Eurotunnel
Encyclopedia
Groupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel
between Britain
and France
. The Company operates the car shuttle
services and earns revenue on other trains (freight by DB Schenker
and passenger services by Eurostar
) passing through the tunnel. It is listed both on the London Stock Exchange
and Euronext Paris
.
The railway operation involves 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) of double track
railway in the main tunnels, plus extensive surface-level terminal facilities at Folkestone in the UK and at Frethun in France; the Eurotunnel operation is entirely self-contained, with connections near the two terminals to the respective national railway networks. Signalling and electric traction supply at 25kV AC are also under Eurotunnel control.
Train operation consists of operating shuttle trains conveying cars and separate trains conveying heavy goods vehicles between the two terminals. Other trains passing through Eurotunnel infrastructure are operated by the respective owners.
and France
.
The Company let a contract for the construction of the tunnel to TransManche Link
. The tunnel cost around £9.5bn to build, about double its original estimate of £4.7bn. The tunnel, which was financed partly from investment by shareholders and partly from £8bn of debt, was officially opened on 6 May 1994 by HM Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand
. In its first year of operation the Company lost £925m because of disappointing revenues from passengers and freight together with heavy interest charges on its £8bn of debt.
In April 2004, a dissident shareholder group led by Nicolas Miguet succeeded in taking control of the board. However in February 2005 Jean-Louis Raymond, the Chief Executive who had been appointed following the boardroom coup during the previous year, resigned and Jacques Gounon took complete control becoming Chief Executive as well as Chairman.
In July 2006, shareholders voted on a deal which would have seen half the debt, by then reduced to £6.2bn, exchanged for 87% of the equity. However, this plan failed and, on 2 August 2006 the company was placed into bankruptcy protection by a French court for six months.
In May 2007 a new restructuring plan was approved by shareholders whereby Deutsche Bank
, Goldman Sachs
and Citigroup
agreed to provide £2.8bn of long term funding, the balance of the debt was exchanged for equity, and the shareholders agreed to waive the unlimited free travel and other perks that they had enjoyed.
Following the restructuring, Eurotunnel was able to announce a small net profit - €1 million for 2007 - for the first time in its existence. Half-year earnings for 2008 rose to €26 million (£20.6m). The net profit for 2008 was €40 million, despite the costs associated with traffic loss (from September 2008 to February 2009) following a fire in the Channel Tunnel
, and this allowed Eurotunnel to issue its first ever dividend of €0.04 per euro value.
The return to financial health allowed Eurotunnel to announce on October 28, 2009 the anticipated voluntary redemption of some of its convertible debt. By anticipating to November 2009 the reimbursement of debt due in July 2010, Eurotunnel aimed to issue up to 119.4 million new ordinary shares and thus shore up its capital while reducing its debt load.
In late 2009 Eurotunnel and SNCF
acquired Veolia Cargo
splitting the business between them; Eurotunnel took over French operations: the subsidiaries Veolia Cargo France, Veolia Cargo Link and CFTA Cargo acquired by Eurotunnel are expected to be rebranded as Europorte France, Europorte Link and Europorte proximity and become part of its Europorte freight business. Socorail has not been announced as being rebranded.
In June 2010 the company acquired FirstGBRf a British railfreight company for £31 million; this acquisition was to be merged into Europorte a subsidiary of the group.
locomotives.
before 2009. Since the part acquisition of Veolia Cargo
in 2009 the subsidiary also provides rail transport services to industrial locations through the company Socorail
. There are also plans by the Deutsche Bahn
to operate passenger trains between London and Frankfurt
through the Channel Tunnel. Eurotunnel earns revenue by levying charges on Eurostar (currently £25 per passenger per return journey) and other operators for use of the tunnel.
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
between Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The Company operates the car shuttle
Eurotunnel Shuttle
Eurotunnel Le Shuttle is a shuttle service between Calais/Coquelles in France and Folkestone in Britain. It conveys road vehicles by rail through the Channel Tunnel...
services and earns revenue on other trains (freight by DB Schenker
DB Schenker
DB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
and passenger services by Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
) passing through the tunnel. It is listed both on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and Euronext Paris
Euronext Paris
Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the UK's London Stock Exchange...
.
The railway operation involves 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) of double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
railway in the main tunnels, plus extensive surface-level terminal facilities at Folkestone in the UK and at Frethun in France; the Eurotunnel operation is entirely self-contained, with connections near the two terminals to the respective national railway networks. Signalling and electric traction supply at 25kV AC are also under Eurotunnel control.
Train operation consists of operating shuttle trains conveying cars and separate trains conveying heavy goods vehicles between the two terminals. Other trains passing through Eurotunnel infrastructure are operated by the respective owners.
History
The Company was formed on 13 August 1986 with the objective of financing, building and operating a tunnel between BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The Company let a contract for the construction of the tunnel to TransManche Link
TransManche Link
TransManche Link or TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel between Cheriton in Kent, United Kingdom, and Sangatte in France.-History:...
. The tunnel cost around £9.5bn to build, about double its original estimate of £4.7bn. The tunnel, which was financed partly from investment by shareholders and partly from £8bn of debt, was officially opened on 6 May 1994 by HM Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
. In its first year of operation the Company lost £925m because of disappointing revenues from passengers and freight together with heavy interest charges on its £8bn of debt.
