Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

that manages and operates the infrastructure of the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...

between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, operates the

Eurotunnel Shuttle Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (sometimes shortened to Le Shuttle or The Shuttle) is a railway shuttle service between Coquelles (near Calais) in Pas-de-Calais, France and Cheriton, Kent, Cheriton (near Folkestone) in Kent, United Kingdom. It conveys ro ...

train service, and earns revenue on other trains that operate through the tunnel (

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

passenger and

DB Schenker DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea freight, and Contract Logistics. Histo ...

freight). Groupe Eurotunnel was established on 13 August 1986 to finance, build, and operate the Channel Tunnel under a concession granted by the French and British governments. The tunnel was constructed between 1988 and 1994 by

TransManche Link TransManche Link (Cross Channel Link) or TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel between Cheriton in England, and Coquelles in France. History In April 1985 the Briti ...

(TML) under a contract issued by Groupe Eurotunnel; construction costs would overrun considerably, from TML's original estimate of £4.7 billion to the final cost of £9.5 billion. On 6 May 1994, the completed tunnel was officially opened. Its rail infrastructure comprises of

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

railway in the main tunnels, plus extensive surface-level terminal facilities at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

in England and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

in France. The rail network for operation of the Eurotunnel Shuttle train services is entirely self-contained, with connections near the two terminals to the respective national railway networks. Signalling and electric traction supply are also under Getlink control. In 1995, a loss of £925 million was reported by Groupe Eurotunnel; this was partly due to many of the planned services to use the tunnel not yet being permitted. On 2 August 2006, following failed debt restructuring plans, Groupe Eurotunnel was placed into

bankruptcy protection Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

; a restructuring plan that involved a £2.8 billion funding arrangement and a debt-for-equity swap was approved by shareholders in May 2007. That same year, it reported a net profit of €1 million, the company's first profitable year. In December 2009, Groupe Eurotunnel and

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

acquired the French rail freight operator

Veolia Cargo Veolia Cargo was a European rail freight transportation company that operated mainly in France and Germany. On 2 September 2009, the company was acquired by Eurotunnel and SNCF, the deal being finalised on 1 December 2009. History Prior to the cr ...

, gaining multiple subsidiaries in the process. In June 2010, the company acquired British rail freight company First GBRf for £31 million from

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.SeaFrance ferry service, establishing

MyFerryLink MyFerryLink was an English Channel passenger and freight ferry company which began operating between Dover and Calais in August 2012. The MyFerryLink fleet consisted of two modern ferries – sister ships the and the – that carried passen ...

to operate them, although this was discontinued due to

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

allegations after a brief period. On 20 November 2017, Groupe Eurotunnel changed its name to Getlink. In March 2018, the Italian

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

Atlantia acquired the 15.49% stake of

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

in Getlink, for roughly €1 billion.

History

Foundation and early activity

Getlink's origins can be traced to the formation of ''Groupe Eurotunnel'' on 13 August 1986; it was established in accordance with the Concession Agreement of 1986 between the governments of France and the United Kingdom with the goal of financing, building and operation of a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

between England and France. Groupe Eurotunnel awarded a contract for the tunnel's construction to the bi-national project organisation

(TML).Wilson 1194, pp. 14–21. Furthermore, the company employed ''Maître d'Oeuvre'' to act as a supervisory engineering body under the terms of the concession that monitored and reported on the project.Kirkland pp. 10–11. While TML designed and built the tunnel, financing was handled by Groupe Eurotunnel; however, the British and French governments controlled final engineering and safety decisions, later formalised through the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority. The British and French governments gave Eurotunnel a 55-year operating concession, originally running from 1987; this was extended by 10 years to 65 years in 1993. Private funding for such a complex infrastructure project was of unprecedented scale. An initial equity of £45 million was raised, then increased by £206 million private institutional placement, £770 million was raised in a public share offer that included press and television advertisements, a syndicated bank loan and

letter of credit A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exp ...

arranged £5 billion. The final cost for the tunnel's construction came to around £9.5 billion, roughly double TML's original estimate of £4.7 billion.Flyvbjerg et al. 2003, p. 12. This overrun has been attributed, in part, as a response to enhanced safety, security, and environmental demands.Flyvbjerg et al. 2003, pp. 96–97. Financing costs were 140% higher than forecast.Flyvbjerg et al. 2003, p. 3. Construction of the tunnel took place between 1988 and 1994; at the peak of construction activity, roughly 15,000 people were employed while in excess of £3 million was being expended each day.Anderson 1994, pp. xvi–xvii. On 6 May 1994, the completed tunnel was officially opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and President

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

, regular services commenced later that same month. In its first year of operation, Groupe Eurotunnel lost £925 million, which was attributed to disappointing revenue from both passengers and freight traffic, as well as heavy interest charges on its £8 billion of debt. The poor fiscal performance can also be partially attributed to the phased opening of the tunnel; various services awaited approval from the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, some of which did not receive permission to commence until over a year after the tunnel's official opening date. On 10 July 1997, a financial restructuring plan was approved by Groupe Eurotunnel's shareholders. On 19 December, both the British and French governments officially agreed to extend its concession to 2086. On 7 April 1998, the financial restructuring process was officially completed. On 30 December 1999, as required by the Concession Agreement, Groupe Eurotunnel presented a road tunnel project to the British and French governments.

