ABSTRACT
The abandonment of the Channel Tunnel in 1975 left several messy loose ends, not least the revised studies, the alternative rail link options, and the deliberations of the Cairncross Group, all of which remained in limbo. More pressing was the strict timetable, imposed by the abandonment rules, for the Governments’ buyout of the two companies and their assets. It was also necessary to protect the existing works and wind the project down in an orderly fashion. Much of this was essentially administrative, and the exercise marked the end of the Labour Government’s active promotion of the Tunnel.
