colour scheme back and others got the Eurotunnel colour scheme. Their job is to pull a train that has broken down out of the tunnel, at least so I heard. I saw some of the locomotives briefly when I took the shuttle back from Folkstone.
No footage of the crossover galleries? A bit of a missed opportunity.
did he say the eurostars coast from ashford doing 300kmh on the overpass into the channel tunnel down to 160 did i hear that right?
So, train arrived at cargo terminal? I dont see any passenger accommodations, but i see ramp for trucks...
How long does it take to go form one side to the other
In the video, they said that the train spends about 22 minutes in the tunnel, not counting 6 minutes in the UK yard, and 7 minutes in the French yard, and that most of that time in the railyards the train is coasting, to save energy.
They should put in 2-way Radio antenna and repeater in the tunnels so they can have radio contact in the tunnels
was this filmed at the same time that the eurostars still went to london waterloo
Veľmi prekrásne natočené video 😇😇😇😇. Srdečne pozdravujem zo Slovenska 😇😇😇😇🇸🇰🇸🇰🇸🇰🇸🇰.
What signalling system being used? CBTC? Looks like block marker boards.
TVM430
@@video125com thanks, reason i ask I saw the same boards on the Elizabeth line between Abbey Wood and Paddington using CBTC signalling.
Look at how well the tracks are maintained and the track beds are maintained
We don't have anything even close to this nice in America
I see that ERTMS is used
,,in which level of ertms ,,I see the smb with lamp for level 1 ,
and I see this lamp is not on,
So do you drive level 2 or 3?
the switches are so quiet.
They only make noises when poorly maintained like in the UK or USA ( UP, Chessie)
Could a TGV make it to Dover ?😊
Even though the train is a half mile long, it seems so much shorter at the speed it’s going!
I’d love to know what width these freight and passenger carriages are. Have seen another video from inside of the vehicle carriages and they seem to have more room either side of the vehicle. I’d expect more than the regular 3 mtrs, I do know they can’t travel on any other network because of there width🇦🇺
The Chunnel loading gauge is 4.10 x 5.60 metres, so the wagons are a little smaller than that.
which of the three eurostar routes has the most scenery out of amsterdam, brussels and paris ?
I've never been in them, but I always assumed the Amsterdam route goes through Paris and Brussells. Is this wrong?
@@rhodrage London to Amsterdam trains should go through Brussels, but nowhere near Paris. The route forks at Lille, heading southbound for Paris or eastbound for Brussels.
@@francois738 that's quite interesting
Those blak circles. Are they cameras?
This was good! Just one question? Why are the coaches (I use that term losely) a lot bigger than the engines? Looks weird!
They r double deck or large enough for road coaches to for inside. (Buses) no point in making bigger engines just to match. Don’t be tricked though, these engines are v heavy and powerful.
To be precise the front half of the train is single deck for coaches / buses, vans, SUVs, etc. The back half is double deck for regular cars and their passengers can stand up with clearance outside their cars on both decks.
If you watch closely at the first and last cars you'll see they are different : the first one grows in size from front to back as it is the unloading car for the single deck half train.
The walls and ceiling slide forward towards the locomotive to open a full size exit at the front end of the second car.
The sloped, increasing height and width helps with air pressure and piston effect, that's why the single deck half is normally always at the front.
At the middle of the train you will find the single deck loading car with the same sliding top, except it slides towards the rear.
Then immediately after this car you'll see the double deck unloading car with 2 lateral doors, the slope from the upper deck is inside that car.
And at the very back of the train, just before the rear locomotive there's the double deck loading car with also 2 lateral doors and an internal slope to the upper deck.
All the cars of the double decker / back half are of the same with and height whereas the first and last cars of the first / single deck half have gradual height and width for the sliding mechanism.
There was no need for larger engines and their small size compared to the cars behind them help with the air pressure in the tunnel.
If they were of same size as the cars it would be like a wall entering the tunnel.
And the looks of the trains wasn't really a problem as they're only used on the tunnel loop.
Have a look on other videos of the tunnel and rolling stock or to the 4 episodes of the British documentary about the 25 years anniversary, it's called "The Channel Tunnel - Life on the Inside", and it's here on UA-cam.
The documentary series is very interesting and has plenty of views of many aspects of the system.
By the way, if you're wondering why it's not a simple loop but a 8 shaped track with the crossing on the French side : it makes the train do a 180 turn to the left on the French end. Without that overpass / crossing, trains would only do right U-turns and would end up with an imbalanced wear on the wheels. So the 8 shape on the French side helps equalize wear and tear of the wheels on both sides of the trains.
And if you're wondering why there's a rear locomotive on a one way train : for security reasons, passengers must be able to leave one half of the train and take refuge in the other half. That refuge half must be able to separate from the other half and exit the tunnel by itself. If the refuge half is the back one the rear locomotive pulls it back out of the tunnel.
This is only one of the safety features, there are also bunker doors every 250 or 350 meters that connect to the over-pressurized service (3rd) tunnel.
In one episode of the documentary I told you about they also show one of the two "cathedrals", the huge underground exchange crossings that are located at about one third of the tunnels from each end and feature huge sliding doors each weighing 94 tons.
I hope this answered your question.
The locomotives are built to European loading gauge to enable them to travel off site if necessary for maintenance etc. The shuttle wagons are trapped on site and would have to be taken out by road.