Activity and performance
The Channel Tunnel is the fastest, easiest, most reliable and environmentally-friendly way to cross the Short Straits.
Eurotunnel is developing a long-term strategy for profitable growth, by giving its customers, passengers, road hauliers, railway operators, high value-added solutions through the Channel Tunnel and beyond.
The services provided by Eurotunnel Truck and Passenger Shuttles deliver a strong competitive edge by continuously strengthening its commercial offers and in particular its quality of service, security and fluidity of trafic through its digital transformation plan and investments.
New market share gains on the Short Straits in 2020
- Outperformance of the car market, with a Le Shuttle car market share up significantly by 13.2 points to 70%, confirming its status as market leader on the Short Straits.
- More than 1.4 million passenger vehicles on board Le Shuttle, a 46% decline in traffic, due to the travel restictions between the UK and continental Europe in the context of the Covid health crisis.
- Traffic remains higher than competitors thanks to the advantages of travelling by Shuttle, notably in terms of speed, reliability and sanitary security: customers travel in their own vehicle throughout the journey, with no-contact with other people.
- Strengthening of the quality of service for the year.
- Increasing customer satisfaction rate, in particular during the health crisis.
- Pricing power of service.
- Increase in yield.
A service of quality and personalised
million cars transported on Le Shuttle since 1994
the car market share of Le Shuttle in 2020
of vehicles travelling with Le Shuttle chose Flexiplus in 2020
Leadership consolidated in 2020
- With a truck market share at 40% for the year, Le Shuttle Freight confirms its place as market leader.
- Nearly 1.5 million trucks transported on board Truck Shuttles, a 9% decline in traffic in the difficult context of the health crisis.
- High levels of traffic in November and December ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December: traffic up 3% in the 4th quarter compared to 2019.
- New weekly traffic record in December with more than 40,000 trucks transported.
- Strengthening of the quality of service with a hauliers’ satisfaction rate of 86% for the year
- Increase in load factor of Shuttles.
- Increase in yield.
- Launch of the Eurotunnel Border Pass: a virtual wallet which communicates with Eurotunnel infrastructure, allowing import and export documents to be automatically sent to the UK and French authorities when arriving at the Tunnel terminals.
- New service for truck drivers with the opening of new facilities and Le Truck Village at Coquelles, with a new website full of practical information for drivers.
Le Truck Village, open and secure 24/7, 270 parking spaces for trucks, plug-ins for fridge units, food truck, lounge for truck drivers, wifi, showers and toilets, laundry, cabin to check people’s temperature as part of the sanitary measures. - New Border Services facilities: a dedicated Eurotunnel team welcomes truck drivers and assist them to complete customs formalities.
A premium service with high-added value
trucks transported on Shuttles in 2020
trucks transported, the new week traffic record in December 2020
express delivery parcels transported each day via the Channel Tunnel
Eurostar trains link the United-Kingdom to the continent via the Channel Tunnel and in particular Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam as well Disneyland Paris and other destinations in France depending on the seasons.
Eurostar traffic disrupted by the health crisis in 2020
- A 77% decline in traffic over the whole year with 2.5 million passengers via the Channel Tunnel, due to travel restrictions imposed between the UK and continental Europe during the Covid health crisis.
- Launch of a return direct Eurostar service between Amsterdam and London on 26 October 2020.
- Project of new destinations such as Bordeaux and Genève or to Italia, Spain, Germany and Portugal, on hold during the health crisis.
Cross-Channel rail freight trains in 2020
- Cross-Channel rail freight traffic down 19% to 1,736 trains, impacted by the pandemic, with the suspension of steel and automobile flows and by the restructuring of steel customers.
- The complete train scanner, operated by French Customs, enables the inspection of up to thirty 750m-long freight trains per day on the Fréthun yard.
- Crossing of the first Chinese container train to connect Yiwu and London, in January 2017, via the Silk Road and the Channel Tunnel.
Eurostar passengers travelled through the Channel Tunnel in 2020
rail freight trains through the Tunnel in 2020
Eurostar passengers have travelled through the Tunnel since 1994
An operational and commercial success
The traffic figures and the records consistently broken over the course of time have shown the resilience in all circumstances of the commercial services offered by Eurotunnel. And beyond, the Fixed Link has generated new traffic flows which have been made possible by the Tunnel since 1994:
- More than 450 million passengers have travelled through the Channel Tunnel on board the Eurotunnel Shuttles and high-speed Eurosstar trains, the equivalent of three times the populations of the United Kingdom and France combined.
- More than 430 million tonnes of goods have been carried through the Tunnel mainly on board the Eurotunnel Truck Shuttles but also on the freight trains of the Railway Operators.
- More than 90 million vehicles have been transported, of which 60 million cars, coaches, camper-vans and motorcycles by Le Shuttle and 30 million trucks by Le Shuttle Freight.
- More than 3 million pets (dogs and cats) have travelled on board Le Shuttle since the opening of the service in February 2000.