Getlink

Getlink
Societas Europaea
Traded as Euronext: GET
CAC Mid 60 Component
Industry Rail transport
Founded 1986
Headquarters Paris, France
Key people
 Jacques Gounon (Chairman & CEO) since 14 June 2005
Services Operation of Channel Tunnel infrastructure; freight rail transport; car shuttle train services
Revenue €1,207 million (2014)[1]
€334 million (2014)[1]
€57.1 million (2014)[1]
Total assets €7.363 billion (end 2014)[1]
Total equity €1.758 billion (end 2014)[1]
Number of employees
 3,959 (end 2014)[1]
Subsidiaries Europorte
Website www.getlinkgroup.com

Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a public company which manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between England and France, including the Eurotunnel Shuttle vehicle services, and earns revenue on other trains through the tunnel (DB Schenker freight and Eurostar passenger).

It is listed on both the Euronext London and Euronext Paris markets, and was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 19 July 2012.[2][3] The company is based in Paris.

The railway operation has 50.45 kilometres (31.35 mi) of double track railway in the main tunnels, plus extensive surface level terminal facilities at Folkestone in England and at Calais in France; the operation is entirely self contained, with connections near the two terminals to the respective national railway networks. Signalling and electric traction supply at 25 kV AC are also under Getlink control.

Train operation consists of shuttle trains conveying cars and coaches and other trains conveying heavy goods vehicles between the two terminals. Other trains using Getlink infrastructure are operated by the respective owners. In November 2017, Groupe Eurotunnel was rebranded Getlink.

History

The company was formed on 13 August 1986, with the objective of financing, building and operating a tunnel between England and France.[4] The company awarded a contract for the construction of the tunnel to TransManche Link (TML). The tunnel cost around £9.5bn to build, about double TML's original estimate of £4.7bn.[5]

The tunnel was financed partly from investment by shareholders and partly from £8bn of debt, and was officially opened on 6 May 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II, and President François Mitterrand.[4] In its first year of operation, the company lost £925m because of disappointing revenue from passengers and freight, together with heavy interest charges on its £8bn of debt.[6]

In April 2004, a dissident shareholder group led by Nicolas Miguet succeeded in taking control of the board. However, in February 2005, Jean-Louis Raymond, the Chief Executive appointed after the boardroom coup, resigned and Jacques Gounon took complete control becoming Chairman and Chief Executive.[7]

In July 2006, shareholders voted on a deal which would have seen half the debt, by then reduced to £6.2bn, exchanged for 87% of the equity.[8][9] However this plan failed, and on 2 August 2006, the company was placed into bankruptcy protection by a French court for six months.[10]

In May 2007, a new restructuring plan was approved by shareholders, whereby Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup agreed to provide £2.8bn of long term funding, the balance of the debt being exchanged for equity, and the shareholders agreed to waive the unlimited free travel and other perks that they had enjoyed.[11]

In June 2007, the company entered into a partnership through subsidiary Europorte 2 with the Port of Dunkirk relating to rail freight traffic; the company 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.[12][13]

Following the restructuring, Eurotunnel was able to announce a small net profit in 2007, of €1 million, for the first time in its existence.[14][15] Half year earnings for 2008 rose to €26 million (£20.6m). The net profit for 2008 was €40 million, despite the costs associated with traffic loss from September 2008 to February 2009, following a fire in the tunnel, and this allowed Eurotunnel to issue its first ever dividend of €0.04 per euro value.[16][17]

The return to financial health allowed the company 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.[18]

In December 2009, the company and SNCF acquired Veolia Cargo, 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 freight business. Socorail has not been announced as being rebranded.[19]

In January 2010, the Port of Dunkirk awarded the company a seven year concession, to operate its 200 km (124 miles) railway system.[20]

In June 2010, the company acquired British railfreight company First GBRf for £31 million from FirstGroup, to be merged into its Europorte. It was rebranded GB Railfreight[21][22]

On 11 June 2012, a bid by the company for three Channel ferries belonging to the former operator SeaFrance (in liquidation) for lease to another operator was accepted.[23] Eurotunnel acquired the assets of SeaFrance ferries Berlioz, Rodin and Nord Pas-de-Calais. They were chartered to start the MyFerryLink ferry company on 20 August 2012, owned by Eurotunnel.[24]

In the year 2015, statistics estimate that over 10.5 million passengers travelled on the Eurotunnel with 2,556,585 cars, 58,387 coaches and 1,483,741 goods vehicles making use of Eurotunnel's services.[25]

In November 2017, Groupe Eurotunnel was rebranded Getlink.[26][27]

Operations and services

Car shuttle

The company operates shuttle services with Eurotunnel Class 9 locomotives.

