Blackwall Tunnel from immigrants; the tunnel lining was manufactured in Glasgow, while the manual labour came from provincial England, particularly Yorkshire. The tunnel was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 22 May 1897. The total cost of the tunnel was £1.4 M and 800 men were employed in its construction, during which seven deaths were recorded. The southern entrance gateway to the tunnel, also known as Southern Tunnel House, was designed by LCC architect Thomas Blashill and was built just before the tunnel was completed. It comprises two floors with an attic. Today the western bore is only used for
History of rail transport in France of the private railway operating companies began to face financial difficulties. In 1938 the socialist government fully nationalised the railway system and formed the "Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais" (SNCF). Regional authorities have begun to specify schedules since the mid of the 1970s with general conventions between the regions and the SNCF since the mid-1980s. From 1981 onwards, a newly constructed set of high-speed TGV ("Train à Grande Vitesse") lines linked France's most populated areas with the capital, starting with Paris-Lyon. In 1994, the Channel Tunnel opened, connecting France and Great Britain by rail under the English Channel.