This Activity is designed to be used in the classroom or as a homework task to support the teaching and learning of Major Transport Routes 3 in Travel and Tourism 2.

Major Transport Routes 3 - Activity

The Channel Tunnel Fire, September 2008: Causes, impacts and aftermath

On 11th September 2008, a fire on a freight train led to a blaze that shut the passenger and freight services that use the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France. The tunnel was closed after a fire broke out seven miles from the French border. In addition to injuries suffered by fourteen passengers, the fire caused problems for the travelling public, freight firms and the companies operating services in the Channel Tunnel. This resource analyses some of the aspects of this incident: its causes, impacts on service operators and likely response by customers and businesses.

Image: Eurostar train services now operate from St Pancras station, London, having re-located from Waterloo Copyright: stock.xchng

Background:

The Channel Tunnel was opened in 1994. It is regarded as a triumph of engineering, running for over 30 miles under the sea, making it the longest undersea tunnel in the world. It carries Eurotunnel vehicle transport and freight trains, as well as Eurostar passenger train services.

The Channel Tunnel actually comprises two main rail tunnels, connected to each other by a service tunnel. This allows services to continue to operate even when one of the tunnels is temporarily out of service. Trains can switch between tunnels at two points undersea. Emergency exits can be accessed at 250 metre intervals, from the rail tunnels to the safety of the service tunnel.

The tunnel has been plagued by a number of problems since its inception. Its total cost was nearly twice the estimate, leaving the company which runs it with high levels of debt. Despite several attempts to re-structure its debts, Eurotunnel struggles to return a profit to its shareholders. It has been criticised for its high prices, lack of flexibility and poor safety record.

Fires in the tunnel:

Three fires have occurred in the tunnel since its opening nearly fifteen years ago. Each has started on heavy goods vehicles carried on freight trains:

• The first was in 1996, when nearly 50 metres of the tunnel were severely damaged by a blaze estimated to have reached 1000 degrees Celsius. Full services were not resumed for six months.
• In 2006, another fire led to the closure of the tunnel for several hours.
• In September 2008, a more serious fire occurred. No one was killed but several people were hospitalised due to smoke inhalation. The tunnel was closed for two days, but even now (late October 2008) a large portion of one of the two main transportation tunnels remains closed.

Impacts:

Individuals and organisations directly affected by the September 2008 fire in the Channel Tunnel include:

• Travellers in transit on Eurotunnel Shuttle trains
• Freight users of the freight train services
• Passengers on the Eurostar train service

But people who were not directly in transit but had booked tickets for later days (or were scheduled to travel, in the case of freight) were also affected, as were potential future users.

Alternative routes:

For private and freight passengers, whose travel plans are affected by the part-closure of the tunnel there are several alternatives. Among them are the following:

• SeaFrance ferry services between Dover and Calais
• NorfolkLine ferry services between Dover and Dunkirk
• Brittany Ferries between Portsmouth and Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo and Roscoff
• LD Lines ferries between Portsmouth or Newhaven and Le Havre
• Transmanche ferries between Newhaven and Dieppe
• Condor ferries between Poole or Weymouth and St Malo, and Portsmouth to Cherbourg

In addition, the growth of the budget airlines sector, gives leisure and business travellers, if not freight users, far more choice of routes to the continent that ever before.

In summary, many alternatives exist for leisure and business travel to France and the Benelux countries. For freight customers, the ferry companies remain a viable alternative to the Channel Tunnel. Eurotunnel might have been insured against the losses they incurred following the fire of September 2008, but they will have to win back business from the alternative carriers once Channel Tunnel services resume as normal.

SeaFrance provide an example of what these providers of alternative cross-Channel travel might do following the fire in the tunnel. The Dover-Calais ferry operator added extra capacity to its schedules, to accommodate travellers affected by Eurotunnel's problems. These capacity increases are likely to be offered for months to come, as repairs to the tunnel are expected to involve many weeks' work.

Image: Using the tunnel may help reduce your carbon footprint and make a difference to climate change Copyright: Photolibrary

Causes of the fire:

Immediately after the blaze, the UK and French government asked the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority to review risk assessment for the tunnel and make recommendations. The report is not due until September 2009, however. While it would be unwise to speculate on the reasons for the fire outbreak and the actions likely to be recommended by the investigation, some things are clear:

• The blaze seems to have started accidentally on one of the lorries carried on the freight train.
• Some observers report that a lorry carrying phenol (carbolic acid) which is highly flammable, turned over before the fire started.
• Other reports suggest that the fire began when a lorry's brake system overheated, causing a tyre to explode.
• This has been dismissed by Eurotunnel's chief executive, Jacques Gounon.
• Experts such as firefighters who attended this and earlier blazes in the tunnel, blame the design of the freight train wagons.
• Cars using the tunnel are enclosed in containers, but lorries are not.
• Lorries are carried in wagons with roofs and fire-resistant floors, but their sides and ends are left partially open.
• This allows air to fan any fire that breaks out as the train is moving.

