Go behind the scenes of our amazing underwater railway connecting us to France in BBC2’s The Channel Tunnel – Life on the Inside
As the longest undersea tunnel in the world turns 25, BBC2’s The Channel Tunnel – Life on the Inside meets those who keep vehicles and people moving between the UK and France.
Engineers inspect the huge fans in the service tunnel, and journalists arrive to hear about Brexit plans – £13m has been spent on a worst-case scenario.
The Channel Tunnel opened in 1994 to much fanfare, and there are now 20 million rail passengers passing through it every year…
Filmed over six months, this series, previously shown on BBC1 South East, finds out what it takes to keep 400 trains running between England and France daily.
‘At one point, a tunnel under the sea seemed like science fiction,’ says Matt Wheeler, director of this four-part series.
‘Now it’s become so normal, we have families eating their sandwiches as they cross the Channel.’
In this week’s episodes, we meet those who work on both sides of the tunnel, including engineer Mark Cornwall (pictured top) and 25-year-old train driver, the aptly named Tash Speed.
‘She said no matter how much training you have, going through the tunnel on your own for the first time driving a 3,000- tonne train is the most terrifying moment of your life,’ says Matt.
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The show also meets the more unusual travellers, such as dogs returning from Crufts and those transporting racing cars to Le Mans race track.
‘The tunnel has become so ordinary, we forget how amazing it actually was to construct,’ says Matt.
‘It’s an incredible engineering feat, so this series will look at how it all works.’
Continues tomorrow.
TV Times rating: ***
