EurostarThe Olympics helped boost revenues of Channel Tunnel company Eurotunnel this summer.

A 10% rise in passenger traffic and a 17% increase in trucks led to shuttle service revenue increasing 16% to more than £115 million in the July-September period.


Numbers travelling through the tunnel on high-speed Eurostar trains in July-September this year were down 1% at 2.59 million.

But overall, Eurotunnel revenue for the third quarter of 2012 increased 13% to £223 million, compared with the July-September period last year.

For the first nine months of this year, truck shuttle numbers are up 19%, car shuttles have risen 7%, coach shuttles are up 3% and Eurostar passenger numbers have risen 2% to just under 7.44 million.

The only dip has been in the rail freight trains, with 6% fewer going through the tunnel in the January-September period.

Eurotunnel revenue for the first nine months of this year has risen 14% to £609 million.

The company said: "In an active summer market, Eurotunnel was able to offer customers an environmentally friendly transport service completely aligned with the 'green' values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. Due to the natural flexibility of its transport system, the group was easily able to adapt its shuttle services to the increase in demand."

Groupe Eurotunnel chairman and chief executive Jacques Gounon said: "This summer, on the back of a dynamic first half-year, Eurotunnel again set new traffic records. Our flexibility enabled us to provide an excellent quality of service and to attract new customers away from the airlines.

"We are confident in our activity levels for the end of the year, while always remaining vigilant due to the nature of the current economic environment."

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