2000s

On 13 February 2004, Groupe Eurotunnel was granted a rail operator's licence in France, becoming the first company ever to possess such status. In April 2004, a dissident shareholder group led by Nicolas Miguet succeeded in taking control of Groupe Eurotunnel's board. However, during February 2005, Jean-Louis Raymond, the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

appointed as a consequence of the boardroom coup, resigned and

Jacques Gounon Jacques Gounon, born 25 April 1953, is a French senior civil servant and business manager who currently serves as president of Getlink. Early life Gounon is a former pupil of École Polytechnique in Paris and chief engineer of the Ponts et Chauss ...

took complete control, becoming both

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and Chief Executive. During July 2006, shareholders voted on a deal that would have seen half the debt, by then reduced to £6.2 billion, exchanged for 87% of the equity. However, this plan failed, and on 2 August 2006, Groupe Eurotunnel was placed into

by a French court for six months. In May 2007, a restructuring plan was approved by shareholders, whereby

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, and

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

agreed to provide £2.8 billion of long-term funding and the balance of the debt being exchanged for equity, and the shareholders agreed to waive numerous perks, such as unlimited free travel, that they had previously been entitled to. During June 2007, the company entered into a partnership through subsidiary ''Europorte 2'' with the Port of Dunkirk relating to rail freight traffic. Under this partnership, Groupe Eurotunnel was to operate trains from Dunkirk to the Delta 3 logistics terminal at Dourges, and collaborate on container shipments to the United Kingdom, using the port of Dunkirk via the tunnel. Following the restructuring, Groupe Eurotunnel was able to announce a small net profit of €1 million in 2007, reportedly for the first time in the company's existence. Half-year earnings for 2008 rose to €26 million (£20.6 million), while net profit was €40 million, despite the costs associated with traffic loss from September 2008 to February 2009 following a fire in the tunnel; this allowed Eurotunnel to issue its first-ever dividend of €0.04 per euro value. The return to financial health allowed Groupe Eurotunnel to announce, on 28 October 2009, the anticipated voluntary redemption of some of its convertible debt. By anticipating to November 2009 the reimbursement of debt due in July 2010, it aimed to issue up to 119.4 million new ordinary shares, and thus shore up its capital while reducing its debt load. In December 2009, Groupe Eurotunnel and the French state railway operator

acquired the French rail freight operator

, splitting the business between them. The company took over French operations: ''Veolia Cargo France'', ''Veolia Cargo Link,'' and ''CFTA Cargo'' are expected to be rebranded ''Europorte France'', ''Europorte Link'' and ''Europorte proximity'' and become part of its

Europorte Europorte is a European rail freight company, a subsidiary of Getlink; operating in France and through the Channel Tunnel. The company was formed in 2009 as an entity encompassing the previous operations of Europorte 2 and the France-based bu ...

freight business. ''Socorail'' has not been announced as being rebranded.

2010s

In January 2010, the Port of Dunkirk awarded Eurotunnel a seven-year concession to operate its railway system. In June 2010, the company acquired British railfreight company First GBRf for £31 million from

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Europorte Europorte is a European rail freight company, a subsidiary of Getlink; operating in France and through the Channel Tunnel. The company was formed in 2009 as an entity encompassing the previous operations of Europorte 2 and the France-based bu ...

subsidiary. It was rebranded

GB Railfreight GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train o ...

. On 11 June 2012, a bid by Groupe Eurotunnel for three Channel ferries belonging to former operator SeaFrance (in

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

) for lease to another operator was accepted, and Eurotunnel acquired the SeaFrance ferries ''Berlioz'', ''Rodin'' and ''Nord Pas-de-Calais''. Eurotunnel was chartered to start the

ferry company on 20 August 2012. After years of legal fights over accusations that Eurotunnel operating a ferry line was uncompetitive, the company stopped operating MyFerryLink on 1 July 2015. Groupe Eurotunnel transferred its listing from the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

Euronext Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a pan-European bourse that offers various trading and post-trade services. Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrants and certificates, bonds, de ...

