LONDON : The Chunnel Gala

This Friday, with major hoopla on both sides of the English Channel, the Chunnel--the $15-billion Channel Tunnel--will be inaugurated. Queen Elizabeth II will open a new terminal at Waterloo Station in London, while French President Francois Mitterrand will do the same at the Gare du Nord in Paris.

Both leaders will then take special trains to Calais in France for the formal ceremony and travel together through the tunnel to Folkestone on the British side. The tunnel trains will eventually carry freight, passengers and private cars.

Passenger service is expected to begin in a few months. It has been delayed by a shortage of rolling stock.