Eurotunnel Le Shuttle carried a record number of tourist vehicles through the Channel Tunnel this weekend with almost 25,000 cars (including motorcycles, vehicles with trailers, caravans and motor homes) and coaches made the trip from Folkestone, Kent, to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais.
The journey takes 35 minutes, making it the most sustained traffic ever carried in one weekend between the UK and France since commercial services through the Channel Tunnel began in 1994.
Jacques Gounon, Groupe Eurotunnel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated:
“At the start of the particularly intense summer holiday period, this new record demonstrates the efficiency and flexibility of Le Shuttle, the professionalism of our staff and the power of attraction that a fast and environmentally friendly means of transport has for our customers.”
In order to manage this historic movement of traffic, 216 Shuttles departed from Folkestone at a frequency of five departures an hour or one every 12 minutes between 7am and 10pm (local time).
It should be noted that, at the same time, 164 Eurostar trains, 362 Eurotunnel Truck Shuttles, 216 Le Shuttle trains, travelling from Calais to Folkestone, and 29 rail freight trains ran though the Channel Tunnel, a total of 987 trains, equivalent to one every 3-and-a-half minutes at peak time.
At this rate, which makes the Channel Tunnel the most highly frequented international railway in the world, the remaining capacity is still approximately 30%, leaving the infrastructure with plenty of scope to accept new traffic.
