Highlights We examine transport patterns and regional impacts of the Channel Tunnel. The Channel Tunnel has failed to achieve the forecast traffic levels. The economic impact on the Anglo-French frontier zone has been limited. The metropolitan areas of London, Paris and Lille are the major beneficiaries. The economic performance of Kent and Nord-Pas-de-Calais remains weak.
Abstract Since its opening in 1994 the Channel Tunnel has become a key element in the transport infrastructure linking Britain and continental Europe. But, as well as forming part of the Trans-European Rail Network, the Channel Tunnel was also seen as a potential stimulus to trans-frontier collaboration and as a possible catalyst for regional economic development. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the regional impacts of the Tunnel within the Anglo-French frontier zone on both sides of the English Channel. Although millions of passengers travel through the Tunnel every year, numbers have failed to reach the forecast levels and the overall benefits are fewer than had been anticipated. The English Channel still represents a psychological barrier (partly due to language differences) and the frontier zone has failed to develop as an integrated labour market. Moreover, the findings suggest that the Channel Tunnel has only had a limited impact on the spatial economy of the trans-frontier zone in Kent and Nord-Pas-de-Calais. While Ashford has undoubtedly gained from its high-speed rail connection, the greatest impacts have occurred in metropolitan regions further from the Tunnel, including Lille and East London.
The Channel Tunnel: transport patterns and regional impacts
Journal of Transport Geography ; 31 ; 104-112
2013-01-01
9 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
The Channel Tunnel: transport patterns and regional impacts
Online Contents | 2013
|Regional economic impacts of the Channel Tunnel
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1993
|SHORT-RUN AND LONG-RUN IMPACTS OF A MAJOR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: THE CHANNEL TUNNEL
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1999
|Regional impacts of new transport infrastructure: a multisectoral potentials approach
Online Contents | 1987
|