The Channel Tunnel

Showcase Project

Jack K. Lemley, Transmanche-Link, Folkestone, Kent, England

LE PROJET DU SIECLE

The idea of a Fixed Link between Britain and the European mainland was first seriously considered in Napoleonic times. Since then, plan after plan has been suggested. A tunnel was even started in 1880 only to be stopped two years later after British fears of an invasion became too great. Nearly a century later, in 1975, another start was aborted on political rather than military grounds.

Still the idea would not go away and today not one but three tunnels link the United Kingdom and France as part of what the French press has dubbed Le Projet du Siecle—the Project of the Century

Transmanche-Link (TML) is the contractor responsible for designing constructing and commissioning what is generally known as the Channel Tunnel but which is in fact a project encompassing far more than the trio of tunnels under the Channel. As such, it is acting on behalf of its client, Eurotunnel. A totally separate entity, Eurotunnel will own and operate the Fixed Link once it is completed. It is the world's largest privately funded construction project to date-with no government funding whatsoever. Instead, the largest banking syndicate even put together is providing the equity

TML is a consortium of ten major construction companies: five British and five French (see right). When first formed in 1986 it had a total staff of six. At peak that figure rose to nearly 14,500 and daily expenditure averaged over $5.5 million.

While TML exists in a liaison capacity to coordinate the project, two separate companies were formed to carry out the work on their respective sides of the Channel: GIE Transmanche Construction based in Calais, France, and Translink Joint Venture which is headquartered in the U.K.

All over the world people refer to the project as the Channel Tunnel, or even the Chunnel. Media attention centred on the tunneling and the tunnelers. Distances dug were monitored avidly, breakthroughs were heralded, and a huge part of the project has been virtually ignored.

TML is responsible for far more than driving some 170 kilometres of tunnels between Folkestone in the U.K. and Coquelles in France. It is, in fact, creating and commissioning an entire transportation system.

The system is in essence a railway and two of the three tunnels now under the Channel will carry high-speed mainline passenger and freight trains between the U.K. and France, as well as special shuttle trains loaded with vehicles and their drivers and passengers. These shuttles' locos and wagons (the largest, most sophisticated wagons ever built) are TML's responsibility, as are the rails on which they run, the catenary that brings power to them, the state-of-the-art signaling that guides them and any number of other ancillary systems essential to a twenty-first century railway. They have all had to be designed, purchased, fitted and commissioned.

At either end of the Eurotunnel system between England and France two huge terminals have been designed and built from scratch—by TML. Where there were once just fields, tracks have been laid, platforms, access ramps and associated bridges built and service buildings erected. Each Terminal could in its own right be counted among the biggest civil engineering jobs carried out in Europe during the closing decades of the century.

Of course, the tunnels are the heart of the system. The two large Running Tunnels carrying the railway have a smaller Service Tunnel separating them (which has its own mini, purpose-built transportation system). Massively complex drainage, cooling and ventilation systems have also had to recreated and to make the concrete segments which line the tunnels, TML built its own facilities on both sides of the Channel. In output terms, they were the equal to any precast concrete works in the world.

The prime technical objective of the Fixed Link is to join the principal road and rail networks of the U.K. and France. However, it will also form part of a major revision of transportation systems in Europe as a whole. There are at least 100 million people within just a 300-mile radius of the tunnels but the ramifications are expected to extend even further, particularly within the so-called London/Frankfurt/Milan Golden Triangle.

Total cross-Channel travel has increased substantially in recent years and it is foreseen that this growth will continue, with the Fixed Link's share in the year 2000 predicted to be 44.6 million passengers and 26.8 million tonnes of freight.

The linking of the rail networks of the U.K. and mainland Europe will also create a new competitive opportunity for the railways vis a vis both sea and air transportation.

