Reaching new depths at the Eurotunnel Terminal
It was with some trepidation that I set out on my ‘behind the scenes’ tour of Eurotunnel. I had vivid memories of the fire in the tunnel last year and the potentially drastic effects of it – though Eurotunnel had reacted very quickly and efficiently and it was a credit to their crisis management that there were no casualties and the news was contained without hysteria letting loose.
Did you know that Eurotunnel actually has three tunnels, 2 running tunnels that are used by trains and the service tunnel – specifically designed as a “safe haven” for customers in the event of an emergency. The service tunnel is also used for regular maintenance as well!
But did I really want to go down the service tunnel? Normally no members of the public are allowed in there and I was a bit hesitant about making my trip down into the unknown.
It was a revelation to me that there was a whole team of people on standby in case there was an emergency situation. Their whole life geared up for a crisis, only to happen probably once in a life time. It was mind boggling to drive deeper and deeper into the service tunnel riding in one of the specially adapted vehicles. We stopped at one of the Cross Passage Doors – this is the door linking the train tunnel to the service tunnel and can be used in the event of an evacuation. It felt like I was tracing the steps where hundreds of passengers would potentially escape from …. It had that eerie feeling that you wouldn’t have been surprised if James Bond were to jump out at you from behind a security door!
On leaving the service tunnel, we were taken to the “Nerve Centre” of the tunnel, a NASA inspired control room – a train spotter’s paradise – no windows and computers/electronic charts blinking everywhere with the longest and largest electronic chart showing every single movement of every train in the tunnel, or about to go into the tunnel. We were treated to a fascinating lesson on how the trains were controlled by our Eurotunnel mentor, Paul, who lived and breathed the complexities of every train entering into the tunnel.
One of the other aims of the day was to try for myself the whole experience of going by Eurotunnel. I had been part of the privileged few to travel the tunnel when it opened in 1994- and even have the certificate to prove I was in the first 500 passengers – so it was great to re-visit it 15 years later. This time I was “trying out” Flexiplus *. Travelling using Flexiplus was an experience that way exceeded my expectations. If you have ever been to Disneyland and purchased fastpasses to beat the queue, you will appreciate Flexiplus – being one of the smug few travellers to jump all car queues and be loaded on first. On top of that, Flexiplus allows you to stop at the exclusive lounge, where you are given a generous snack of sandwiches, fruit, wine, cakes and coffee, while picking up a newspaper and taking a break. Check out www.ernalow.co.uk for further details of how to travel Flexiplus.
*Full Flexiplus service is open to vehicles under 1.85m
