Eurotunnel History and info

Eurotunnel

The Fixed Link between the UK and France is made up of twin railway tunnels and a service beneath the sea bed in the English Channel and 2 terminals, at Folkestone, in Kent, Britain and Coquelles, in the Nord Pas-de-Calais France for passenger and freight access. It operates 25 shuttle trains to transport cars, coaches and trucks and grants access to passenger and freight trains from railway companies. Quoted on the stock markets in London, Paris and Brussels, the Anglo-French group, Eurotunnel has a concession from the UK and French governments to operate the Chunnel until 2086. Eurotunnel has transported people and goods through the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK for the past 12 years. The Group manages a transport system whose speed, frequency and safety are unrivalled. It is the only transport company able to guarantee Channel crossings at high speed no matter what the weather conditions and without handling delays.

Eurotunnel can also operate rail links in Europe via its subsidiary, Europorte 2.

History

The first drawings for a channel tunnel were presented to the French leader Napoleon 200 years ago. There were attempts to build a tunnel in Victorian times and again in the 1970's. In November 1984 Margaret Thatcher and French president Françoise Mitterand launched a Channel Tunnel project. In April 86 a concession was signed, the promoters of Eurotunnel were a Joint Venture of ten Civil Engineering contractors and five Banks. At this stage the operator company, Eurotunnel, did not exist and was created in October 86, six months after the Concession was signed. The system was handed over from TML, to Eurotunnel in December 93. The tunnel was officially opened in May 94.

Eurotunnel had debt from the first moment it began services in May 1994. Formed in 1987 to run the rail tunnel linking the UK and France, Anglo-French Eurotunnel has struggled ever since the tunnel first opened in 1994. It started life a year behind schedule and £2bn in the red. All might have been fine if Eurotunnel - which has the licence to carry cars, lorries and their occupants through the Channel Tunnel - had met its performance targets. But this has never been the case. Eurotunnel found itself not only competing with ferry companies - which slashed prices to stay in the market - but with the new breed of low-cost airlines as well As a result, its debts simply grew and grew.

In 2002 figures from Eurotunnel show the amount of rail freight it carried fell by almost half in 2002. The problem is being blamed on the asylum seeker crisis in Northern France. The business figures up to the end of 2001 showed that rail freight tonnage carried by the Channel Tunnel operator EWS fell by 40 per cent, almost exclusively because of the number of stowaways trying to get aboard its trains, causing services to be severely cut back and even totally suspended at some times. A closure of the Red Cross Camp at Sangatte and increased security at the Frethun depot near Calais , and EWS says it has not had any refugees trying to stowaway for four months now.

Eurostar - which carries foot passengers on trains from London to Paris, Brussels and other cities on the continent - is a completely separate company from Eurotunnel.
Jean-Louis Raymond wants a more conciliatory approach. Profitable and popular, it pays Eurotunnel a fee based on traffic numbers to use the Channel Tunnel.

In 2006 an imaginary chemical terror attack was used as the scenario for Eurotunnel's annual safety and security exercise. It was co-ordinated by the French authorities, with police, fire and ambulance services also taking part from Kent. A tunnel was closed overnight between Saturday and Sunday as the eight-hour exercise was carried out. A Eurotunnel spokesman said it went well and much more was learnt about security and safety measures. "Whatever incident occurs, it impacts on the whole of the tunnel's activities, so we have to make sure the exercises are seriously done and as realistic as possible," he said.Previous exercises to test the responses of Eurotunnel staff and the emergency services have included the situation of a train breaking down.

In 2006 Eurotunnel has warned that its future survival is dependent upon it managing to successfully restructure its giant debt mountain.
The warning came as the Channel Tunnel operator said it was seeking an extension for talks with its creditors. "We cannot guarantee the future of the group in 2007, unless there is a global financial restructuring," said Eurotunnel chairman Jacques Gounon. The company is seeking to reduce debts reported to total more than £6bn.
Eurotunnel chief executive Jacques Gounon has met with bondholders to win support for a major restructuring plan.

The company wants to reduce its crippling debt levels, and while it has the backing of a group of banks, it is facing opposition from other investors. Eurotunnel said almost all bondholders attended, and Friday's talks were a "big step" in reaching an agreement. The company said it had put forward new proposals and planned another meeting with on Tuesday 11 July. Eurotunnel had been excluded from renegotiating its debt problems, but managed to get a waiver period that allowed talks to continue until 12 July.

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