Crisis as Ford switches to ferries
The Channel Tunnel freight link is today facing a mounting crisis after one of its biggest users switched virtually all movements from rail to road following disruption by asylum seekers.
Ford is now using ferries to move thousands of cars from the Continent after attempts by refugees to board trains forced French national rail operator SNCF to shut the freight link for three days last week. Most trains remain cancelled.
The car manufacturer had previously brought in up to five trains a week, each carrying 200 cars, from its plants in Saarlouis, Germany, and Valencia, Spain.
A spokesman for Ford, one of the top five users of the freight link, said: "We are now finding other routes by road, mostly using ferry crossings from Zeebrugge."
Jaguar, a Ford subsidiary, says it has also stopped using the tunnel to export its X-type models to Italy and France. It is now sending its cars by road and then on by ship.
The moves by Ford and Jaguar will be a heavy blow for English Welsh & Scottish, which runs the service with SNCF. A spokesman said: "SNCF have said they are urging the French authorities to support them and get more police, but they haven't come up with the final answer."
A government official last night defended ministers against accusations they were not doing enough to restore the freight link. " Government will continue to press the French authorities to resolve the problem as soon as possible," said a transport official.
British Red Cross leaders are to stage a crisis meeting with their French counterparts over fears that chaos at the Sangatte refugee camp near Calais is damaging the organisation. British Red Cross chief executive Sir Nicholas Young is expected to ask the French Red Cross and the authorities to do more to prevent refugees abusing the camp's humanitarian function.
