70 years of Read On: the Channel Tunnel then and now
Das Jubiläumsjahr der Read On neigt sich dem Ende zu. Ein Jahr lang haben wir auf die vergangenen sieben Jahrzehnte zurückgeblickt und jeden Monat einen Artikel aus unseren Archiven veröffentlicht, der thematisch einen Bezug zum Hier und Jetzt hat – eine Verbindung aus old school und new school. Zum Abschluss unserer Reihe beschäftigen wir uns mit dem Eurotunnel, der lange geplant wurde und in den mobilitätstechnisch bald neue Bewegung kommen könnte – zu lesen in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
OLD SCHOOL (1980)
It’s known as the biggest bore of the century
It’s been called the biggest bore of the century. It’s still in the planning stages after 178 years. But it’s given us a new word: “Chunnel”, or Channel Tunnel.
1 A French engineer first had the idea in 1802. He suggested burrowing the 20-odd miles under the English Channel between Britain and France. But the thought of Napoleon’s troops boiling up out of a hole in the ground near Dover made the British response less than enthusiastic.
2 A pilot tunnel was however begun near Folkestone in the early 1880s, but later abandoned. In the 1970s geologists established that the veins of chalk underlying the English Downs extended under the Channel nearly to France. Funds were raised, and a hole nearly a mile long was dug near Dover, while the French started digging near Calais. But costs mounted, and the project was called off again.
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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
Vocabulary
0–1 bore Bohrloch; Langweiler(in) — planning stage Planungsstadium — Chunnel Wortschöpfung aus Ch(annel) u. (T)unnel (the English Channel d. Ärmelkanal) — to burrow buddeln, einen Gang graben — 20-odd etwas üb. 20 — troops (pl.) Truppen — to boil up (fig) hervorsprudeln, hervorkommen — response Antwort, Reaktion — less than enthusiastic wenig begeistert
2 pilot tunnel Probetunnel — Folkestone an d. engl. Südküste — to abandon aufgeben — geologist Geologe — to establish feststellen — vein of chalk Kalkader — to underlie liegen -, sich befinden unter — the (South) Downs Kalkhügelkette in S-Engl. — to extend reichen, sich erstrecken — to raise funds Gelder aufbringen, – beschaffen — to dig graben — to mount sich häufen, anwachsen — to call off stoppen, rückgängig machen
NEW SCHOOL (Today)
Competition in the Channel Tunnel
TRAVEL
A Spanish company could rival Eurostar.
By Franziska Lange
1 Since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has connected France and England. The name „Chunnel“ may have never really caught on, but the tunnel itself sure did – almost 500 million passengers have travelled through the world’s longest undersea rail tunnel since then.
2 From day one, those passengers have boarded a Eurostar – the only rail firm with trains in the tunnel. Now, however, another company is coming for Eurostar’s crown.
3 The Spanish rail firm Evolyn wants to become the second operator in the Channel Tunnel. It has announced its plans to run direct train services between London and Paris, starting in 2025.
4 Evolyn has plans to extend its services in 2026, so there could be direct connections to more European cities in the future. Yann Leriche, the chief executive of the Channel Tunnel’s operator Getlink, said, “We don’t know yet what these other destinations will be, but the arrival of Evolyn will most certainly speed up the opening of new routes to Germany or Switzerland, for example.”
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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
Vocabulary
0–4 Channel Tunnel Eurotunnel (unter dem Ärmelkanal) — to rival s.o. jdm. Konkurrenz machen — Chunnel = channel + tunnel — to catch on sich durchsetzen — rail firm Bahnunternehmen — to come for s.o.’s crown (fig) jdm. Konkurrenz machen — operator Betreiber — to run anbieten — train service Zugverbindung — to extend s.th. etw. ausbauen — chief executive Geschäftsführer(in) — route Strecke
Foto: Getty Images
