The FTA has dismissed calls by the Rail Freight Group for investigations into whether trucks are compatible with the Channel Tunnel, following last month's blaze. The first section of the fire-damaged freight train, with the remains of a burnt-out truck inside, was removed from the French side of the rail tunnel last week.
September's shuttle blaze was the third since the tunnel opened in 1994. The Rail Freight Group is calling for a thorough investigation of Channel Tunnel truck safety,
which it believes could lead to HGVs being banned from open-sided rail wagons.
Don Armour, FTA manager of international services, says: "We need to know what caused the fire - it could have been an electrical fault or a problem with the wagons themselves, but we won't know until the full report is published. What's more important is that we have systems in place to deal with these types of incidents should they arise again."
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