I’ve heard a couple of rumours about the price of the weekend fuel runs going up to £100 each way (currently £65) but also that they were stopping them.
So like in so many cases with rumours in this industry:roll: it’s always best to go straight to the horses mouth.
I ring the freight section up and this is how the conversation went:-
Me “Hello I use your service to do a fuel run at the weekends but I’ve heard a rumour that you will no longer be providing this service soon,is that true?”
reply " Oh yes it is true we have looked the amount of traffic we will have coming through the terminal for the next year and the solo tractor units take up too much room on the train"
Me " So what would happen if I just turned up anyway how much would you charge me?"
reply “We would charge £750 each way”
Me “ok I dont think I’ll bother then”
point
a, Too much room - solo tractor■■?
b, Trains are usually half empty anyway
c, How do they know exactly how many vehicles are going to use the train for
the next year
d, £750
ps for the doubters the number is 01303 288660 ring and ask for yourself
Well if you take a trailer and pay £240 and a solo unit costs £750 it is no wonder the company is in the ■■■■
It doesnt matter anyway because you will end up bailing them out with government handouts from your income tax.
The best thing could happen is that the eurotunnel service goes bust, that way the ferries will improve the services with fair competition between each other
I’m sure that there will be legislations stopping this… But… £750 for a solo unit, or £240 for unit and trailer so get a low loaded stick 2 units on it and the unit to tow the low loader thats £80 each for three of you to do a fuel run.
Sorry Martt but anybody who doesn’t pre-book the exact amount of journeys required for the whole year in advance will be charged £750 per trip.
Also there was a compny (from yorkshire i think) doing just that and they stopped him going over with the lowloader and made him drive each unit over individually.
north surrey haulage:
Sorry Martt but anybody who doesn’t pre-book the exact amount of journeys required for the whole year in advance will be charged £750 per trip.
And the dipsticks that run the thing wonder why they’re not making money!
As you say,the trains are running half empty most of the time anyway,surely they should be trying to attract as much traffic as possible!
Betz stopped using it last July/August after the last price increase and only send a really urgent load through the tunnel now.
well i for one would never ever use the train.the ferry gives a well earned rest after travelling down from london…its at least a 2 hour drive to folkestone…ha ha …i love the ferries and the competition is hotting up…norfolk line is the cheapest…but a bit smelly on board…but who cares for an hour and a bit …and as for the tunnell going bankrupt…it will never ever happen in a million years…its been built.its open…and will stay that way…only change will be the owners…and that could be french…at least the fishermen couldnt block it or stop it from running…but on the same thread,why do we have to pay anyway to cross borders…it should be subsidised by brussels…otherwise its restricting our movements under the human rights legislation, and puts us at a disadvantage…dream on …
We had the Euro Tunnel rep round last week, wanted to know how many movements a year we can do so he can work out a price for us for the new year.
They are going to hammer the casual user who only use them when ferries are on strike bad weather etc
Still waiting for prices to materialise?
Ashford truck stop is in process of being sold to a private concern, with rumours of houses being built on there in the next couple of years.
Chanel Ports Ahford clearance dept is now in the Tunnel building beside the burger van, had a load to Basle Switzerland on thursday customs wanted to inspect it waited 4 hours for them to come from Dover they arrive en masse 5 of them to check 6 pallets on a sprinter they proceeded to open 5 of the six pallets then buggered off leaving them in a poor condition.
Finally get the clearance only to find theres a train stuck in the tunnel ok i’m off to Dover to catch a ferry, waited long enough here LOL.
Shaun if we get a decent rate i’ll let you know, I know you depend on that trip out to try and keep fuel costs down.
its because there’s a new sheriff in town and he has decided that the best way to run the operation is to cut down on the empty carriages which means cutting down on the amount of train journeys at times when the flow of traffic is low thus meaning that trucks may sometimes have to wait for longer periods.
it’s a bit like at the funfair when the waltzer has empty cars and they hold the ride until they get more riders.
as for the prices, they are going to price themselves out of the cross channel market.
companies predicting the amount of crossings they will make in a year will face a double edged sword, if they send too few trucks via the tunnel they will be financially penalised and if they send too many they will also be penalised financially.
it reads like if you quote 2000 crossings a year you may get a discount equvalent to £200 per crossing but if you only make 1000 of those crossings or make 3000 crossings you will have to pay £750 (the full crossing rate) for the entire amount.
so operators are going to have to spend time making sure they monitor the amount of crossings they make to ensure they remain within the scope predicted plus the percentage allowed in excess or minus that amount.
