26/07/2010 - Eurotunnel sets new record for cross Channel transport: 9,382 cars Shuttled from England to France in 24 hours

On the opening weekend of what looks set to be a record breaking summer for the Channel Tunnel, Eurotunnel’s Passenger Shuttle Service carried 9,382 passenger vehicles* between Folkestone in Kent and Coquelles in the Pas-de-Calais in a crossing time of 35 minutes.  This beats the previous daily record from the UK to the Continent since services began in December 1994.

On 23 July, 71 Passenger Shuttles left Folkestone departing every 15 minutes from 8am until midnight with an average load factor of 96.3% of capacity. This unprecedented number was helped on its way by strengthening the customer service teams on site and by adapting the organisation to manage the flows. All of the Shuttles left on time and traffic on the terminal in Folkestone was fluid throughout the day.

The new record coincided with the start of British school summer holidays and the beginning of a period of peak traffic, reflecting the strong performance of self drive holidays this year according to the high level of advance bookings already recorded by Eurotunnel.

Jo Willacy, Eurotunnel’s Commercial Director, stated, “This record is good news for two reasons: first, it shows how much the British public appreciate the economy offered by our Shuttle services when it comes to holidays in the sun; and secondly because of the quality of service we provide. Our speed and frequency are unbeatable even during peak times like the big holiday getaways.

Our forecasts for the summer are very good. The exchange rate and the problems the airline industry has had with the ash cloud play in our favour. Eurotunnel prepared for this with a major increase in the number of departures, rising to four per hour in each direction on peak days.”

* Cars (including motorcycles, vehicles with trailers, caravans and camper vans) and coaches.

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Information published on 26 July 2010