2430 x 2430 px | 41,1 x 41,1 cm | 16,2 x 16,2 inches | 150dpi
Data acquisizione:
17 giugno 2002
Ubicazione:
Ebbsfleet, Kent, UK
Altre informazioni:
Questa immagine potrebbe avere delle imperfezioni perché è storica o di reportage.
During construction works for building Ebbsfleet International Station on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the remains of an Anglo-Saxon water mill dating from 700 AD were excavated near Gravesend in Kent. Archaeologists discovered two large timber chutes which would have been used to direct water onto the mill's wheel. The 1300 year-old mill is the earliest horizontal watermill yet found in England. The timbers were lifted out of the ground intact and taken to conservation facilities at Chatham Historic Dockyard. 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.