When the tunnel opens, through passenger trains operated by British Rail and SNCF (the French Railways) as well as the SNCB (the Belgium Railways) are expected to travel between London and Paris in just three hours. If a high speed rail link between the London and the U.K. Terminal at Folkestone is built, this will be reduced by a further thirty minutes.

The railways expect their passenger service to be competitive with air services in terms of both price and time of journey

In addition, the movement of freight over greater distances by a single mode of transport, with consequent improvements in reliability and speed is expected to lead to a substantial increase in the railways' share of the cross-Channel market. Freight trains will directly connect centres in different parts of the U.K. with a range of places in Continental Europe and will be able to reach most major destinations within 36 hours.

Both road and rail users will be able to take advantage of such time-saving advantages of the Fixed Link in the near future. They will enjoy this thanks to organisational and management techniques which have allowed its creation, despite the vast size and scope of the project, in just seven years.

As participating contractors examine these requirements, more often than not they come to realise it is necessary to add specific resources to their own in order to have a complete capability. They must determine first if the capability exists elsewhere or can be developed in a timely cost-effective manner, within their own organisation.

There is also the need to consider sociological, legal, political and similar issues. Either the partners forming the consortium feel qualified to handle them or other expertise must be brought in, either through direct participation as a partner, or as a consultant or subcontractor. These so-called “extra-contractual” aspects of a project are often what make or break it.

Related to this is the issue of the cultural environment, both corporate and national. As the European Community comes closer together, organisations and entities across Europe will of necessity undertake a large number of programmed that require partnering. History tells us that the barriers to such partnering are formidable. Distinct and individual languages and cultures govern and provide the foundations for wider variations in legal systems, financial institutions, and personal characteristics.

The cultural issues are difficult to come to terms with because each joint venture, as it matures, must go beyond national cultural distinctions to develop a corporate culture commensurate with the project's established vision. In doing so, care must be taken to understand the approach of each partner to problem solving and issues such as ethics and the levels of professionalism required for various activities. It is important that there is an appreciation of the organisational culture by all members of the consortium, at all levels. In the long-term, such communication and the development of channels through which it can freely flow is perhaps the most important aspect of the partnership.

The consortium's approach to management and organisation structure is both extremely important and highly sensitive, especially in the ad hoc world of construction where contracts are put together to solve a particular set of circumstances over a specified period of time. Establishing, understanding and communicating the corporate culture are essential elements of a smoothly managed relationship. If channels of communication are developed from the first and rigorously supported during the formative stages of the consortium, the project's vision and goals can be extended in a more controlled fashion as the identified mission is accomplished. Ongoing and regular contact by the management of the various members of the consortium must be carefully nurtured. To some extent, this can be accomplished through regular management or supervisory board meetings, but it must be done on a regular basis, and it must extend from and beyond such formal meetings to the whole organisation. If there is room for creativity in management, it must begin here.

Any major development requires great sums of money and it is necessary for all concerned that financial considerations be thoroughly analysed. This is particularly true of mega-projects where the worth of all the consortium partners combined will not usually equal the value of the contract. Inclusion of a resource expert capable of understanding and handling the implications of project financial concerns, both internal and external, is in most cases a necessity In the case of government ownership, finance may come from the public purse. More and more frequently it comes from outside private sources. Either way, the consortium must be reimbursed on a regular basis for the real work done, or the project cannot be carried forward expeditiously or with full concentration on the mission.

When privatisation is discussed, much has been made of BOT (Build, Own/Operate and Transfer) facilities. Fundamental to the success of any BOT project is the idea that the government or other sponsoring entity must uphold its end of the implied Partnership. When a concession is awarded and an organisation takes up the challenge of developing a facility to fulfilthe concession agreement, there is a certain reliance on the part of the developer that the Government entity granting the concession for the right to develop the facility will also fully support its development. Failure to do so will in all likelihood result in the failure of the partnership,

THE REALITY

So much for the rules. In most mega-projects, however, their full application to the formation of a joint venture or consortium knot always easy The evolution of the Transmanche-Link consortium (TML) from concept to reality in a complex, politically sensitive environment is a case in point.

