Le Shuttle freight traffic leaps but has yet to match pre-Covid levels

Freight traffic on GetLink’s Le Shuttle bounced back in January this year, transporting 38% more trucks than in January 2021.

Getlink, which was formerly known as Groupe Eurotunnel, reported this week that 113,917 trucks were transported in January 2022, compared to 82,484 trucks in January 2021.

GetLink said the rise in truck numbers was thanks to the success of its recently launched Eurotunnel Border Pass and fewer Brexit-related border delays compared to the previous January.

However pre-pandemic and pre-Brexit levels of freight on the Le Shuttle have yet to return, with GetLink records revealing that in January 2019 Le Shuttle Freight set a new record for the first month of the year, carrying 145,960 trucks, 1% more than in January 2018.

The Eurotunnel Border Pass allows information required for the passage of goods to be transferred from the carrier to GetLink and then from Getlink to the authorities of both countries, in a secure and digital way.

The Eurotunnel operator said the Border Pass has improved on-site movements by 20% by allowing the advance registration of the required customs information and of the truck’s license plate, allowing automatic recognition upon arrival on the terminal as well as data transfer.

John Keefe, GetLink director of public affairs, said: “This is a promising start to 2022, following a very difficult two years for cross-Channel traffic.

“The border pass digitisation of border controls, introduced by Eurotunnel, is proving its worth on this fast moving, high volume, route.”