Eurotunnel hits traffic record
Channel link carries nearly 16,000 vehicles in a single day as Britons flock to the Continent
TOURIST traffic saw Eurotunnel hit a one-day historic record of 15,982 vehicles using its Shuttle on August 17 – the highest since the service started in 1994.
It is the third time this year that Channel Tunnel traffic has gone over the 15,000 mark – and Eurotunnel said it was down to Britons’ “increasing desire” to get to the Continent.
The new record figure is 5% higher than the previous total, from August 2012, and deputy managing director Michel Boudoussier said that the difference this year was that there was no Olympic Games in London to boost the figures.
He said the new record, which included 168 coaches along with cars, motorbikes, caravans and motor homes, was a sign that their “hard work on the quality of service”, including the renovation of the reception areas at Coquelles and Folkestone, had been recognised.
The news comes just weeks after the company posted figures showing a first-half loss of €18million – against a profit of €2m for the same period in 2012 – with revenue figures up 10% on last year at €509m.
The loss was blamed on losses at new cross-Channel ferry subsidiary MyFerryLink, which lost €19m, but at the same time Eurotunnel had made a €30m repayment on its debt of €3.7billion.
Eurotunnel Shuttles, which carry 160 cars and have more than 150 daily departures for the 35-minute journey, captured 50.1% of the car and passenger cross-Channel market this year – against 48% in 2011. Four out of five users are British.
