Eurotunnel has set up a working group including High Speed 1 and DB to assess the safety of running shorter trains through the Channel Tunnel so that open-access operators could use it economically. The 393 m Eurostars were designed to ensure that wherever they stopped passengers would be able to evacuate into the service tunnel through one of the cross-passages, which are spaced at 375 m intervals.rnEurotunnel Chairman & CEO Jacques Gounon told The Times 'events in the Tunnel last December when we had to evacuate 400 m trains showed how difficult it can be to get 750 people out. Of course, this was the first time in 15 years that we have had to do that, but we are considering whether the 400 m train is appropriate'. He told French business paper Les Echos that obtaining a derogation from the intergovernmental safety commission would be 'a major step in the liberalisation of Channel Tunnel passenger traffic which would assist the arrival of competitors such as Deutsche Bahn'. Eurotunnel has let it be known that it believes DB could be operating between Frankfurt and London from December 2012.
展开▼
