The number of cars carried on shuttle services increased by 2% to 2.48 million vehicles, while there was a 9% increase in bus traffic, which rose to 64,507 vehicles. The number of lorries carried on shuttles fell back 7% year-on-year to 1.36 million, giving it a 38.6% market share for cross-channel lorry movements.
High-speed ridership breached the 10 million mark for the first time, with Eurostar carrying 10.13 million passengers in 2013. Eurotunnel says that it anticipates further growth with the launch of London – Lyon – Marseille services in 2015 and London – Amsterdam services in 2017.
Railfreight volumes increased 11% from 1.23 million tonnes in 2012 to 1.36 million tonnes last year with the number of freight trains rising by 10% from 2325 to 2547. This growth is attributed to increasing steel traffic, the relaunch of intermodal services, and new traffic attracted through the Eurotunnel Incentive for Capacity Additions (Etica) scheme, which provides support for start-ups.
Eurotunnel says railfreight traffic through the tunnel has grown by 21% since 2010, and it is now considering extending Etica while continuing to seek solutions to the many barriers external to the Channel Tunnel, which have stifled growth and kept traffic well below forecast levels.
Eurotunnel's railfreight subsidiary Europorte had another successful year, with revenues climbing 16% to €238.5m due to new contracts and additional business from existing customers. Europorte's British and French subsidiaries are now the third largest railfreight operators in their respective markets.
