Getlink launches a new unaccompanied rail freight Channel Tunnel service

From 18 September 2021, a new cross-Channel freight service will be open to all transporters, using
an unaccompanied mode through the Channel Tunnel. The service will be a benefit of Getlink‘s unique
customs expertise for the passage through the border.

The crossing will be managed by Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight and will operate 24 hours a day and six days per week. Departures will be from the Group’s two terminals in Calais or Folkestone. The capacity will be 8,300 trailers per year. The Eurotunnel Border Pass will allow transporters to speed up the border crossing by digitising their administrative exchanges with the border authorities.

This new rail service, which will emit 40 times less CO₂ than ferries, will enable customers to
decarbonise their logistic chain by choosing rail. The modal shift also contributes to the French
government’s objectives of doubling the share of rail in freight transport by 2030 and to the UK government plans to decarbonise freight, set out in the Green Industrial Revolution plan.

Christian Dufermont, Freight Commercial Director of Eurotunnel, said: “By offering a new low-carbon, reliable and ultra-secure service, we are responding to a changing demand, and we confirm our determination to be the preferred means of passage for the most demanding logistics chains.”