Getlink, the French parent company of Eurotunnel, has pulled the plug on major Anglo-French rail freight plans, blaming what it calls “unsustainable” UK taxation. The operator of the Channel Tunnel says it will no longer pursue the reopening of a key intermodal terminal on the English side of the Channel and has halted proposals for a new dedicated container train service.
The company confirmed it has frozen planned UK freight investment, arguing that recent and proposed fiscal measures have rendered the business case “non-viable.” The most visible casualties are plans to revive the Barking international container terminal in east London and a direct Lille-London intermodal service—both now suspended indefinitely.
Tax burden at the centre of dispute
The announcements come in the run-up to the UK government’s annual budget, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves expected to signal tax rises affecting businesses and consumers. Eurotunnel argues that higher costs will depress demand while eroding margins on cross-Channel traffic. On top of that, the company is in long-running discussions with the UK Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which sets asset-based taxation, over a significant increase in business rates.
According to Eurotunnel, the VOA is proposing to raise its UK business rates liability by around 200%, from GB£22 million to GB£65 million a year. The company claims that would push overall UK tax levels close to 75% of earnings. Eurotunnel has branded the proposal “unjustified and confiscatory” and says it puts the long-term development of cross-Channel rail freight at risk.
“All our plans are becoming unsustainable”
CEO Yann Leriche told UK broadcasters that the current tax regime threatens the viability of Eurotunnel’s investment strategy. “All our investments, all our plans are becoming unsustainable,” he said in an interview with the BBC. “To face such an increase is a real issue for us. Because we know, in rail, we invest for the long term.”
After 18 months of discussions, no agreement has been reached with the VOA. Eurotunnel says it will use “all measures at its disposal – including legal action” under the 1986 Franco-British concession, which gives the operator grounds to challenge unilateral changes that undermine cross-Channel operations.
Complex commercial backdrop
The dispute unfolds amid wider shifts in the Channel Tunnel market. Getlink controls several businesses linked to the infrastructure, including ElecLink (an electricity interconnector), Europorte (a freight traction provider), and Eurotunnel itself, which operates the Le Shuttle road vehicle service.
Although often confused with Eurotunnel, Eurostar—a separate company—runs high-speed passenger services through the Tunnel. After decades as the sole passenger operator, it now faces potential competition, with new entrants such as Virgin Group and startup “Gemini” (not the shipping alliance) exploring routes between London and continental Europe. That liberalisation has already forced Eurostar to give up exclusive access to a London maintenance depot.
Barking: a strategic but underused asset
The most tangible freight setback is the shelving of plans to revive Barking, the only UK terminal capable of receiving Channel Tunnel rail freight in the larger “Continental gauge” used across Europe. Built to serve as a transhipment hub, Barking was once seen as a gateway for international rail freight, even receiving a landmark “New Silk Road” train from China less than a decade ago. Yet it has been dormant for years, reflecting the broader underuse of the tunnel’s freight capacity. Eurotunnel’s Lille-London service was intended to help change that.
The withdrawal from Barking and the suspension of the Lille freight proposals highlight the risks UK fiscal policy poses to long-term, capital-intensive rail projects. Rail freight growth in the Channel Tunnel —important for trade and decarbonisation—now appears further out of reach. Ironically, some of the strongest criticism of UK financial policy is coming not from domestic industry, but from companies whose operations and interests are decidedly French.