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1995: Channel Wars: Ferry Versus Train | Modern Times | Retro Transport | BBC Archive
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42:26Now PlayingAs the battle hots up between Eurotunnel and P&O Ferries for cross-Channel business, Modern Times takes a look behind the scenes.
The cola war is nothing compared to the Channel Wars. This candid documentary traces the intense rivalry between Eurotunnel and the ferry companies in the run-up to Eurotunnel's application for a car passenger licence. There's certainly no love lost between the bosses - one P&O executive dismisses Eurotunnel's amenties as a "lightbulb and loo," while Eurotunnel maintains that passengers want speed rather than luxurious surroundings. Both P&O and Eurotunnel have enlisted advertising agencies to agressively battle for the hearts and minds of channel crossers - be that by extolling their own virtues, or mocking their rivals weaknesses.
It's not just the executives who have their say: opinion is also canvassed from tunnel staff and passengers, including disgruntled lorry drivers complaining about rubbery omelettes and rock-hard croissants, and ferry passengers considering whether to try the train for their cross-channel booze run.
Clip taken from Modern Times: Channel War, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 26 April, 1995.
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