Eurotunnel set for a record year of freight despite disrupted summer
Eurotunnel is on track for a landmark year after it announced record-equalling numbers had passed under the English Channel with a month still yet to go.
Nearly 1.5m lorries passed through the tunnel between the start of 2016 and 25 November.
Jo Willacy, Eurotunnel's commercial director, hailed the "extraordinary value" the firm believed it created for customers". She added: "The investment programme we have pursued, will ensure that we are able to continue this growth through the coming years."
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Record freight levels over the last two years may come as a surprise following successive summers of disruption for transportation firms.
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The M20 has been used as a truck park with cars sent on time-consuming diversions around the trunk road to the Folkestone terminal.
(Source: Getty)
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Eurotunnel blamed the disruption on a number of factors that included increased security checks as stowaways attempted to board lorries set to cross under the channel.
However, Eurotunnel said it had managed to grow freight by 12 per cent in the first 10 months of year – far in excess of the five per cent average market growth.
(Source: Getty)
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Reasons also cited were migrants clashing with French police and trespassers on the tracks.
The problems flared at the same time as Britons headed off on their holidays and football fans crossed to France to support the home nations in this summer's European Championships.