18 >> 16 customs and has sanitary


Issue 8 2019 - Freight Business Journal


as ultimately the existing


terminals will one day run out of space, he points out. Eurotunnel


also added and


phystosanitary checks to the services available at its ‘pitstop’ at its Calais terminal where trucks are checked for documentation to proceed to the UK. There is also some interesting


new technology available to help smooth the flow of traffic. Brexit was a spur for Eurotunnel to develop its smartphone app and automated numberplate recognition (ANPR) systems have proved to be a very powerful tool, matching customs information with the relevant truck and trailer as they move through the terminals, identifying those vehicles which are to be stopped for


checks without impeding


those that are able to move off immediately. Eurotunnel has one advantage


over the ferry industry and the ports, in Keefe’s opinion, in that it is responsible for its terminals on both the French and English side of the Channel and has been able to liaise with both country’s governments. For instance, it was able to sit down with both the UK and French customs, which allowed Eurotunnel to work up likely scenarios and estimate the amount of extra parking space that would be needed, along with specialised facilities for checking foodstuffs and animals.


Operation document


Keefe points out that the Yellowhammer caused


that such


controversy and alarm when its contents were revealed recently were based on the assumption that there would be no mitigations put in place by the French authorities. The latter had shared this information with Eurotunnel but not with the politicians that drew up the Yellowhammer document because, under EU rules, the only information that was admissible was that provided by Brussels, not the two national governments. Keefe explains: “Yes, the Department for Transport did know all about it but they were unable to use any of our information. That’s why Yellowhammer and Operation Brock seem so catastrophic – they’re based on the assumption that there will be 100% French controls, and envisage use of Manston as a holding area and even possibly the M26, measures which we have always considered unnecessary.” Eurotunnel’s remaining area


of concern is how well prepared traders are for the post-Brexit regime – not so much the bigger firms, but the small and medium sized enterprises. Smaller firms that have only ever traded with EU countries under Single Market rules are hard to reach, and the widespread belief that the UK wouldn’t leave the EU without a deal has made even those that are


Norman ports ready to conquer the world


Ports of Normandy has entered the final stage of its enlargement programme for the port of Ouistreham outer harbour – the installation of a protective shield fabricated by Manche Industrie Marime (MIM) based in Dieppe. Ports president Hervé Morin declared that the cooperative effort “demonstrates the complimentary nature of our two ports”. The €12 million enlargement


programme was launched on 7 January with the installation of a guidance system to allow an increase of the length of ship that can be accommodated inside the locks at Ouistreham from 24 to 27.4 metres, in response to global market demand. However,


that is not the


end of the port’s investment programme, Morin added. At a press conference, in


the presence of Caen la Mer president Joël Bruneau and other regional government representatives, he gave details of a programme of work including preparations for an offshore wind base. This would be made possible by the extension of the eastern


aware reluctant to invest too much time and money in preparing for such a scenario. However:


“We have worked


with the British government to put in place a border readiness check with a number of sites in the UK where traffic can be turned back before it reaches us.” There are also concerns about


unprepared EU exporters to the UK, but the British Government has put in place a series of waivers that should ease most of the problems. True, the French government would probably insist on a full export declaration but Eurotunnel has included a holding area for problem loads as part of its pitstop area, where customs clearance experts will contact the sender of the goods and create the necessary declaration. Eurotunnel, together with the


ferry industry and HMRC has also taken part in a series of industry days around Europe to explain how the new regime would work to traders. If Brexit does lead to unstable


traffic patterns, with sudden surges, Eurotunnel has some flexibility in its shuttle operation to step up frequencies without buying new rolling stock. Three new truck shuttle trains have been introduced since 2015 and there is enough capacity to meet likely future needs, says Keefe. The Brexit situation has already


led to some peaks and troughs in freight traffic. The first quarter


mole and reclamation of three hectares of land from the sea, creating up to 100 jobs. Work was also being carried


out in preparation for the arrival of Brittany Ferries’ new LNG- powered Honfleur ferry, which would be one of the greenest vessels on the Channel, in 2020. Bigger than the Mont Saint- Michel


and the Normandie,


her arrival would necessitate enlargement of the turning area and refurbishment of a dolphin.


