CHANNEL TUNNEL.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19917, 2 May 1930, Page 19

CHANNEL TUNNEL.

• ENQUIRY COMMITTEE APPROVES. A «W,000,000 SCHKMS(wo* om» ow» eoMßWOue**?-) IiONDON, March 81. In April, 1929, a Committee was appoints "to examine and report on the economic aspects of proposal* tor the construction of a Channel tunnel or other new form of cross-Channei communication." Their report has now been issued, and tour out ot «« five members of the Committee have expressed themselves in favour of tne scheme. Their main conclusions are:— 1. None of the new forms of crossChannel communication suggested can bo regarded aa a satisfactory alternative to a Channel tunnel. 2. On the available evidence it appeans probable that the geological and engineering difficulties likely to t>e encountered could be successfully overcome. There must remain an element of doqbt regarding the practicability of constructing a tunnel until the proposed pilot tunnel, estimated to cost, £5,600,000. has been successfully j driven right across the Channel. 3. If the pilot tunnel is successfully constructed in the manner proposed, the practicability of subsequently constructing the traffic tunnels may be regarded a? established. The cost of the latter tunnels is estimated at about £3(3,000.000. .There would be no difficulty about their operation and, up* keep. ' Private Enterprise. 4. If a Channel tunnel is construetod, on economic grounds the work should be .carried put by private enterprise and should not be accorded any special financial assistance by the Government. 5. A Channel tunnel could bo built, maintained, and operated by private enterprise at a cost which would permit of the traffic through it being conveyed at rates not higher than those at present in force on the abort crow»Channel route. 6. The Committee believes that, although some interests would probably be adversely affected, the construction qf a Channel tunnel, by creating now traffic and thus increasing trade, would ho of economic advantage to this country. Geological Problems. It 18 considered that the only hope of auocoaa lies in running the tunnel through the lower chalk stratum, which roaches a. depth below sea level of about 300 feet. The practicability ot the scheme depends upon the continuity under the Channel of this stratum. The available evidence suggests that this formation does extend without interruption, but there is a risk that ns* aurea or unfilled valleys may be encountered. If fissures filled with rough gravel, and therefore affording fairly free passage for the sea water, were met with, cementation would probably seal them up, If close eand were met with yielding large quantities q! water, the conditions would be mere difficult, and the success of the process doubtful. With the development of engineering resources, fissures, unless of exceptional sjae, "would not present any insuperable difficulty," Before any expenditure is incurred en the main borings it is considered imperative that a pilot tunnel should be drives through the whole length of the Straits. The consulting engineer* recommend that, as the pilot tunnel proceeds, advance and radial boreholes should be driven from it to explore the ground ahead and »U round it w ortter w obtain the fullest information regarding the ground through which the main tunnels would subse- j quen«ly be driven. Summing up their views aa to "prac tieaWlity,*» the majority says "On the available evidence it appears probable that the lower chalk estends uninterruptedly aerosa the Straits, and that it would be possible to construct a tunnel. There must, however, "remain an element of doubt regarding practicability until the proposed pilot tunnel Is completed. If that ifi successfully accomplished in the manner proposed the practicability -of subsequently constructing the tra*' Ha tunnels way be regarded as cetab. Uined," As regards the finance of the scheme, the company proposes to issue ordinary shares sufficient to coyer the cost of the English seatien of the pile* tunnel, The sAOtual work of construction would be carried out simultaneously by two eon*, panics, the British company building the British half, and the Jfcenefe company the Trench half- The necessary eloaeut co-ordination between the t*« wwpan» lea wight be secured by the formation ef a single* holding company. . The Channel tunnel companies would not themselves maintain or operate the tunnel seetien, but would enter into, agreements for these services to be carried out py the two railway eompanies at a much smaller eest. j,ord JfoWshanVa Wweuv The dissentient w«a Lord Ebbisharo who declared his opposition to the scheme on economic grounds. He says;—• "My general conclusion is that even if a tunnel could be built, maintained, and operated by private enterprise, and if it eeuld carry traffic at eompetitive ratea, any resultant advantago* are wn* certain and/at the best, slight ia cstent, Whilst, on the other hand, evidence submitted has shown that there would be a definite, detriment to substantial portiona of established , industries, such,'for instance, as ebippins. aw agriculture." bt}*& Ebbisham maintain* that the stimulus to passenger trafße would be alight, Be bollere* that the temporary gain in omployiinent would b* wore than counteracted by w« permanent toss of ompleyment which must neees* sarily follow. "Further," he adds, "there are certain advantages in pur UUBllty ©J insularity. To make this countfy a mere adjunct to the Continent might well promote a feeling °* unrest by adding to our anxieties ana responsibilities " ' The Tint Stage. '•When Mr Baldwin appointed the committee," says the political.correspondent of. the "Daily Telegraph," "it was (understood that the enquiry would be preliminary to an examination subI seqiwntly of the political and military aspects of the project. ,( Now that the committee has reported it is expected that the, Committee of Imperial ©eienw will, pnee again, be ehargad with the duty of reporting upon tfeo •eheroe to too Cabinet. , "Ministers will then e»m© to a decision as to whether, viewing the jnafc to* fan-all angles, the aohenw should be approved, , ... 'lt is pointed out u* .wawwto quarters that the publication of the present report marks, therefore, only the first Btßgo in the proceedings, and that some time must elnpee before a final conclusion ean bo reached. "There is, it is •ugeeated, a tendency to forget that a Channel tunnel must' be a Joint pgl*p*«M ,S S ™' It follows, t%efor*i that the full eon•wait of iU French Oovernmentwoijd have to be expressed before any practical move noirld be made. A Conttwrtort Wnt»*. ' Thft Paris correspondent of the JmPSS* oatfifaetien to the dannej Twnnef Committee, which was founded by the late M< Paul Cambon. M Fougjerolle, a contractor, has a remarkable acheme for excavating ***