Freight

Europorte operates freight trains in France, as well as the cross channel freight services performed by Europorte 2 before 2009. Since the part acquisition of Veolia Cargo in 2009, it also provides rail transport services to industrial locations through Socorail.

Passenger services

Passenger services are operated by Eurostar, who has a practical monopoly on tunnel passenger services. Eurotunnel levies charges on Eurostar (currently £25 per passenger per return journey) and other operators for use of the tunnel.[28]

Deutsche Bahn planned to operate passenger trains between London and Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Cologne using the tunnel; planning started around 2005, but the plans were shelved in February 2014, because of the special safety and security requirements in the tunnel.[29]

Samphire Hoe

The company also owns the small nature reserve of Samphire Hoe on the coast of the United Kingdom, 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 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. [30]

Rolling stock

 Class  Image  Type   Top speed   Number   Routes operated   Built   Notes 
 mph  km/h 
Class 9 Electric locomotive 100 160 58 Channel Tunnel 1993 Used for vehicle shuttles
Class 92 Electric locomotive 87 140 16[31] Channel Tunnel 1993 Used by Europorte Channel for freight services
Class 0001 Diesel locomotive 60 100 5 Rescue locomotive 1992
Class 0031 Diesel locomotive 31 50 12 Shunting 1990

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Groupe Eurotunnel SE 2014 Registration Document Archived 18 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "History". Eurotunnel. 1984-11-30. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  5. ↑ O'Connell, Dominic (2006-01-08). "Channel tunnel project has made Britain £10bn poorer". The Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  6. ↑ Ipsen, Erik (1996-04-23). "Bank debt causes £925m loss at Eurotunnel". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  7. ↑ Norris, Floyd (11 June 2005). "Chief of Eurotunnel quits amid turmoil on board". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Eurotunnel faces debt opposition". BBC News. 4 June 2006. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009.
  9. ↑ Harrison, Michael (2006-07-14). "Eurotunnel blames Deutsche as it files for bankruptcy protection". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  10. ↑ "Eurotunnel gets court protection". BBC News. 2 August 2006. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2006.
  11. ↑ "Eurotunnel 'saved' by investors". BBC News. 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
  12. ↑ "Channel Tunnel freight deal follows crucial vote", www.railwaygazette.com, 1 July 2007
  13. ↑ "Eurotunnel and the Port of Dunkirk together on rail freight", www.usinenovelle.com (in French), 15 June 2007, archived from the original on 18 October 2015
  14. ↑ "Pour la première fois de son histoire, Eurotunnel est devenu bénéficiaire". Le Monde. 8 April 2008. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  15. ↑ "PEurotunnel reports first profit". BBC News. 8 April 2008. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  16. ↑ "Premier dividende pour les actionnaires d'Eurotunnel". Le Figaro. 4 March 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  17. ↑ "2008 Summary". Groupe Eurotunnel S.A. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  18. ↑ "Eurotunnel tourne la page de sa dette". Le Figaro. 28 October 2009. Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  19. ↑ Eurotunnel completes Veolia Cargo takeover Archived 25 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. James Faulkner 1 December 2009 www.ifw-net.com
  20. ↑ "DUNKERQUE PORT choisit EUROTUNNEL pour l'exploitation et la maintenance de son réseau férré", www.dunkerque-port.fr (in French), 13 January 2010, archived from the original on 19 June 2013
  21. ↑ FIRSTGROUP PLC : Disposal of rail freight business PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX , 1 June 2010 , via www.tradingmarkets.com
  22. ↑ Eurotunnel buys GBRf from FirstGroup Archived 18 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. 1 June 2010 , uk.reuters.com
  23. ↑ Wright, Robert (11 June 2012). "Eurotunnel to take over SeaFrance vessels". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  24. ↑ Smith, Peter C. (2012). Offshore Ferry Services of England and Scotland. Pen and Sword. p. 70. ISBN 9781848846654. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "Eurotunnel statistics for use during 2015". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  26. ↑ Eurotunnel rebrands as Getlink Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. International Railway Journal 20 November 2017
  27. ↑ Group Eurotunnel rebrands as Getlink Archived 2 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Railway Gazette International 20 November 2017
  28. ↑ "Interview with Eurostar Chief Executive" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  29. ↑ DB puts London - Frankfurt plans on ice, 19 February 2014, archived from the original on 28 July 2015
  30. ↑ "The Discount Airline Model Is Coming for Europe's Railways". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2018-08-17.
  31. ↑ "Eurotunnel's Rail Buy". Daily Express. 19 July 2011. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2011.

Further reading

  • "Eurotunnel operations in profit for the first time". RAIL. No. 325. EMAP Apex Publications. 25 February – 10 March 1998. p. 9. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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