Getlink to launch new cross-Channel rail freight service
Getlink has today announced that it will launch a new rail service which will allow freight to cross the Channel totally unaccompanied.
The firm, which manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, will open the new service on 18 September.
The new service, which will operate six days a week, will have capacity to carry 8,300 trailers a year.
It launches amid a worsening supply chain crisis in the UK, with a lack of HGV drivers blamed for shortfalls of goods across various sectors in recent months.
Services will depart from Getlink’s existing terminals at Folkestone and Calais.
Using the new rail route, which will emit 40 times less carbon dioxide than ferries, will enable customers to decarbonise their logistic chain.
It comes as both the UK and French governments look to reduce emissions from the sector as part of their broader climate change plans.
Christian Dufermont, freight commercial director of Eurotunnel, said: “By offering a new low-carbon, reliable and ultra-secure service, we are responding to a changing demand, and we confirm our determination to be the preferred means of passage for the most demanding logistics chains.”