EUROPE: Channel Tunnel operator Getlink is to launch a service carrying unaccompanied lorry trailers, using its ‘unique customs expertise’ to speed up post-Brexit cross-border traffic.
The service between the Channel Tunnel terminals in Calais and Folkestone is to be launched on September 18, in addition to the long-established drive-on drive-off operation.
It will be managed by Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight, operating 24 h/day on six days per week. This will provide capacity to handle an estimated 8 300 trailers/year. The Eurotunnel Border Pass will allow shippers to digitise their data exchanges with the border authorities.
Getlink said the rail service would emit less CO2 than ferries, helping customers to decarbonise their logistic chain. It would also contribute to the French government’s ambition to doubling rail’s freight market share by 2030 and to UK government plans to decarbonise freight.
‘By offering a new low-carbon, reliable and ultra-secure service, we are responding to a changing demand’, said Christian Dufermont, Freight Commercial Director of Eurotunnel. ‘We confirm our determination to be the preferred means of passage for the most demanding logistics chains.’
