Eurotunnel’s new shuttle service reduces transit time and increases volumes
Eurotunnel is launching FIRST, a new subscription service to give priority to trucks that want to hop on the rail freight shuttle to cross the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK. Companies applying for this service will get priority to check in and board on the next available shuttle reducing waiting and transit time.
According to GETLINK, the company operating the tunnel infrastructure, “in the long term, subscriptions to FIRST could represent up to 10 per cent of the volume of freight traffic”. The service has been tested for some months before being launched, with a customer satisfaction rating of 95 per cent, as the company mentioned. The faster transit times are due to the fact that vehicles from companies subscribed to FIRST will be automatically recognised at Eurotunnel’s terminals.
Moreover, if a vehicle reaching France needs to be inspected, FIRST customers will be granted a priority desk at the Centre Douane SIVEP in Calais. The service is available for both directions but can also be applied to one direction only. The minimum subscription period for this service is one month, with automatic renewal. The subscription can be interrupted anytime with five working days of notice. RailFreight.com contacted Eurotunnel to better understand how much the time reduction would be, but the company was not able to provide the information.
Also read:
