The European Commission has said that passengers and freight operators are being overcharged for using the Channel Tunnel and has called on the French and British governments to examine the pricing structure in order that it can comply with EU rules against excessive track access charges. Jonathan Webb reports
Concerns have been raised that despite,  according to the EU,  the Channel Tunnel having 43 per cent of its capacity unused many goods continue to travel between the two countries by road, causing pollution and congestion. Currently Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel charges a reservation fee of 4,320 euro one way for Eurostar trains and an additional 16.60 euro per passenger.
EU officials believe that the charges should be approximately half this amount, with the company being able to make up the difference via increased freight traffic that would be attracted to rail by the lower prices. It has been forecast that such a move could as much as double the amount of freight using the Channel Tunnel.
Vice-president of the European Commission Siim Kallas said: “The Channel Tunnel is not being used to its full capacity because of these excessive charges. As a result, more freight is being carried on lorries instead of by rail, freight operators and their customers are being over-charged, and passenger are paying over the odds for their tickets.
“The current regime is also stifling growth in the rail sector.”
Officials from the EC discovered that the excess charges were being used to subsidise Eurotunnel’s car shuttle service, which does not pay such charges.  Additionally the Commission regulators found that a usage agreement which reserves 50 per cent of traffic for French national rail operator Societé  Nationale de Chemins de Fer and German DB Schenker, a unit of Deutsche Bahn, for 65 years violated EU rules because of its length.
The Intergovernmental Commission, which oversees the operation of the Channel Tunnel, was blasted by the EU as being weak and not independent because it is made up of representatives from the British and French governments and has little power to use its own initiative without a complaint.
Eurotunnel responded by saying it “regrets that some major railway operators have had such difficulties in their domestic markets that they have abandoned cross-Channel traffic, leading to the visible reduction in volumes”.
