Channel Tunnel Freight
The truck shuttles and through trains that carry a core share of UK-Europe trade under the sea.
Overview
Opened in 1994, the 50.5 kilometer tunnel holds the longest undersea section of any tunnel. Purpose-built Le Shuttle trains carry roughly 1.5 to 2 million trucks a year plus cars, with vehicle journeys through the tunnel taking about 35 minutes, while through freight trains run between continental terminals and Britain. A 2008 freight shuttle fire and later migrant pressures around Calais tested the system, and Brexit added customs friction that the flexible ticketing absorbed better than predicted. The tunnel and the Dover ferries now split the short strait truck market between them.
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