Text 7324, 40 rader
Skriven 2007-10-21 09:43:32 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
   Kommentar till text 7321 av Dale Shipp (1:261/1466.0)
Ärende: Chunnel
===============
[changed the subject]
 
DS> Thanks -- my guess is that it would be a much nicer ride than either
DS> the ferry or the hovercraft, both of which I have used in the past.
 
Hovercrafts have been discontinued I believe. In any case there have been a
number of freak accidents with them and they were very dependant on weather
conditions.
 
There are still some ferry lines but not as many as before. Especially on the
longer routes they still provide the service where the driving-distance to the
tunnel is an issue.
 
There have been some routes with jetfoils but I think all have been abandoned
and high speed ferries like e.g. Stena Line uses on some routes are equally a
no-no.
 
The ride on the tunneltrain is very smooth. The boarding process, getting on
the very modern cars, getting-off, the waiting-area on either side ... well
done I must say.
 
From where I live it is about a 2hr drive to Sangatte near Calais to the
trainstation. You need to be there 30min prior to departure. The ride is
roughly 40 minutes (I think) and then it's 1h30 about to Greenwich south of
London where you can catch the subway into the city. In about 5 hrs I can be in
London for $42 with 7 people (that's hat my minivan holds) plus the gas.
 
No other mode of transportation can beat that.
 
DS> I recall that when you drove off of them, there were a lot of signs
DS> warning you about the switch of which side of the road to drive on.
 
There is one, maybe two, sign(s). You get off the train and automatically
you're already on the lefthand side of a highway. My experience is it is very
smooth. Taking the round-abouts is a real issue though.
 
 \%/@rd 

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