The decision by the UK government to offer subsidies to ferry companies operating cross- Channel routes to and from a number of French ports – but not the port of Calais – has angered the chief executive of the latter, Jean- Marc Puissesseau. ”We are very dissatisfied


with the decision by the British government to develop other routes, considering the investment we have made in the port of Calais. It costs us €50 million a year,” he told FBJ in an interview. His remarks follow the news September


in that the UK


Government had signed contracts worth up to £87 million to keep


///FRANCE


governments and also local authorities to find ways of raising capacity on either the ‘classic’ rail routes through Kent or finding ways of augmenting capacity on the High Speed 1 (HS1) rail line from London to the Tunnel. (The latter has the advantage that it can handle large freight wagons.) Kent County Council is also very keen to see more traffic transferred from its busy roads to rail. Carving out a larger-gauge


of 2019 was actually a record as companies stocked up ahead of the expected Brexit date in March, but the following two quarters have been much more muted, despite a small peak ahead of the ‘new’ brexit date of 31 October, with companies merely topping up stock levels. The current shortage of warehousing in the UK would make it difficult to increase stocks, even if traders wanted to. If there was a need to increase


capacity because of a rise in freight traffic – or possibly an increase in its ‘peakiness’ – in the first instance Eurotunnel would work its existing shuttle fleet harder, though without putting it under too much strain. In the longer term, there are also plans to lay out additional loading platforms and another possibility is to upgrade the signalling system so that trains can run on reduced headways.


Through freight trains


Long distance ‘through’ freight trains have also been going up steadily, rising from 500 in the third quarter of 2018 to 537 in the same quarter this year. Train traffic was at a low ebb in 2015 due to the migrant crisis but Eurotunnel has


taken control of security at the Frethun freight yard and this has boosted customer confidence, says Keefe. Another innovation is the new full train scanner that has replaced slower hand-held equipment, allowing a complete train to be scanned on the move. “It’s definitely starting to have


an impact,” he says. Rail freight trains are up 7% already, but there is considerable capacity for more. Under existing Channel Tunnel rules


- which are unlikely to be


changed in the foreseeable future – each of the Tunnel’s four traffics – Eurostar long distance passenger trains, car shuttles, truck shuttles and through freight trains are each allocated 25% of the slots. But one of the advantages of the through freight trains from Eurotunnel’s point of view is that they tend to use the less popular night paths through the Tunnel. There are currently about 2,000


through freight trains a year but the target is to increase this to 5,000 in the fairly near term. The main limitation on through trains is not the Tunnel


freight


itself but the rail lines that lead to and from the Tunnel, in England and France, and Eurotunnel has been engaging with national


freight route on a busy passenger network isn’t easy but nor is creating paths on High Speed 1. A few freight trains do use High Speed 1 to reach terminals in the Barking area but the only slots available are early in the morning or late at night - before and aſter the last Eurostar passenger trains. Running freight trains at night HS1 isn’t currently an option because the rail operators say they need to shut the line in both directions for maintenance – although why they couldn’t adopt single line working and cross trains from one track to another as Eurotunnel does, isn’t entirely clear. The French Railways may have


better physical infrastructure than the UK but there is the complication of having to deal with several authorities to obtain train paths, which isn’t an easy matter. Certainly, there is great potential


for through freight, such as piggyback trains carrying road trailers on rail wagons – Keefe finds it slightly strange that the existing VIIA services from the south of France and Italy stop in Calais and deposit their traffic onto the ferries when all logic suggests that they should continue through the Tunnel into England.


supplies of medicines and other vital goods on the move in the event of disruption to ports aſter Brexit with Brittany Ferries, DFDS, P&O European Ferries and Stena


Line. These would be concentrated on ports such as Teesport, the Humber,


Harwich,


Til b ury , Portsmouth and


Felixstowe, 19 >>


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