English, Welsh & Scottish Railways (EWS) expects the amount of rail freight carried through the channel tunnel to treble within three years, helped by the scrapping of the minimum usage charge and Eurotunnel's decision to slash rail freight rates by half.
Rail freight carried through the Chunnel has fallen steadily
over the past decade, from three million tonnes in 1997 to one million tonnes this year. But EWS expects its services alone to be carrying more than three million tonnes by 2009.
The reversal of the fall in rail freight will also be helped by the liberalisation of European railways, which means locomotives no longer have to be changed at national borders.
EWS says its initial plans include regular services between Daventry and Brussels, starting in January between Manchester and Duisberg, starting in February and between Manchester and Milan, starting in March.
"There are substantial volumes of goods that can be moved by rail which are currently moved by road and short sea ferries. This new capability will offer Scottish
manufacturers, retailers and transport operators the ability to bypass UK port congestion and reduce congestion on the M8, M73 and A80."
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