Revenue for Eurotunnel's shuttle train services also increased by 7% to €160.3m, while income from through train operations – primarily Eurostar services – only rose by 2% to €80.8m.
Eurotunnel's Europorte railfreight operation, which runs freight trains in Britain and France, recorded an 8% growth in revenue to €67.8m.
The number of freight trains running through the Channel Tunnel increased by 9% in the third quarter from 622 to 681 due to what Eurotunnel describes as "commercial success and an energetic approach to new markets." Tonnage rose much faster from 331,211 tonnes in the third quarter of 2013 to 389,146 this quarter, an increase of 17%.
Eurotunnel says it broke a number of records during the summer including transporting 370,000 vehicles on its Shuttle trains in August for the first time. Eurotunnel currently transports 1.5 million lorries through the Channel Tunnel each year. When it takes delivery of three new trains it will be able to step the number of trains per hour from six to eight. Eurotunnel says it should be able to handle 2 million lorries a year by 2020.
