Length limit for Chunnel
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• An 18m length limit will apply to lorries and trailers using the Channel Tunnel, the concession agreement between the British and French Governments and the promoters reveals.
There will also be a 4m height limit, a 2.5m width limit and a 44 tonne gross vehicle weight limit. The same width and height restrictions will apply to coaches, whose maximum length is 12m.
The shuttle trains for both coaches and lorries will be single deck only.
The agreement also states that the minimum service offered should be one commerical freight shuttle every 30 minutes during the day and every hour at night.
The terminals will have to be big enough to ensure that vehicles will not have to wait for more than 30 minutes, excluding the time needed for frontier controls, at the busiest hour in any one year.
The frontier controls will be based on free exit and procedures will be carried out on the entry side of the tunnel.
For vehicles leaving Britain, the first operation will be Customs clearance of the HGVs, if necessary at the inland clearance depot at Ashford.
Then the toll will have to be paid before drivers go through British immigration and customs before finally clearing French police and customs.
Once lorry drivers reach France, import Customs clearance will if necessary be carried out at Frethun.