Comments made by the senior management of Eurotunnel about the possibility of introducing a new fee structure for rail freight passing through the Channel Tunnel (under the English Channel between Britain and France) have had a wider impact than might be expected.

Jacques Gounon, Executive Chairman of Eurotunnel, commented to the Financial Times newspaper that the details of such reductions had yet to be agreed with the British and French governments but hinted that a system of 'off-peak' rates would be introduced.

For the two decades that the Channel Tunnel has been in operation freight has avoided using it due to the high charges imposed by Eurotunnel. Not that there is any shortage of freight. In fact the English ports are at maximum capacity in many cases.

The new attitude of Eurotunnel towards the issue of freight rates owes a great deal to its corporate restructuring. Previously crippled by debt, Eurotunnel has re-capitalised and now has room to invest in projects such as the operation of its own freight trains between Britain and France. However the competition authorities oblige Eurotunnel to offer the same rates to other rail companies through the tunnel as it would charge for its own rail services. Consequently Eurotunnel has moved to cut these rates.

The leading rail freight company in the UK, English Welsh and Scottish, has welcomed the move, issuing a statement saying 'an economic and affordable pricing regime for freight trains, set at a level the market can bear, will allow goods to be re-captured to freight trains,'.

Deutsche Bahn has recently confirmed its plans to take over the entire shares of English Welsh & Scottish and with Deutsche Bahn's aim being an attempt to build a trans-European freight network, a viable Channel Tunnel for freight would be a huge boost to these ambitions. For example it might even raise the possibility of shipping containers being 'railed' into English customers from Rotterdam Port, by-passing the congested southern English container ports.

Of course there is a very long way to go before a competitive trans-European rail network is in place. However the prospect of viable freight services through the tunnel is one step forward to such a goal.