After the British and French governments accepted the offer of a group of British and French bank to carry out a study of the feasibility of a privately funded scheme to cross the Channel, a historic meeting between banks and contractors took place on March 9, 1983. At that meeting, the decision was made to put forward a tunnel scheme with equal British and French involvement.

Unfortunately the consortium was unable to practice some of the rules. Throughout 1984 and 1985 it was unclear whether or not a concession would be awarded, either to the tunneling group or to others. In those circumstances none of the partners was willing to risk the large sums involved in research and pre-planning.

In contrast, once the governments made a decision, speed became of the essence if this single window of opportunity was not to be missed. Whether it was liked or not, the project was on a fast track.

In February 1986, the French and British governments signed the Treaty of Canterbury which was the basic agreement between the governments that a Fixed Link project should go ahead. It provided for the all-important guarantee against political cancellation and for the grant of a concession to a private group of promoters.

Then, the March 1986 Concession Agreement authorised the successful promoting group, made up of construction firms and banking interests, to construct the tunnel “at their own risk and without recourse to government funds or government financial or commercial guarantees, regardless of whatever hazards may be encountered.” (The Concession, which lasts for 55 years, is the basic instrument regulating the Fixed Link.)

Thus a private group had to raise all of the capital necessary to design and build the project as well as to fund the start-up and commissioning of the transportation system itself. The contractor, TML, was then progressively separated from the prospective owner, Eurotunnel, to allow the latter to concentrate on raising project finance and the former to prepare proposals for submission to Eurotunnel for the design, construction and commissioning of the project.

Five British companies known as Translink and five French companies known as Transmanche combine to form Transmanche-Link, or TML, so the term ‘culture’ has always had both national and corporate sides. As might be expected during the initial phase of the project, the conduct of the work at the sites on either side of the Channel was generally separate and distinct since conditions for each were unique. TML's organisation was established with this in mind, allowing the project to get off to a very fast start (see Organising The Project).

Over the years the management structure has evolved to keep pace with the evolution of the project. Throughout, communication, both flexible and total, has focussed on making the relationship between the different disciplines and nationalities involved work for the good of all.

In national terms, the TML partnering was based upon a complete respect for the two cultures involved, as well as upon a commitment to create channels of communication to ensure that cultural differences would not be ignored but used to the advantage of both parties. This meant respecting the way people do things at all levels.

Although British and French work habits are quite different, both teams are getting the job done with equal commitment and Professionalism and each is accomplishing this with equal attention to quality and safety using the techniques and work practices with which they are most familiar. If one rigid set of rules had been imposed on the project, the project would not be where it is today with the three tunnels completed and being fitted out.

An engineering decision that illustrates how TML has used such different professional approaches to its advantage is the two crossover chambers located at the one-third points from the tunnel entrances. These huge chambers, the largest undersea caverns in the world at 158 metres long, 18 metres wide and 10.5 metres high, will allow trains to change tracks for maintenance purposes. The one closest to England was essentially constructed as a single arched chamber using the New Austrian Tunneling Method, or NATM techniques. It was constructed before the main rail tunnel's boring machines (TBMs) arrived, using access from the service tunnel. In contrast, the chamber on the French side was constructed after the TBMs had passed through its location, and was formed, in effect, by drilling a series of small parallel tunnels which themselves formed when connected an arch over the chamber, after which the earth below could be removed. Both chambers perform the same function. Both were constructed in a timely, cost-effective manner, and each was constructed using the techniques most familiar to those who were to build them.

In summary, a joint venture of consortium is a partnership, a group of people working towards a common goal. Nonetheless, cultural differences cannot be ignored. Workers from different construction disciplines as well as those from different nations have their own way of doing things. At TML, it is understood that tunnelers do not operate in the same manner as transportation engineers and that a French worker approaches his task from a different set of values than a British worker. The important point is that these are only differences, not better or worse ways of doing things.

