2432 x 2432 px | 41,2 x 41,2 cm | 16,2 x 16,2 inches | 150dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
18. September 2002
Ort:
Mid-Kent, UK
Weitere Informationen:
Dieses Bild kann kleinere Mängel aufweisen, da es sich um ein historisches Bild oder ein Reportagebild handel
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link, like many European railways such as the French TGV network, has adopted a 25KV (25, 000 volt) system using an overhead catenary from where locomotives draw their traction current through contact wires. The pantograph (current collection device) on Eurostar presses against the underside of the lowest wire of the overhead line system (contact wire). The current collectors are electrically conductive and allow current to flow through to the transformer of the train or tram, and back to the feeder station through the steel wheels and one or both running rails of the track. The £5.2 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now High Speed One) was built between 1998-2007 and partly funded by the European Union, it forms a section of the Trans European Rail Network. It is basically a French-style high-speed rail line linking London with the Channel Tunnel, the Eurostar trains were developed on proven technology from the French TGV high-speed system. Stations on the CTRL are the existing Ashford International and new stations at Ebbsfleet and Stratford. The line ends at the rebuilt St. Pancras. Fourteen new tunnels were constructed, the longest being the London Tunnel which is 10.5km long from Ripple Lane to Stratford, after which the line briefly comes to the surface at Stratford Station. Five huge shafts of 17.15m diameter ventilate the twin bore, single-track tunnels and provide emergency access and evacuation points. The line passes in tunnel under the River Thames and crosses the M25 at Thurrock. For the Thames crossing (a 3km twin-bore tunnel), the line drops 1 in 40 down under the river and then climbs 1 in 40 up, curving at the same time. The CTRL then negotiates the M25 motorway, going under the southbound and over the northbound carriageway. Lengthy loops at two places along the route allow trains to be overtaken so freight and faster domestic trains can be mixed with 300 kph Eurostar high-speed services.
