Official History of the Channel Tunnel
Dr Terry Gourvish was appointed by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to write an official history of the Channel Tunnel project from the perspective of the British Government. He was supported by Dr Michael Anson as Research Officer.
The history has now been completed, and will be published by Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group, in 2006.
The book, provisionally entitled Britain and the Channel Tunnel, covers the period from the early discussions about tunnel-building in the early 19th century to the present. There is particular emphasis on the failed project of the early 1970s, abandoned in 1975, and the promotion and construction of the successful project from 1986.
A fuller description follows:
The building of the Channel Tunnel has been one of Europe’s major projects and a testimony to British-French and public-private sector collaboration. However, Eurotunnel’s current financial crisis provides a sobering backcloth for an examination of British Government’s long-term flirtation with the project, and, in particular, the earlier Tunnel project in the 1960s and early 1970s, which was abandoned by the British Government in 1975. Commissioned by the Cabinet Office and using hitherto untapped British Government records, this book presents an in-depth analysis of the successful project of 1986-94. It provides a vivid portrayal of the complexities of quadripartite decision-making [two countries, the public and private sectors], revealing new insights into the role of the British and French Governments in the process. This important book, written by Britain’s leading transport historian, will be essential reading for Tunnel watchers, academics, project managers, and all those interested in PPPs, mega projects and international relations. It will interest readers not only in the UK, but also in France and the United States. ^
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