By working with and using these cultural differences instead of ignoring them or, worse, trying to impose one rigid set of rules over the whole project, TML has gained through a kind of cultural synergy. In short, cultural differences should be considered as opportunities, something that can add value to the total project culture you are creating.

Three other significant consideration exist in the development of the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link. They involve the Intergovernmental Commission, the British and French Railways and the banks. While the Maitre d'Oeuvre serves as one contact point with the IGC, Eurotunnel also has formal communication with the Commission as regards the submission of data for approval and, in turn, the communicating to TML of the IGC'S position on various matters.

The national railways have their own unique requirements. With through-put agreements, both the SNCF (the French national railway) and British Rail will be important customers of Eurotunnel as well as the SNCB (the Belgium National Railway) when the Fixed Link becomes operational. As such, they have certain needs and requirements which must be met. As the project moves forwards, both railways have serious and continuing concerns about commissioning and start-up issues. As they are identified, TML's planning process is shaped to accommodate them.

Lastly the banks have a continuing interest in the project. There were originally 5 agent banks, to which were added 18 instructing banks to coordinate the overall interest of all 208 banks making up the lending consortium for the debt issue. They, together with the European Investment Bank, have supported the financing of the project. The banks have a technical adviser who provides them with an overview of the development of the project. Their concerns and interests are satisfied by a number of regular reports between Eurotunnel and the technical adviser, as well as by the technical adviser's attendance at certain meetings held between Eurotunnel, the Maitre d'Oeuvre and TML. Thus the communication loop includes all interested parties.

TML MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SERVICES
Project Computer Support Systems

INTRODUCTION

The overall responsibility for the implementation and support of business computer systems throughout the project lies within the Management Information Services department. MIS provides computer and communications-related services to all sites within France and Britain and has a total complement of some 50 support and technical staff.

As you would expect, the overall TML computing strategy reflects the project's business needs and organisational structure. In line with TML's overall organisational structure of two separate trading entities (GIE Transmanche Construction in France and Translink Joint Venture in Britain) joined together by a central control and liaison unit (Transmanche-Link), MIS has evolved three separate but integrated computing strategies.

Although the computing needs of the two companies which are the basis of TML are very similar, the varying regulations, accounting and business practices within each country that are specific to operating a trading entity, dictate that they have their own application software systems. For historic reasons, which occurred during the rapid start-up phase of the project, this has also led to separate hardware platform strategies. However, by the very nature of the role it undertakes, the liaison office (TML) which provides overall control, reporting and coordination has implemented a comprehensive portfolio of “common” (i. e., used by both British and French operations) project control, planning and office automation systems. These common systems can be accessed from all TML sites via an overall communications network that spans both countries.

TJV (U.K.) SYSTEMS

The major computer applications that support the U.K. element of the project are a finance and accounting package (supplied by CAS Project Management Ltd.) and in-house developed systems for procurement, cost reporting and commitment monitoring and budget erosion systems which were all originally implemented on Prime 50 Series computers. As part of the controlled evolution towards an open systems strategy for U.K. computing, the various modules of the CAS suite of systems have been transferred to a combination of Prime and Sequent UNIX-based processors. However, all of the above systems are fully integrated and in many cases share common files.

In addition to the above, a full range of automated labour access, control, monitoring and payroll systems have been implemented to cater to the U.K. weekly-paid workforce which at its peak totalled 5,000 operatives, spanning some 200 different shift patterns, over a seven-days-a-week, around-the-clock operation. These systems are interfaced with the relevant cost and accounting systems above.

Over the five to six years of the project to date, a massive increase in the growth and exploitation of the power of the microcomputer has occurred. In total, TML has over 1,000 microcomputers (650 in the U.K. and 400 in France), and with very few exceptions we have standardised on IBM PS/2s. Whilst these PCs are considered individual working tools, the majority are networked and MIS has maintained a short list of standard software for normal office applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and graphics packages.

