First and foremost I would like to reiterate that this work was carried out by myself as a piece of (academic) research and has no direct relation to my (at the time) work at the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), nor does it represent the work or opinion of the SRA.
I found that your article failed to mention the large benefits that the construction of the tunnel has brought to consumers, as it provided the necessary competition to drive ferry prices down. In fact this has been one of Eurotunnel's big problems: the competition it stimulated - or even created - as it resulted in fewer passengers and lower revenues. In this sense, the construction of the tunnel has been very beneficial to UK consumers, as there has been a significant transfer of benefits from ferries (and the tunnel itself) to users.
I am not saying that benefits to users are more legitimate than those to investors/shareholders of the companies providing the services. However, given the very large price reductions that the ferry operators managed to achieve - albeit after significant investment in their fleets - and remain profitable, this seems to suggest that the ferries were operating almost on monopolistic profits, and as such the tunnel has had a positive effect on competition.
On a separate point, I think it is important to focus on the present and future. My study is an ex-post evaluation, carried out just 10 years after the start of operations. However, I also looked at some potential scenarios looking forward, considering the current delicate financial situation of Eurotunnel. It is clear that given its debt size and structure that Eurotunnel's position is very fragile. The current debt will require some sort of restructuring in the very near future.
Equally important, on the same point, is the fact that all parties concerned in the renegotiation and restructuring of this large debt - and that includes the many lenders, current management, UK and French governments, the European Commission, and so on, should recognise the importance and potential of such a brilliant piece of infrastructure. If the right conditions can be agreed and established, the tunnel can still provide the UK with very large benefits.
Advertisement
Ricard Anguera
Barcelona, Spain