London on 19 July 2012. For the year 2015, statistics estimated that over 10.5 million passengers travelled on the Eurotunnel with 2,556,585 cars, 58,387 coaches and 1,483,741 goods vehicles. On 20 November 2017, Groupe Eurotunnel changed its name to Getlink. In March 2018, the Italian

Atlantia acquired the 15.49% stake of

in Getlink and its 26.66% voting rights, for around €1 billion. In June 2018, Getlink and auditor EY jointly presented a recent study on UK–Europe trade flows via the Channel Tunnel to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. Findings of this study included that, in 2016, the Channel Tunnel facilitated €138Bn of trade, believed to be roughly 26% of the total trade flows between Britain and continental Europe with an equal balance of imports and exports. In May 2019, Getlink celebrated 25 years of operation of the Channel Tunnel with the creation of a monumental fresco by street-art artist YZ on the Tunnel's French-side entrance.

2020s

In early 2020, Getlink announced the separation of the position of chairman of the supervisory board from that of chief executive officer from July 2020; accordingly,

remained President and Yann Leriche became CEO. In June 2020, the company dropped its listing on the London stock exchange; it remains listed on the

Euronext Paris Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined marke ...

market. Following the

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

vote for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to leave the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, Getlink and subsidiary company Eurotunnel made preparations for impending border control changes. Accordingly, an additional two hundred ninety new truck parking spaces at the Coquelles terminal were provided, while all the truck controls have been grouped into a single point, the Pit-Stop, and three additional control lanes at the Coquelles terminal and two lanes at the Folkestone were created. A smart border has been developed in collaboration with Customs and a Customs-SIVEP center to carry out additional veterinary and phytosanitary controls has been built. SAS PARAFE, for the identity check of coach passengers, were installed on the two terminals in 2019; furthermore, 300 French and English staff were trained in administrative and customs formalities, veterinary and phytosanitary procedures, checks and document scanning, support and information for customers. More than 500 institutional visits took place at the Coquelles and Folkestone sites in 2019.

Operations and services

Vehicle shuttle trains

The company operates shuttle services with

Eurotunnel Class 9 The Eurotunnel Class 9 or Class 9000 are six-axle high-power Bo′Bo′Bo′ single-ended electric locomotives built by the ''Euroshuttle Locomotive Consortium'' (ESCL) of Brush Traction and ABB. The class was designed for and is used exclusive ...

locomotives. Getlink operates two types of shuttle trains that transport vehicles through the Channel Tunnel along with two terminals to support the operation of the trains. Le Shuttle trains transport personal vehicles and coaches, while Le Shuttle Freight transports large trucks.

Freight train services

Europorte operates freight trains in France, as well as the cross channel freight services performed by

Europorte 2 Europorte Channel (formerly Europorte 2) is a rail freight train operator which operates rail freight services between France and the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. It is a subsidiary of Europorte. In 2009 Europorte's parent compan ...

before 2009. Since the part acquisition of

in September 2009, it also provides rail transport services to industrial locations through Socorail.

Passenger services

Getlink hosts, but does not operate, passenger train services through the Channel Tunnel. ,

is the only passenger train operator that uses the tunnel, offering services that connects the United Kingdom with France, Belgium & The Netherlands. Eurostar trains are operated by

Eurostar International Limited Eurostar International LimitedCompanies House extract company no 2 ...

, whose majority owner is

, the national railway of France. Eurostar International is the largest customer of Getlink, which levies charges (currently £25 per passenger per return journey) for use of the tunnel.

Samphire Hoe

The company also owns the small nature reserve of

Samphire Hoe Samphire Hoe is a country park situated west of Dover in Kent in southeast England. The park was created by using 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl from the Channel Tunnel excavations and is found at the bottom of a section of the White Cl ...

on the coast of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, which was created from Channel Tunnel spoil during construction in the 1980s/90s. The road tunnel down, the ventilation area and the reserve itself are all owned by Eurotunnel.

Future operations

Low cost passenger train service

In August 2018,

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

reported that Getlink is interested in setting up an Ouigo-style low cost high speed rail service between London and Paris, travelling between the railway stations of Stratford International and Charles-de-Gaulle. In March 2022, Getlink was reportedly examining the prospects of establishing its own rolling stock leasing company in order to lower the costs involved in operating trains through the Channel Tunnel and launching such services.

Regional rail

In September 2020, Getlink announces a partnership with

RATP Dev RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respon ...

to jointly bid under the "Régionéo" brand name for regional rail services in France which will gradually opened to competitive tendering.

Rolling stock

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control, state=expanded Companies based in Paris Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies listed on Euronext Paris Channel Tunnel Railway companies established in 1986 Railway companies of France Railway companies of the United Kingdom 1986 establishments in France Railway infrastructure managers