In April 2004, a dissident shareholder group led by Nicolas Miguet succeeded in taking control of the board. However in February 2005 Jean-Louis Raymond, the Chief Executive who had been appointed following the boardroom coup during the previous year, resigned and Jacques Gounon took complete control becoming Chief Executive as well as Chairman.
In July 2006, shareholders voted on a deal which would have seen half the debt, by then reduced to £6.2bn, exchanged for 87% of the equity. However, this plan failed and, on 2 August 2006 the company was placed into bankruptcy protection by a French court for six months.
In May 2007 a new restructuring plan was approved by shareholders whereby Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
agreed to provide £2.8bn of long term funding, the balance of the debt was exchanged for equity, and the shareholders agreed to waive the unlimited free travel and other perks that they had enjoyed.
Following the restructuring, Eurotunnel was able to announce a small net profit - €1 million for 2007 - for the first time in its existence. Half-year earnings for 2008 rose to €26 million (£20.6m). The net profit for 2008 was €40 million, despite the costs associated with traffic loss (from September 2008 to February 2009) following a fire in the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, and this allowed Eurotunnel to issue its first ever dividend of €0.04 per euro value.
The return to financial health allowed Eurotunnel to announce on October 28, 2009 the anticipated voluntary redemption of some of its convertible debt. By anticipating to November 2009 the reimbursement of debt due in July 2010, Eurotunnel aimed to issue up to 119.4 million new ordinary shares and thus shore up its capital while reducing its debt load.
In late 2009 Eurotunnel and SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
acquired Veolia Cargo
Veolia Cargo
Veolia Cargo was a European rail freight transportation company that operated mainly in France and Germany.On 2 September 2009 the company was acquired by Eurotunnel and SNCF the deal being finalised on 1 December 2009.-History:...
splitting the business between them; Eurotunnel took over French operations: the subsidiaries Veolia Cargo France, Veolia Cargo Link and CFTA Cargo acquired by Eurotunnel are expected to be rebranded as Europorte France, Europorte Link and Europorte proximity and become part of its Europorte freight business. Socorail has not been announced as being rebranded.
In June 2010 the company acquired FirstGBRf a British railfreight company for £31 million; this acquisition was to be merged into Europorte a subsidiary of the group.
Car shuttle
The Company operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle car shuttle services with Eurotunnel Class 9Eurotunnel Class 9
The Eurotunnel Class 9 or Class 9000 are a series of 6 axle high power Bo'Bo'Bo' single ended electric locomotives built by the Euroshuttle Locomotive Consortium of Brush Traction and ASEA Brown Boveri...
locomotives.
Freight
The subsidiary Europorte operates freight trains in France as well as the through channel freight services performed by Europorte 2Europorte 2
Europorte is a European rail freight company, a subsidiary of Eurotunnel; operating in France and through the Channel Tunnel.The company was formed in 2009 as an entity encompassing the previous operations of Europorte 2 and the France based businesses of Veolia Cargo...
before 2009. Since the part acquisition of Veolia Cargo
Veolia Cargo
Veolia Cargo was a European rail freight transportation company that operated mainly in France and Germany.On 2 September 2009 the company was acquired by Eurotunnel and SNCF the deal being finalised on 1 December 2009.-History:...
in 2009 the subsidiary also provides rail transport services to industrial locations through the company Socorail
Passenger services
Passenger services are operated by EurostarEurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
. There are also plans by the Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
to operate passenger trains between London and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
through the Channel Tunnel. Eurotunnel earns revenue by levying charges on Eurostar (currently £25 per passenger per return journey) and other operators for use of the tunnel.
Rolling stock
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| Class 9 Eurotunnel Class 9 The Eurotunnel Class 9 or Class 9000 are a series of 6 axle high power Bo'Bo'Bo' single ended electric locomotives built by the Euroshuttle Locomotive Consortium of Brush Traction and ASEA Brown Boveri... |
Electric locomotive Electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device... |
100 | 160 | 58 | Channel Tunnel Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep... |
1993 | Used for vehicle shuttles | |
| Class 92 British Rail Class 92 The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France... |
 |
Electric locomotive Electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device... |
87 | 140 | 16 | Channel Tunnel Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep... |
1993 | Used by Europorte Channel Europorte Channel Europorte Channel is a rail freight train operator which operates rail freight services between France and the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel... for freight services |
| Class 0001 Eurotunnel Class 0001 The Eurotunnel Class 0001 Bo-Bo diesel locomotives were built by Maschinenbau Kiel between 1991 and 1992. They are very similar to the NS 6400 Class.... |
Diesel locomotive Diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel... |
100 | 160 | 5 | Rescue locomotive | 1992 | ||
| Class 0031 Eurotunnel Class 0031 The Eurotunnel Class 0031 0-4-0 diesel locomotives were built by the Hunslet Engine Company between 1989 and 1990. They were built as 900 mm gauge, but were rebuilt to standard 4 foot 8½ inch gauge by Schöma in Germany between 1993 and 1994.Twelve locomotives were built, numbered 0031-0042... |
Diesel locomotive Diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel... |
31 | 50 | 12 | Shunting | 1990 | ||