The Channel Tunnel!

ROADSTER’s epic road trip began… with a train journey! In order to get to France we had to travel from the UK across The English Channel. We drove our car onto a “Le Shuttle” train which took us through the Channel Tunnel, under the sea to France. The Channel Tunnel isn’t “just a tunnel” - it's  a marvel of civil engineering…   

1. Reading Comprehension

Read the page carefully, then answer:

1. What is the Channel Tunnel also called?

2. How long is the tunnel in miles and kilometres?

3. What is the special rock layer beneath the seabed called?

4. How many Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) dug the tunnel?

5. What title did the American Society of Civil Engineers give the Channel Tunnel?

2. Vocabulary Check

Match the words to their meanings:

a) Spoil

b) Bore

c) Civil engineering

d) Prototype

e) Seabed

The bottom of the sea

Soil and rock removed when digging

To drill or dig into something

A type of engineering that designs and builds big structures

A first version of something new

3. True or False

Tick the correct box:

● The Channel Tunnel is the longest undersea tunnel in the world.

● There are four tunnels under the Channel.

● Engineers gave their Tunnel Boring Machines women’s names.

● A Paddington Bear was the first “passenger” through the tunnel wall.

4. Maths Challenge

The tunnel is 31.35 miles long. How many kilometres is this? (Hint: 1 mile ≈ 1.6 km)

The Chunnel project set a world record of 75.5 metres per day. How many metres is that in 10 days?

If a Le Shuttle train can carry 100 vehicles, how many vehicles could 5 trains carry?

5. Science & Engineering Thinking

● Why do you think engineers dug a smaller “pilot bore” tunnel first?

● Why do you think the tunnel has three separate tunnels instead of just one?

6. Creative Task

Imagine you are on the very first train journey through the Channel Tunnel. Write a diary entry describing:

● What you saw and felt as the train went under the sea