Safety & Security
Channel Tunnel security
Channel Tunnel security measures are regularly adapted to keep our site secure with detection methods designed to provide the highest level of protection for our customers and staff. Some of this activity is unseen by passengers, but essential to keeping everyone using LeShuttle safe.
- Freight carriers are rigorously inspected to mitigate the entry of illegal substances and or illegal intrusions.
- Passenger details are shared with border security authorities prior to travel for screening purposes.
- Explosives detection measures are in operation at all times.
- Armed police presence on site.
Is LeShuttle safe?
LeShuttle is a very safe way to travel. There are numerous systems in place and exercises conducted to keep it this way. The Safety Authority in charge of maintaining the Channel Tunnel and its transport methods is made up of independent experts and the tunnel itself is designed to be some of the safest infrastructure in the world. Here are some features that are in place.
Security Control Centre
Some of the security features our control centre use include:
- A 40km perimeter fence encircles the entire 650-hectare French terminal.
- High level fencing around the platforms, infra-red detectors, hundreds of CCTV cameras and thermal detection sensors at the terminals.
- A buffer zone and the LeShuttle Truck Park offering secure areas for drivers off the motorway.
- Drones and other top-secret protections are in place to keep security levels at an all-time high.
The Channel Tunnel (Security) Order 1994
This is an important piece of legislation that explains the laws that protect the tunnel and the people who use it. It makes it clear what will happen should these laws be broken and means that security measures can be put in place to uphold legal rights. You can read The Channel Tunnel Byelaws to see exactly what applies.
Does the Channel Tunnel leak?
The answer to this may surprise you. The tunnel does leak, but it is designed to. Seawater from the rocks above the tunnel drips through and is then pumped away. The water is a mixture of groundwater and seawater, collected at six drainage stations and is continuously monitored to protect the enormous pumps and pipes from corrosion and to make sure that water discharged to the sea is not environmentally harmful.
In the UK there are two major pumping stations positioned at 14km and 25km into the tunnel. Each station has four 3.3KV pumps, each capable of moving 1000 m3 of water per hour. If just three of the pumps were running, they would fill an Olympic size pool in less than an hour.
There are pits for the water to drain into, meaning you will occasionally see wet patches in the tunnel. This is completely natural and nothing to worry about.
