TransManche Link (Cross Channel Link) or
TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel , also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the UK with Coquelles, near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is deep...
under the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
between
CheritonCheriton, now a part of the urban area of Folkestone, Kent, England, was a civil parish in its own right, and part of Elham Rural District from 1894 to 1898, when it became a separate urban district...
in Kent, United Kingdom, and
SangatteSangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel.Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish origin and means "gap in the sand".-Engineering:...
in France.
In April 1985 the British and French governments invited proposals for the construction of a link between the two countries to be privately funded. In January 1986 the two governments selected the Channel Tunnel Group/France Manche (see below) proposal for the construction of two undersea tunnels.
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TransManche Link (Cross Channel Link) or
TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel , also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the UK with Coquelles, near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is deep...
under the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
between
CheritonCheriton, now a part of the urban area of Folkestone, Kent, England, was a civil parish in its own right, and part of Elham Rural District from 1894 to 1898, when it became a separate urban district...
in Kent, United Kingdom, and
SangatteSangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel.Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish origin and means "gap in the sand".-Engineering:...
in France.
History
In April 1985 the British and French governments invited proposals for the construction of a link between the two countries to be privately funded. In January 1986 the two governments selected the Channel Tunnel Group/France Manche (see below) proposal for the construction of two undersea tunnels. At
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion...
on 12 February 1986 the governments signed a treaty approving construction of the Channel Tunnel. In March the concession for the operation of the tunnel was given to Channel Tunnel Group (CTG) and France Manche (FM).
Following the award of this concession CTG was subsumed by the newly formed
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Great Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
plc and FM was similarly replaced with Eurotunnel SA, together these formed the Eurotunnel Group.
In July 1985 the British contractors formed Translink Contractors and the French consortium formed Transmanche Construction. On 18 October 1985 these two groups were formally merged to create
TransManche Link (TML). TML was thus contracted to build the tunnel for its customer, Eurotunnel, who would own and operate it. TML senior management were employees of the partner companies seconded to the new organisation.
In October 1986 Eurotunnel was partially floated and the contractors and banks no longer exercised control over the company. Beginning in 1987 relations between TML and Eurotunnel deteriorated, with significant and increasingly public rows erupting over cost and programme management.
With the completion of the Channel Tunnel TML ceased to exist.
Organisation
The participants were as follows:
Channel Tunnel Group (later Translink Contractors)
- Balfour Beatty Construction
Balfour Beatty plc is a London-based construction, engineering, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...
- Costain
Costain Group plc is a British construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead. It was part of the original Channel Tunnel consortium and is involved in Private Finance Initiative projects...
- Tarmac Construction (now Carillion)
- Taylor Woodrow Construction
Taylor Woodrow Construction is a British-based general construction business. It is owned by Vinci.-History:Taylor Woodrow Construction was formed in 1937 as a subsidiary of Taylor Woodrow....
- Wimpey International Construction (now owned by Carillion)
- National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank Plc, better known by its trading name NatWest, is a commercial bank in the United Kingdom which has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000...
(now Royal Bank of ScotlandThe Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which HM Treasury holds a 70.33% controlling shareholding, through UK Financial Investments Limited...
)
- Midland Bank
Midland Bank was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...
(now HSBC Bank plcHSBC Bank plc is one of the major clearing banks in the United Kingdom having more assets than any other bank. The business ranges from the traditional High Street roles of personal finance and commercial banking, to private banking, consumer finance as well as corporate and investment banking...
)
France Manche (later Transmanche Construction)
- Bouygues
Bouygues is a French industrial group listed on Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The company was founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues and since 1989 has been led by his son Martin Bouygues. In 2008 it had over 145,150 employees in 80 countries...
S.A
- Dumez S.A (now Vinci
Vinci is a French construction and electrical engineering company, formerly called Société Générale d'Enterprises. It employs over 164,000 people and is the largest construction company in the world by revenue...
S.A.)
- Société Auxiliaire d’Entreprise S.A. (SAE) (now Eiffage
-History:It was formed in 1992 through the amalgamation of several companies: Fougerolle , Quillery , Beugnet , and La Societe Auxiliaire d' Enterprises Electriques et de Travaux Public, better known as SAE .-Major projects:Recent projects have included the Channel Tunnel completed in 1994, the...
S.A.)
- Société Générale d’Entreprises S.A. (SGE) (now Vinci
Vinci is a French construction and electrical engineering company, formerly called Société Générale d'Enterprises. It employs over 164,000 people and is the largest construction company in the world by revenue...
S.A.)
- Spie Batignolles
Spie Batignolles is a French construction company based in Cergy Saint-Christophe. The company provides building and infrastructure construction in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.-Company history:...
S.A.
- Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais is a historic French bank. In the early 1990s it was the largest French bank, majority state-owned at that point. Crédit Lyonnais was the subject of poor management during that period which almost led to its bankruptcy in 1993...
- Banque Nationale de Paris (now BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is one of the largest global banking groups in the world, headquartered in Paris with its second global headquarter in London. It was created through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris and Paribas. In 2008 it was ranked as the 13th largest company in the world by Forbes and the...
)
- Banque Indosuez (now Calyon
Calyon Crédit Agricole CIB is Crédit Agricole's corporate and investment banking entity. With a staff of 13,000 employees in 58 countries, Calyon is active in a broad range of capital markets, investment banking and financing activities.-History:...
)