W.B JIW W» ' " W . ).■ tunnej, The original idea was to bring water for pulverising the chalk to the coast in pipe-lines and to bring back the solution of chalk powder and water by oth«r lines. M, Tougerolle's idea (which is blessed in tho committees report) is to take the water from the sea through the ceiling of the tunnel, and by means of revolving cutters to jp-ind th« chalk and return it to the pea in the proportion of SO per pent, powder and 70 per cent, water. It is claimed that by this process of boring tho work cauJcl be. accomplished in three to four ysars instead of ten years, ag had been estimated. ■ "All is ready in France," an official of the French committee, said. "The liompany has the legislative powers it requires. There is in existence a Ministerial order which gives the> company authority for making a start with the French part of the tunnel. The Company was founded by M- Michql Chevalier, a, great economist and'engineer, and the director is M. Javary. A ipeouUtlve Enterprise.

Mr Harley B, Palrymple-Hay is one Of the oest-known tunnel experts. Ho has been responsible for the construe* tlon of 60 miles ©f railway tunnelling nnder tondon and for the building of four tunnels under the Severn. The Channel Tunnel scheme he describes as a gamble, . Most tunnel propositions, be said, m. an interview with a "Morning Post'' representative, are a gamble. "There is nothing J would like better than to see a Channel Tunnel scheme brought to n successful issue. But whatever is done it sheuld he publicly stated in any prospectus issued to the public that it is a gamble. Every care should be taken to see that the project deceives no one. "There is no real knowledge as to the thickness of the lower grey chalk ex. cept on either side. That is one point that I would emphasise. There are »Q means of defining whether a tunnel can be built unless and until a drainage heading and a pilot heading are first driven and walking communication ob* tained from side to side of the Channel, «The possibility of constructing a tunnel depends very largely on the existence of the lower grey chalk, from One Side to the other, of sufficient thickness to permit the tunnel being constructed wholly within it. Another important factor IS whether there are faults and fissures in the chalk which, if encountered at the tunnel face, would let in such a large amount of water that pumping would not keep it out. "The tunnel would be about JBO foet 'below the bed of the sea. In midChannel the depth of the water is about 150 feet. These are important considerations, since it would he impossible to apply compressed air in which men could work, as is done in cases at a depth of 80 or 90 feet below water love)," Unknown, Factors. Mr ©alrymple-Hay said he had inspected one of the trial headings made near Dover, He thought it would be poisihlo to drive a preliminary or pilot heading through the lower grey chalk formation Without the necessity of puttiOg in either iron or concrete lining, at any rate for a sufficient time to per. Mit Of the. heading being driven from the English side to the middle of the Channel, where a corresponding head. ing would be driven to meet it from the French side, If handled in the right way, he* thought, the construction of a Channel Tunnel might be found to be a pracHeal proposition. But it should not be forgotten that the project -had been ex. Jilored to a considerable extent on the wo shores, hut as regasde the middle of the .Channel no one really knows anything about it, and in his judgment. as a tunnel engineer, they would not know anything about it until the work had been done. Hence the gamble.