TMC (French) SYSTEMS

As stated earlier, TMC have a similar range of software packages to meet their specific requirements. Again they are a mixture of packaged and in-house developed software. The major difference between the French computing strategy and the U.K. is that from the outset Bouygues, which is one of the five French parent companies, was able to offer a facilities management arrangement which covers the central French accounting, finance, procurement, cost control and reporting systems. The systems all run on an IBM ES9000 Model 190 mainframe computer which is housed in Bouygues' Paris headquarters and a number of the packages that are in operation, such as the GABY Accounting System, were originally developed by or for Bouygues.

Again, the MIS computing section in France provides direct support for users of the central French systems and the numerous PC systems.

TML COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

TML's overall communications network covers all sites within France and the U.K. In the U. K., although managed and operated by TML, the megastream which forms the backbone of the U.K. communication network is shared with the client Eurotunnel and handles voice, facsimile and data transmissions. This network, which also caters for both IBM SNA and asynchronous DCX data traffic, won an award at the 1989 GPT-TMA Telecoms Industry Awards for “innovative use of wide band transmission products.”

In total there are well in excess of a thousand PCs, terminals, printers and other devices attached to the network. Many of TML's subcontractors are also attached to the network via permanent kilostream and dial-Up links.

TME CENTRAL PROJECT CONTROL AND COMMON SYSTEMS

TML's “common” and “central project control” systems are primarily based and processed on three networked IBM ES9000 mainframe computers. Two of these are housed in TML's head offices in Folkestone, whilst the third processor is sited in Bouygues offices in Paris and is also used to process the TMC French systems.

It is within the Common and Project Control systems area that the majority of problems that are unique to a large multi-site, multi-national project such as the Channel Tunnel manifest themselves. Apart from the obvious language and cultural differences of the personnel involved, the sheer scale, length and diverse nature of the subprojects that are required to construct a total transportation system, in addition to excavating one of the world's longest underwater tunnels, have created a demand for comprehensive and flexible coordination and control systems since day one.

Although the official language of the project is English, wherever necessary and to assist with achieving the overall MIS objective of introducing truly “common” systems that can be easily used by all project personnel, these systems are in both French and English.

TML COMMON SYSTEMS

From the start of the project, senior TML management recognised the need and benefits of having centralised systems to assist with the control and recording of the vast amount of technical documentation that will be generated and distributed throughout the life span of the project. In addition, they also recognised the commercial value of electronically recording all correspondence between TML and Eurotunnel. These systems are all processed on TML's IBM mainframe processor in Bouygues.

Technical Documentation

TML's TECDOC system controls and manages technical documents and plans that are generated by the engineering groups and subcontractors. There are currently some 95,000 registered documents and this is expected to increase by another 10,000 before the end of the project. Although the documents themselves are not electronically held within the system, each document is registered and its revisions (currently 200,000 rising to 250,000) and movements, totalling over 1,500,000, are tracked. The system also generates transmittal slips, to accompany the physical documents, when they are distributed. In addition to the many subcontractors who have direct access to the system, data is regularly transferred between TML and Eurotunnel to assist in monitoring the status of the documents that are exchanged between them.

Correspondence Registers

The central correspondence system is a combination of a number of IBM packages operating within an in-house developed utility CORRESP which controls the various interfaces. At the heart of the overall correspondence system lies STAIRS. By the end of the project this standard IBM STorage And Information Retrieval System will contain approximately 75,000 electronic copies of the formal correspondence between TML and Eurotunnel. Whilst all incoming mail is input via optical character scanning devices, a high proportion of the correspondence generated by TML is electronically transferred from the PC and mainframe standard word processing packages (IBM's DW/370 and DW4). In addition to the normal indexes, documents can also be retrieved by a combination of previously defined key words or random word search facilities.

