Numbers differ on Chunnel's share
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• More than 350 trucks a day are using the Channel Tunnel, accounting for 12% of all Dover to Calais traffic, according to Chunnel operator Le Shuttle Freight. But a spokesman for competitor Stena Sealink claims that Eurotunnel carried just 4,000 lorries in September—giving it 6% of the Dover to Calais crossings.
However, figures published by Eurotunnel show that in spite of many firms saying they were not prepared to pay the higher prices, the tunnel is finding customers and says it is on target for a 22% cross-Channel market share by the end of next year.
Although open since May, Eurotunnel has only operated the commercially competitive "turn up and go" service from July and currently offers 34 departures per day in each direction. A 24-hour service starts on 22 October and a third departure in the hour is planned for the beginning of December. This will allow 50 departures a day and give a capacity of 3,000 trucks—the average total number of truck movements from Dover to Calais.
Many firms which initially said they were unsure that they would use the tunnel have been tempted by the quicker service. Sccuricor Omega and Honda Logistics have replaced next. day delivery airborne operations with road-based systems through the tunnel.