Dangers to customers and firefighters:

No one has died in the three Channel Tunnel fires since it opened for business nearly 15 years ago. However, any major public route that has been affected by this number of incidents in this period would expect to have some serious questions to answer.

The dangers to customers have been faced by lorry drivers in each of the fires. To understand how they escape the destructive fires, let's examine fire detection and avoidance in the tunnel. When fire breaks out:

• Smoke detectors located every 1500 metres set off the alarm.
• Speed limits are issued to all tunnel users and the driver is ordered to stop the train.
• The train's ventilation system is shut down, preventing smoke affecting passengers.
• Passengers are evacuated to the service tunnel.
• Fire crews are alerted either end of the tunnel entrances.
• All trains clear the tunnel.
• Emergency services tackle the fire.

But firefighters have to endure hours of extreme temperatures and smoke. They have to dodge falling concrete, which lines the tunnel walls and perishes in the heat. They must wear full protective clothing to tackle the fire. In these conditions, it is surprising that no firefighters have died in the tunnel fires.

Financial impact on Eurotunnel and Eurostar:

Not surprisingly, Eurotunnel's earnings have been affected by the fire. In early October 2008, the company announced three-month earnings of nearly €190 million. Without the fire, the firm estimated that earnings would have been around €210 million. Eurotunnel's has around €900 million worth of insurance cover, equivalent to more than a year's worth of earnings.

Compared to the same period in 2007, the number of vehicles passing through the tunnel fell by 14% for lorries, 12% for passenger cars and 22% for coaches.

Eurostar, which runs passenger trains through the Channel Tunnel, saw traffic rise by 6%. The firm has been gaining market share as it is a more convenient and reliable way of travelling between London and Paris or Brussels. Since the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link opened in 2007, travel times between London and Paris have shrunk to 2 hours 15 minutes.

Image: One of the sights of Paris awaiting Eurostar passengers Copyright: Photolibrary

Eurostar, though, faces its own problems. When the Channel Tunnel was being planned, it was estimated that the train operator would cater for 16 million passengers. Currently, around 8 million customers use the service.

Despite this lack of demand, the tunnel's safety authority only allows Eurostar to run 18 coach services. The firm would like to operate off-peak services with only half-length trains. This would cut costs in terms of staffing and fuel. The authority says that, for safety reasons, if a fire occurs all passengers must be able to be moved to one half of the train. These nine coaches would then be driven away, out of the tunnel. This may seem unnecessary, given the fact that there is a central third tunnel, which is accessible in emergencies.

The Channel Tunnel remains an enigma. It is an undoubted engineering success, but its financial prospects continue to be plagued by structural debt. Eurotunnel may need to take action to improve the design of its freight trains. Eurostar shows signs of being an operational success, but may need to be more flexible to demand, and might require more competition on its routes, if it is to meet its goals in the long term.

Summary:

The Channel Tunnel is one of the largest civil engineering projects ever carried out in Europe. Its operator, Eurotunnel, faces a struggle to make profits due to large debts incurred as construction went over-budget and over-time. Three fires have affected the tunnel in the past 15 years. The most recent fire occurred this year, causing widespread disruption, especially to freight traffic. This is expected to last several months.

The tunnel faces many competitors to its services; from ferries and the growth of budget airlines. Ferry companies in particular have successfully expanded their operations and offered attractive prices. Disruption to Eurotunnel's services increases the pressure on the firm to win customer traffic, which has failed to reach initial expectations. Industry observers believe that design faults in freight trains may be responsible for the severity of the fires in the tunnel.

Eurostar, which runs passenger train services through the tunnel, has grown traffic levels, especially since journey times were slashed after the opening of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Even so, passenger numbers remain around half of original forecasts. Eurostar is prevented from reducing the number of carriages on its services by safety regulations. It may face competition in future from continental rail operators wanting to run trains on its tracks.

Sources of further information:

• ‘Channel Tunnel fire chaos' in transport expert's blog
  
  
• House of Lords questions on the fire and investigation
  
  
• ‘Fire hits Eurotunnel's earnings', BBC News article
  
  
• Euroinvestor analysis of Eurotunnel's financial performance
  
  
• Eurostar and the move to St Pancras