Cheriton
Shuttle Terminal
Three
parallel-running tunnels constitute what we know as the ‘’Channel Tunnel’’. A
15.7-foot wide service tunnel is flanked on either side by a 24.9-foot diameter
single-track running tunnel. The trio of bores measure some 31.35 miles in
length, of which 24 miles is directly under the English Channel. The service
tunnel accommodates a two-way road used by the diesel-powered ‘’Service Tunnel
Transportation System’’ (STTS) vehicles, these of which can be steered manually
or by computer. The running tunnels are designated as ‘’South’’ and ‘’North’’;
the former accommodates Britain-bound services, and the latter operates in the
reverse. Commencement of ‘’Chunnel’’ boring began with the centrally positioned
service tunnel, work starting from the British end on 15th December 1987. On
28th February of the following year, boring of the same tunnel began from French
soil. Starting with these works was the construction of two huge terminal sites
on each side of the Chunnel system for vehicle shuttle services – one at
Cheriton, Folkestone, and the other at Coquelles, Calais.
The site selected for the British terminal resided at the foot of the North
Downs, bordered to the west and south by the villages of Newington and Cheriton
respectively. From east to west the terminal site stretched for 1⅔-mile, and the
total area covered was 346 acres; so restricted was the land that the adjacent
village of Newington was to see its eastern peripheral swallowed up in the
development work. On the other side of the Channel, the French were not subject
to such space limitations. A vast green field area presented itself to the west
of Calais, which could accommodate a terminal area five times the size of its
British counterpart, at some 1730 acres. Consequently, the decision was taken to
incorporate the main 100,000 square foot heavy maintenance depot at Coquelles,
although smaller facilities would be available at Cheriton. Construction at the
latter had begun with the levelling and stabilising of the site. A 3½-mile
underwater pipeline was laid between Deal and Goodwin Sands, the latter of which
was a twelve-mile-long, five-mile-wide sand embankment lying off the Kent Coast.
Sand from here was dredged for the stabilisation task, and it avoided the need
to carry out any inland excavations. Nevertheless, were there any excavations
which needed refilling, there was plenty of soil with which to do it. The
British tunnelling operation was producing no less than 2400 tonnes of waste soil
every hour when the tunnel boring machines (TBM) were rotating at top speed. A
proportion of this earth could be used to landscape the Cheriton terminal site,
but most of it was earmarked to create an artificial platform in the sea,
extending from the construction site at Shakespeare Cliff.
At Cheriton, eight concrete-built island platforms, 865 yards in length and
averaging 12 yards in width, were to be provided. The need to load and unload
vehicles from trains quickly and easily meant that each island platform was to
be separated from the next by just a single-track, allowing access to trains
from either side. The islands were to be linked by four concrete bridges
straddling the tracks: one at either end of the platforms, and another two in a
roughly central position, mid-way up the islands. The western pair of overbridges were for cars and HGVs bound for a shuttle, whilst the eastern pair
were to be used by those vehicles disembarking from trains. The longest shuttles
of all, those for freight, were to be constituted of two rakes of fourteen
wagons each, a trio of loading/unloading wagons, and top-and-tailing
locomotives. Passenger shuttles would be constituted of two rakes of twelve
vehicles each; one rake would be single-decked, the other double-decked, these
carrying coaches and cars respectively. In addition to these vehicles and the
top-and-tailing locomotives would be two unloading wagons with telescopic
hoods: one at the front of the formation, and another sandwich
in-between the two rakes. With reference to the latter, those vehicles
embarking/disembarking midway up the train could utilise the middle bridges,
eliminating the need to traverse any significant length of the platform surface.
Attention should be drawn to the fact that at Coquelles, although eight platform
faces were to be available, these would be formed from just four islands. Thus,
the islands would be separated from each other by a double-track, and vehicles
would only be able to access shuttles from one side.
The entire Eurotunnel railway system was planned to form a giant figure of
eight. This permitted continuous running of trains and eliminated the need for
reversals after termination. For example, when a train arrived at Cheriton from
Coquelles, it would first be sent round a curve at the western extremity of the
terminal to double-back on itself; therefore, when it entered the platforms, the
locomotive which hauled the shuttle from France would be hauling it back again,
in turn leaving the same Tri-Bo locomotive trailing at the rear. Notice that the
arrangement is described as a figure of eight, rather than a plain oval. At Cheriton, Shuttles would round the curve in a clockwise direction, whilst at
Calais, the presence of a diamond crossing (formed by a pair of back-to-back
Y-points) would result in trains changing course
and rounding the curve in an anti-clockwise direction. The thinking behind this
‘’eight’’ rather than ‘’oval’’ arrangement was to equalise the wear of the wheel
flanges on each side of the locomotives and rolling stock. The curves at British
and French terminals measured 0.62 and 1.06 miles in length respectively, and
the smaller scale of Cheriton compared with its Coquelles counterpart also meant
that the curve negotiated would be much tighter. Such a curve radius was partly
the reason for procuring a shuttle locomotive with a Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement
– i.e. three bogies of two axles each. The purpose of these arrival curves was
also to aid the slowing down of the shuttle trains, a decided advantage over
standard end-to-end terminating arrangements, which relied wholly on brakes. As
part of the re-landscaping of the Cheriton terminal area, to protect the
adjacent Newington village from noise, the arrival loop – which was destined to
become double-track – would dive into a tunnel through an artificial embankment.
The tunnel also allowed the loop to pass under the approaching tracks from
London, and upon part of the embankment, at the south west corner of the site,
terminal check-in facilities could be constructed. These eventually comprised fourteen
booths – arranged in a gentle curve formation running north to south – protected
by a 290-foot long ridge-and-furrow canopy. To the north of these facilities
were to be further check-in booths and parking lanes for HGVs, again constructed above
the arrival loop line.
Further to the landscaping works already mentioned, environmental procedures
also saw the erection of towering black fences within, and on the edges of, the
terminal. Similar fences had been included within the Dollands Moor Freight Yard
construction programme, and their raison d’être was to act as a sound barrier,
in addition to preventing wild animals roaming on the tracks. Around the
perimeters of the Cheriton and Dollands Moor sites, as part of the landscaping
effort, a total of 500,000 new trees were planted.
17th August 2007
A westward view from the North Downs reveals the extensive terminal site, complete with the huge
electricity sub-station in the foreground. The large concrete-built bridges, which link the road system
with the terminal platforms, dominate the scene. In the background, left of centre, can be seen the
M20, whilst to the right of this can just be seen the maintenance depot and sidings. David Glasspool
A southward view shows Folkestone in the background, with the English Channel beyond. A passenger
shuttle is observed leaving the terminal: all twelve single-decked wagons of the first rake are in view.
Hidden by the bridge support is the telescopic unloading wagon, which in turn is connected to the second
rake of twelve vehicles, the latter being double -decked wagons. In the foreground is the electricity
sub-station. David Glasspool
In view is the Cheriton Control Tower, which oversees the operation of the terminal's road and rail
networks. It is home to the world's largest LED display panel, which illuminates a signalling diagram
of the entire Eurotunnel system. David Glasspool
Next: the History Continues >>
Return to the Kent Rail Homepage or alternatively, check for Updates.
Website & Copyright information - Links - Contact the Webmaster
All content is copyright © David Glasspool