The results were released by Getlink, which operates the Le Shuttle Freight and Le Shuttle Passenger services through the Channel Tunnel alongside Eurostar. Getlink says it has also lost “several thousand” trucks and passenger vehicles due to the action.

Le Shuttle Passenger transported 174,767 passenger vehicles in March, a 4% decrease compared with 181,651 in March 2018. Getlink blamed the unfavourable timing of Easter weekend in April for the dip. Le Shuttle Passenger has transported nearly 490,000 passenger vehicles since the beginning of 2019.

Le Shuttle Freight reported its best ever month in March. The service transported 152,943 trucks in March 2019, a 5% increase compared with 146,292 in March 2018, with 440,012 trucks using the service since the beginning of 2018.

Getlink’s traffic and revenue figures for the first quarter are due to be published on April 18.

Last month, Eurostar reported a 7% increase in passenger numbers in 2018, with 11 million passengers using the cross-channel service compared with 10.3 million in 2017.