Eurotunnel Le Shuttle
The Eurotunnel Le Shuttle is a car train that transports cars , buses and motorbikes between Coquelles near Calais and Folkestone through the Eurotunnel . Railway companies of the train is the Euro Tunnel operators getLink .
For the transport of trucks there are other trains, the “freight shuttle trains”. The vehicles are transported there on half-open wagons, while the drivers travel in separate coaches.
description
The train consists of two Eurotunnel Class 9 power cars and one and two-story closed motorail coaches lined up in between . A total of 58 of these six-axle 5.6 MW or 7 MW electric locomotives are available to the Eurotunnel Shuttle . Depending on the time of day, up to four trains per hour travel the route.
There are no private cars , the passengers stay in or with their vehicle. For this reason, the train is also equipped with toilets in every third car. The actual travel time is 35 minutes, the entire crossing (motorway exit Calais - motorway entry Folkestone) takes about 90 minutes. Since the hovercrafts between Calais and Dover were withdrawn from service in 2000, the shuttle is the fastest way to get to the island by car.
Dimensions
The clearance profile of the trains is 5.60 m high and 4.10 m wide. This is significantly wider than the profile common in Europe with a maximum height of 4.65 m and a maximum width of 3.15 m. For this reason, the vehicles can only commute between the two tunnel end stations. A turning loop is installed on each of these . The loop on the English side is always driven clockwise, and the loop on the French side counterclockwise, so that both right and left turns are always made and the wear on the left and right wheels on the shuttle remains the same.
safety
The safety regulations of the Eurotunnel state that all passenger trains (i.e. the shuttle and the Eurostar ) must have locomotives at both ends . Both of these must be manned so that the train can turn around quickly in the event of an emergency. Security personnel also travel on the trains.
The cars are closed with fire-proof doors and are pressure-tight . Small doors for passengers exist between the cars. These close automatically after passing.
