Eurotunnel cuts rail freight cost

Eurotunnel finally agreed a deal this year to slash its huge debts

Eurotunnel is halving the cost of taking rail freight through the Channel Tunnel, as it attempts to win more business from the ferry operators.

The average toll for a train of freight will be £3,000 from the start of next year, down from the current £6,000.

Eurotunnel said its freight business had fallen steadily over recent years, down from 3 million tonnes in 1997 to just over 1 million this year.

The firm is continuing work to turn itself around and return to profit.

'Considerable potential'

The company blamed the fall in freight traffic over the past decade to a growing lack of competitiveness in relation to the ferry companies.

It said this had been partly caused by its increased security costs.

Eurotunnel said its new reduced prices had "considerable potential" to reverse its downward trend of rail freight.

Its most recent results showed that for the six months to the end of June, the Anglo-French company cut its net losses to 32m euros ($44m; £22m), compared with 105m-euro deficit a year earlier.

Eurotunnel also finally managed in June to halve its debt, following a long-running battle with creditors.