The Brussels-based European Commission has accused Eurotunnel of overcharging.
Groupe Eurotunnel SA, a company with its headquarters in Paris, France, manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France, including the vehicle shuttle services. The European Commission has said that the company is overcharging passengers using the Channel Tunnel, and that the overcharging extends to both passenger and freight traffic.
Further to its assertion, the Commission has urged the British and French governments to investigate the cost structure for using the tunnel and ensure that European Union rules that legislate against excessive track charges are being complied with. The prices that Eurotunnel charges the train companies are passed on to passengers, and the Commission also suggested that 43 percent of the tunnel’s capacity is not being used.
Siim Kallas, the vice-president of the Commission, said, ‘The Channel Tunnel is not being used to its full capacity because of these excessive charges. As a result, more freight is being carried on lorries instead of by rail, freight operators and their customers are being over-charged, and passengers are paying over the odds for their tickets. The current regime is also stifling growth in the rail sector.’
In its response to the accusations, Eurotunnel said that its charges are ‘transparent and not excessive,’ adding that it ‘always sought the development of cross-Channel traffic and concentrates significant resources on this goal.’
The company also said that only Eurostar, the high-speed rail service that connects London with Paris and Brussels, is contesting a claimed lack of transparency in 2014 access charges to the tunnel, and is ‘finding issue with a contract which it has applied for 19 years.’
