Channel Tunnel open again for HGVs

After the recent blaze in the Channel Tunnel, which was the third of its kind to hit the tunnel since its opening in 1994, it has finally re-opened for travel to and from France.

On Thursday September 11th, a fire broke out in the tunnel which caused it to close completely for 2 days. Since then the tunnel has been offering just two freight shuttle services, which have ran between the hours of 7am and 10pm, every two hours.

Now the tunnel has completely re-opened, so that haulage firms can begin transporting their goods to and from mainland Europe via the tunnel again.

The fire itself destroyed 27 HGVs, though no HGV drivers were harmed in the blaze as they all escaped to safety via the service tunnel.

John Keefe, who works for Eurotunnel, stated about the safety procedures that were followed:

‘What they were driving that was in that shuttle is toast but they walked out without a singe.’

Kent Police’ Allyn Thomas stated about the plans to setup a temporary lorry park:

‘It is abundantly clear that an alternative permanent solution must be found eventually. There is general agreement that a lorry park, wherever that may be adopted, remains one of the best options to help alleviate what is a recurring problem.’

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