Eurotunnel revenues jump 21 per cent

Strong bookings from French horses, British skiers, and freight firms helped Eurotunnel to enjoy a 21 per cent jump in revenues to €222.5m (£182m) between January and March this year.

That was triple the rate of growth at Eurostar, which operates the passenger trains between London and France, and which yesterday posted a 7 per cent rise in sales in the first quarter.

Eurotunnel, which runs the car and freight shuttles, saw truck shuttle traffic grow 21 per cent during the period, whereas the number of passengers in cars rose only 7 per cent. Eurotunnel also benefited from more British skiers driving to the slopes, traffic picked up from SeaFrance, the collapsed ferry operator, and the French Olympic equestrian team booking it to transport horses for the Games.

GB Railfreight, which Eurotunnel bought from FirstGroup in 2010, won a contract to transport more than a million tonnes of waste from tunnelling on the Crossrail project.