Getlink launches a new innovative unaccompanied rail freight cross-Channel service

From September 18, 2021, a new cross-Channel freight service will be open to all transporters, using an unaccompanied mode through the Channel Tunnel. The service will 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 allows 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^[1],will enable customers to decarbonize 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 UK government plans to decarbonize freight set out in the Green Industrial Revolution plan.

“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. " explains Christian Dufermont, Freight Commercial Director of Eurotunnel.

Footnotes

1. ^{^} [1] Compared to Calais-Sheerness route