45 mi) of the London subway system. In the late 19th century work was begun on a tunnel beneath the English Channel. The project was later abandoned, and then revived in 1957. Work began again but was halted in 1973 by Great Britain due to the immense cost of the project. In 1987, however, work again began and the English Channel Tunnel, owned by both Great Britain and France, was completed in 1993. It is 52 km (32.2 mi) long and runs between Folkestone, England, and Calais, France. The tunnel, which cost more than $ 15 billion, runs 130 m (426.5 ft) below sea level, and is composed of three parallel tunnels, one for freight exclusively and two for the transportation of passengers, cars, and freight. Freight trains can travel through the tunnel at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph), resulting in a crossing time of about 90 minutes. On May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain and President Fran'ois Mitterrand of France rode through the tunnel as part of its inaugural ceremonies. British Airways was formed in 1972 by combining the two state-run airlines, British Overseas Airways Company and British European Airways. Privatized in 1987, British Airways operates one of the largest route networks in the world, traveling to some 170 destinations in 77 countries. In 1976, together with Air France, British Airways inaugurated the world's first supersonic passenger service, using Concorde aircraft. Besides the national airline, Great Britain has numerous independent operators. Major airports include London's Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted, as well as Luton, Manchester, and Glasgow. In 1970 Great Britain joined Airbus Industrie, a European aircraft manufacturing consortium, as an associate partner. Airbus manufactures medium and large widebody passenger jets with parts from each member of the consortium. In 1979 Great Britain became a full member, joining France, Germany, and Spain; Belgium and the Netherlands are associate members. The road system of Great Britain in the early 1990s consisted of about 362,982 km (about 225,557 mi) of public routes. Some 20.1 million passenger cars were registered in Great Britain. Automobile travel has become increasingly important in recent decades; about 90 percent of all passenger travel in Great Britain is by road. Communications The Post Office, founded in 1635, maintains about 20,000 branch offices throughout Great Britain and administers a postal savings system. The postal system was revised and penny postage established in the 1830s. In 1969 the post office was reorganized as a public corporation. A parcel post system has largely supplanted privately run express companies in the carrying of light parcels. In 1870 the government acquired the British telegraph systems, and in 1892 it began buying the private telephone companies. Telecommunications are administered by British Telecom (known as BT since 1991), founded as a state corporation but privatized in the 1980s. Some ...
