Timeline Date Period

The Queen and France's President Francois Mitterrand have formally opened the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain. After travelling through the tunnel, which took eight years and billions of pounds to build, the Queen said it was one of the world's great
technological achievements. The tunnel is the first land link between Britain and Europe since the last Ice Age about 8,000 years ago. The first leg of the Queen's journey took her from  London's Waterloo station through the tunnel by high-speed Eurostar passenger train. She arrived at Calais at the same time as the President Mitterrand's train which had travelled from Paris' Gard du Nord via Lille. Nose to nose encounter The two locomotives met nose to nose - a computer that prevents two trains travelling on the same track was switched off for the occasion.

Eurostar started running trains between Waterloo and Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels-Midi/Zuid and Lille Europe. Services moved to St Pancras International in 2007.

Further British train operating companies begin operation of their passenger service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: Anglia Railways (GB Railways); Great Eastern (First Group); Virgin CrossCountry; and WAGN (Prism Rail).

Full freight and passenger service is restored through the Channel Tunnel, just short of two months after a devastating fire.

At least eight people are confirmed dead and 160 injured after two trains collided near  Paddington Station in west London at the height of the morning rush hour. A Thames Trains 0806 BST from Paddington to Bedwyn in Wiltshire collided with the incoming 0603 BST Great Western 125 express train from Cheltenham at 0811 BST. Investigations revealed how 31 people died and dozens were injured because of a head-on collision when one of the trains passed a red signal. Public inquiries were headed by Scottish judge Lord Cullen. He made dozens of safety recommendations and concluded Railtrack, the company then in charge of rail infrastructure
and its investment, had failed to respond to earlier warnings about signalling problems.