A reduction in "excessive" Channel Tunnel toll fees would result in lower passenger fares and more customers, the EU has said.
Only 37 per cent of the Tunnel's capacity is currently used, a situation that the EU is looking to rectify.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the EU wants the Intergovernmental Commission (the body which regulates the Tunnel on behalf of the UK and France) to instruct Eurotunnel (the Tunnel operator) to lower its access fees for Eurostar passenger trains and freight operators.
EC VP Siim Kallas said: "The Channel Tunnel is not being used to its full capacity because of these excessive charges. Passengers are paying over the odds for their tickets. The current regime is stifling growth in the rail sector."
Much secrecy surrounds the actual toll fees which Eurotunnel charges but, in the case of a Eurostar passenger, it can be a much as £19 per one-way trip.
The UK and French governments have been given two months to comply with the request.
High infrastructure access fees are also hampering the development of international high-speed rail links in mainland Europe.
A good example here is the newish Belgo-Dutch high-speed line (linking Brussels with Rotterdam and Amsterdam) which is “woefully underused”, said Mark Smith, founder of popular rail website Seat61.com because of its price mechanism which sees artificially high access prices.
The policy seen in mainland Europe contrasts with that in the UK "where extra trains running here are charged on a marginal basis", noted Smith.
However, Eurotunnel claims that its high access fees have not discouraged new train companies. It points to advanced plans by Gremany's DB to operate its ICE trains through the Tunnel (see online news, June 15).
Alex McWhirter
