The Channel Tunnel is largely underused for rail freight 18/02/25
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‘The Channel Tunnel is largely underused for rail freight’
A “monopolistic” approach by the two companies currently offering rail freight services through the Channel Tunnel linking France and the UK is seriously hindering the market’s development, according to Europorte chairman and CEO, Raphaël Doutrebente. “I think rail freight via the Tunnel only represents 10 per cent of the annual capacity available – one million tonnes of goods, whereas the potential is estimated at 10 million tonnes.
Doutrebente, who is also president of France’s rail freight association Alliance 4F, highlighted that the Fixed Link is largely underused for freight train activity at a time when the French, UK and European authorities are calling for a modal shift in freight transport from road to rail as part of a decarbonisation strategy. “In 2023, just over 1,400 freight trains operated through the Tunnel – an average of around five per working day.”
Data from parent company Getlink (ex-Eurotunnel Group) for 2024 showed that in Q3 the number of trains fell by 19 per cent compared to the same period in 2023 and by 19 per cent in the first nine months.
Incompatibility with international containers
Doutrebente observed that the common perception as to why there is such a relatively low level of activity is because of technical issues regarding the UK’s W9 loading gauge which is incompatible with the size of international containers. Therefore, the solution would be to upgrade the Kent CTR line linking Folkestone to Wembley via Maidstone, to the W12 intermodal gauge at an estimated cost of around 50 million pounds.
“While this heavy investment would be very much a plus for the future, the truth is it is already technically-feasible to use the W9 gauge and utilise the capacity available on the HS1 high-speed line between the Channel Tunnel and London to satisfy the potential demand that exists,” he said.
‘Rates are far too high’
The real reason for few freight trains is that the rates practised by the two incumbent operators, namely DB Cargo UK and GbRF, are far too high to make it a viable option for shippers. If they made an effort to bring down what are exorbitant rates and stopped abusing their monopoly position, customers would switch to a rail solution, he claimed.
That operators like SNCF-owned Viia, which runs a schedule of intermodal freight services to and from Calais, transfers containers and road trailers from trains to ferries rather than being able to offer a seamless service via the Channel Tunnel only a few kilometres away, bordered on the absurd, Doutrebente noted. “It’s the 21st century and yet the logistics system it and others are having to use is simply from another age, largely because it’s just too expensive to route traffic through the Fixed Link.”
No rolling stock, no access
Europorte would be ready to enter the market but was prevented from doing so because it did not have the Class 92 inter-operable wagons locomotives required, he added. It is currently undertaking a project on behalf of Siemens to transport a total of 42 trains from a company plant in Germany bound for the UK where they will be installed on the London Underground.
The trains are transported to a marshalling yard near Calais, in proximity to the Tunnel, before being transferred to trains operated by DB Cargo UK and GbRF and shipped to London, Doutrebente explained.
In February last year, Railfreight.com reported that Getlink had identified a fleet of existing, inter-operable wagons that would enable it to meet the requests it receives from major European logistics companies, particularly in Germany, to reach the intermodal hubs of Barking and Wembley in the UK via the Fixed Link without bulk breaking loads. Europorte was also working on projects to transport freight to Barking via HS1 using T3000 wagons.
Author: Stuart Todd