Electronic Mail System

IBM's Professional OFfice System (PROFS) has been in use throughout the project since 1987 and it is used as the main access menu for the above project control and correspondence systems. PROFS caters to electronic mail, messages and agenda/diary management facilities. In addition, TML has also customised the package by adding a number of facilities that can be accessed from the main menu such as construction and fabrication progress information.

TML PROJECT CONTROL SYSTEMS

During the initial tunneling phase the main emphasis of the project control systems was concerned with the overall project planning, progress monitoring and cost control of the two separate construction groups. With the continuing growth and pace of the transportation system procurement and installation/commissioning phases and the completion of the main tunneling operation in 1991, the emphasis has changed to that of planning and controlling of a single Operations entity which coordinates the combined Transportation and Fixed Equipment group together with the remaining parts of the tunneling and terminal construction sub-projects.

A major event in this phase has been the implementation of the “PRINTS Procurement Information Tracking System” alongside the existing *ARTEMIS-developed project control and planning systems.

*ARTEMIS is a family of products supplied by supplied by LUCAS Management Systems Ltd. (formerly Metier Management Systems)

Both software packages were primarily chosen for their ability to satisfy the initial complex requirements of the project and to accommodate the inevitable changes in management requirements that the large Planning and Material Control functions, which they support, will generate over the period of the project. In addition, the ability of both ARTEMIS and PRINTS, which is written entirely in Information Builders FOCUS, to run on a wide range of hardware platforms is, and will be, vital to the overall success of MIS to manage the growth and eventual decline in usage of these systems. The gradual growth in processing power, in order to satisfy the increasing demand in requirements for management information and reporting, has already dictated a number of changes and upgrades to the computers. The portability of application software has also allowed MIS to take advantage of dramatic changes in the computer hardware market which are occurring, especially the decreasing cost of raw processing power on new range machines, and to consider the impact of Open Systems on their long-term (close-down) hardware strategy

Project Control and Planning Systems

The need for a computerised multi-project, multi-user project management system, with full project planning and control functionality was inevitable on a project of this size and complexity. A comprehensive project control and planning development tool was identified and implemented at an early stage of the project. As the market leader in this application area it already had a proven track record in providing network planning and high quality graphical output. In addition, it offered a high level of flexibility via its powerful in-built command language which has been used to develop TML's core project planning and control applications.

These custom-built applications have been developed to accept planning data at different levels of complexity. At the site level (Activity Level 3/4) where detailed plans are required, PC-based ARTEMIS 7000 is being utilised to cope with the large volumes of data which is broken down into distinct areas of work. These PC-based systems have been implemented to cope with the daily changes which are an integral part of the on-site operations.

Senior TML management and the client are more interested in the higher levels of planning/activity information and data. Here the emphasis is on integrating and consolidating planning and progress monitoring information on longer term management control activities. The IBM mainframe version, ARTEMIS 9000, has been used to develop these key applications which sham. common data bases.

The production of high-quality management and client reporting graphics is essential to the overall success of “Project Management.” Using ARTEMIS 9000's graphics package, TML has been able to combine high-quality graphical presentation with ease of understanding.

In addition to the main planning applications, MIS, in conjunction with the user departments' own trained planners, has developed a number of integrated cost control systems, primarily for the cost control of the Transportation Systems subcontracts.

The level of support offered by the central MIS planning group varies considerably according to the type of user and/or application. All of the central mainframe, and to a lesser extent PC-based, planning and cost control applications are “black box” systems. These standard TML applications are under the full control of MIS support staff. Of the 50-plus planners employed on the project, the vast majority use ARTEMIS (7000 or 9000) as a general planning tool and develop many of their own plans, networks and routines. MIS supports these users on an “as and when” basis, by providing a technical support service.

