WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PROMISED CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL FREIGHT?

ONE of the main justifications for constructing the Channel Tunnel was the ability to transport a much higher volume of direct freight traffic between Britain and Europe than was being carried on train ferries.

In the run-up to opening the tunnel, British Rail conducted extensive market studies that predicted within 10 years some 11.6 million tonnes would be conveyed. It was also assumed that the two million annual tonnes of train ferry traffic would transfer,