The Channel Tunnel turned 20 years old today with The Queen unveiling a plaque to commemorate the occasion.
The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip also joined Her Majesty at the train station yesterday to celebrate the anniversary of the international rail services, before both headed on a state visit to France to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague; Harlem Désir, France’s Secretary of State for European Affairs and Bernard Emié, French Ambassador to the UK also took part in the ceremony, which was overseen by Rob Holden, HS1 chairman; Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive of Eurotunnel and Clare Hollingsworth, chairman of Eurostar.
More than 65 million vehicles and 330 million people have travelled through the tunnel since its opening.
“The opening of the Channel Tunnel twenty years ago heralded a new era in international travel and trade between the UK and continental Europe,” said Gounon. “But for us, the first 20 years have been just the opening chapter. There is a great deal more potential for high speed passenger and rail freight services to develop in the future”.
Hollingsworth added: “The launch of Eurostar services between the UK and mainland Europe represented a historic milestone revolutionising rail travel on both sides of the Channel. Over the last twenty years we have carried over 145 million passengers as high speed rail increasingly becomes the preferred option for short haul journeys. With the advent of a new state-of-the art fleet of trains and a range of new routes, we are looking forward to extending our reach and cementing further the relationship between the UK and continental Europe.”
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