PRINTS - Procurement Information Tracking System

The control of fixed equipment, from materials lists to installation and commissioning, is fundamental to the success of any major construction project. From the outset, senior TML management recognised that the Channel Tunnel project is no exception to this. The logistics problems associated with the installation of permanent equipment, particularly within the tunnels which are effectively a single 40 metres wide by some 50 kilometres long site, accessible only from each end, are a major management challenge and require constant monitoring and expediting. These problems are further compounded by the fact that the existing temporary construction railway tracks have also to be replaced with permanent operating track.

After a thorough review of the available software packages, undertaken by an evaluation team comprised of Materials Control and MIS personnel, TML selected the PRINTS Procurement Information Tracking Systems, supplied by US Compliance Corporation (USCC) of Boise, Idaho, USA. In addition to licensing the software, USCC also initially provided a task force of both Materials Control personnel and application/technical (MIS) support staff which dramatically reduced the overall implementation timescales. The majority of these staff have subsequently been absorbed into TML's own Material Control and MIS departments.

The software was initially installed on a PC network at the start of September 1990 awaiting the availability of sufficient IBM mainframe computer capacity. Within three weeks the system and the data which had been entered on the temporary IAN (PC Local Area Network) was transferred to the mainframe and thereafter was operational at all TML sites. During the latter part of 1990 the various links with TML's other existing applications (e.g., project planning and control) were developed and implemented.

Although the core system has not been amended, PRINTS has been significantly tailored to meet TML's specific requirements, particularly in the management reporting.

Of the 13 basic modules and subsysterns of PRINTS that TML licensed, all were implemented and fully operational before the end of April 1991, including TML's specific enhancements.

The main function of TML's Material control group is to monitor and expedite the many subcontractors who are involved with the design, development, supply and installation of the fixed equipment. In the vast majority of cases, the Material Control group is not undertaking the procurement role themselves, but are rather inputting the subcontractors documents (e.g., bills of materials, requisitions, orders and receipts) in order to record progress, identify potential bottle necks and invoke immediate corrective action as and when necessary (i.e., expediting).

Given the critical nature of this task and the volume of the data that must be handled and processed, system (hardware and software) reliability and availability is essential. In recognition of this fact TML has entered into an agreement with Data Sciences U.K. Limited to provide a disaster recovery site for both PRINTS and project planning and control applications. Under this agreement, in the unlikely event of a major disaster which disrupts the availability of the Folkestone-based IBM mainframes, PRINTS and project planning and control applications and data will be loaded on to Data Sciences standby computers and will be available to a limited number of key users across all TML sites within twelve to twenty-four hours.

Although common in the financial, banking and retail industries, this type of insurance policy is fairly ram within the construction industry and is a clear indication of the commitment and reliance that TML places on its project and material controls systems.

THE UNTOLD STORY

BEYOND THE TUNNELING

While the creation of the actual tunnels between the United Kingdom and France has received considerable coverage in the world's media, comparatively little has been heard, other than in the specialist press, about TML's two other great challenges: the fitting out of the system and the creation of a purpose-built fleet of ding stock. To meet them both in the time available has required considerable management skill at every stage from outline design through to commissioning. One mason is the massively high number of interfaces involved throughout the process, another the complex logistics dictated by the tunnels with their limited access. So much of the work, for example, had to take place at the same time as tunneling or during the change-over from the narrow-gauge construction railway to the standard gauge permanent railway

On the U.K. Terminal just a small part of the 250 track bi-connecting of overhead catenary required by the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link.

Photography by Q.A. Photos Limited, Hythe, Kent, England

A general view of a U.K. rail tunnel with the tracks awaiting the final concreting.

Photography by Q.A. Photos Limited, Hythe, Kent, England

The machine which embeds the tracks and sleeper blocks into concrete.

Photography by Q.A. Photos Limited, Hythe, Kent, England

Fitting pipework for the cooling system in the U.K. Tunnels.

Photography by Q.A. Photos Limited, Hythe, Kent, England

The purpose-built vehicle for the Service Tunnel Transpiration System.

Photography by Q.A. Photos Limited, Hythe, Kent, England

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