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Stowaway risk to Chunnel freight
Page 10
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• by Guy Sheppard
All Channel Tunnel rail-freight traffic could end within three months because of the continuing disruption being caused by the growing number of illegal asylum seekers, an industry leader has warned.
Lord Tony Berkeley, chairman of the Rail Freight Group, says the suspension of Scotland's only direct rail-freight link with Europe is the first of several likely casualties of this problem.
"If this goes on for another three months, I suspect EWS (English Welsh & Scottish Railway) will pull the plug and everyone else will pull the plug as well," he says.
EWS operates the Euroterminal at Mossend, near Glasgow. It usually sends 16 freight trains a day through the tunnel and receives 15 inbound trains back. But since November inbound services have been cut to no more than five because of security problems on the French side.
EWS has already warned that tunnel freight operations could close; it is urging the UK government to resolve the security issue with the French.
The Home Office says talks are continuing between French and UK ministers but adds that protection of borders has to be a priority for any country.
Berkeley says that although tunnel rail freight only accounts for 3% of the UK rail freight market, its loss would be a huge embarrassment to the government because of its efforts to move freight from road to rail.
John Russell is chairman of Glasgowbased John G Russell Transport, which operates its own railheads and short sea services as well as a 180-truck flee He believes that the Scottish Charm Tunnel rail service was always eve priced: "We have rarely been able I use it because of the competitive pric of short-sea services."
• Ferry operator P&.0 Stena caugl more than 5,000 stowaways insid trucks heading for the UK during its fir: year of gas checks. The company intrc duced the compulsory CO2 checks on December 2000; by 6 December 2001 had discovered 5,388 illegal immigrant in Dover-bound trucks.