New Report Reveals Increasing Cross-Channel Rail Traffic Could Boost Uk Economy By £1 Billion A Year

Campaign for Better Transport is calling for an International Rail Strategy to help increase cross-channel rail trips after its new report revealed the UK could benefit by an extra £1 billion a year from European visitors arriving by train.

In its new report, Runways to railways: unlocking the potential of the Channel Tunnel, Campaign for Better Transport looked at the untapped potential of international rail and found that by 2040, 28.5 million people a year could be travelling between the UK and Europe by train – more than two and half times the current number. This would bring in an additional £1 billion to the UK economy a year in tourism spend as well as other wider economic benefits.

Ben Plowden, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “With the Government undertaking a ‘once-in-a-generation’ programme of domestic rail reform, international rail risks being overlooked. Yet, as our report identifies, there is a huge potential to grow international rail services to help boost the UK economy. With a number of train operators keen to start running services through the tunnel, the Government should capitalise on the economic and environmental potential of international rail.”

Aviation currently dominates travel between the UK and continental Europe, accounting for 73 per cent of journeys, yet less than 50 per cent of the passenger capacity and less than ten per cent of the freight capacity of the Channel Tunnel is currently being used. By increasing the number of passenger services and routes, Campaign for Better Transport estimates that rail could account for around half of short-haul European travel by 2040, significantly reducing the number of flights required and avoiding the need for costly, disruptive, and unpopular airport expansion.

Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Government to develop an International Rail Strategy alongside its strategy for the domestic rail network and work with the rail industry to increase the number of passenger and freight services and routes.

Campaign for Better Transport’s Runways to railways: unlocking the potential of the Channel Tunnel report calls on Government to:• Develop an International Rail Strategy which should include targets to grow passenger numbers and rail freight• Reopen Ashford and Ebbsfleet International stations and bring international services to Stratford International station• Facilitate more direct services between London and more European cities• Enable new operators to offer passenger services where there is unused capacity, helping to reduce prices for passengers• Work with the EU to streamline border controls at rail termini to make international travel easier.

Anna Krajinska, Director at T&E UK, said: “Unlocking cross-Channel rail is a no-brainer for UK growth. Half the line’s capacity is going to waste — it’s time for a clear government plan to unlock the UK’s international rail potential. More services and real competition will cut prices, boost access, and drive jobs.”

Mark Smith, founder of online rail travel guide The Man in Seat Sixty-One, said: “Competition between London and Paris or Brussels is good news for passengers as it means more seats and cheaper fares. If experience in Spain and Italy is anything to go by, we could see average fares fall by up to 30 per cent.”

Jon Worth, campaigner and founder of the #CrossChannelRail Project, said: “It’s hard to imagine life without the Channel Tunnel, but there is always this sense of its untapped potential, even now thirty years after its opening. That is particularly the case for long-distance high-speed passenger trains. Campaign for Better Transport addressing the future of this amazing piece of infrastructure should help it get the increased attention it deserves.”

Read Runways to railways: unlocking the potential of the Channel Tunnel on Campaign for Better Transport’s website.