In December 2023, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Channel Tunnel, Getlink announced its intention to increase traffic through its tunnels linking France and Great Britain. With this in mind, the operator Eurotunnel, a subsidiary of Getlink, has just signed an agreement with the Channel Tunnel operator. an agreement with London St. Pancras Highspeedwhich manages the high-speed line on the British side from the exit of the tunnel, as well as the operation of Saint Pancras International station in London. This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) defines the elements of the partnership, including innovation and engineering to develop high-speed rail links.
To achieve this, the two partners intend to work towards better connections between the infrastructure networks, the coordination of timetables, the development of train paths and the creation of a new rail network. the opening of new destinations on the European continent. The aim is to attract travellers, particularly business passengers, by optimising journey times and reducing the carbon footprint by 97% compared with air travel. London St. Pancras Highspeed already estimates that passengers using its high-speed line each year, with Eurostar trains, will reduce annual emissions by the equivalent of 60,000 short-haul flights.
Underused rail infrastructure capacity
By the end of 2023, Yann Leriche, Getlink's Managing Director, had identified three routes with high potential, in the region of 2 million passengers per year: London-Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt, London-Paris-Basel-Zurich and London-Paris-Geneva. There are also, to a lesser extent, services from London to Lyon and Marseille. " Eurotunel is working proactively with European infrastructure managers to promote low-carbon transport to new destinations in Germany, Switzerland and France." he confirms today.
Eurostar is currently the only high-speed rail company using the Channel Tunnel. And even though Eurostar is going to develop direct links between Amsterdam Centraal and London St. Pancras, the two infrastructure operators consider that they are not in a position to offer the same level of service as Eurostar. largely underused. London St. Pancras Highspeed estimates that it can accommodate an additional 5,000 passengers per hour at St. Pancras International station. For its part, Eurostar claims to be able to run a thousand trains a day through its two tunnels - Eurostar, Shuttle and Shuttle Freight - compared with just over 400 at present and up to 600 trains in high season.
" At a time when we are seeing increasing demand for cross-Channel high-speed links, London St. Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel have an important role to play to work actively to encourage future and existing rail operators to develop their capacity and open up new destinations, thereby unlocking the potential of a Europe fully served by rail" concludes Robert Sinclair, CEO of London St. Pancras Highspeed.
