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LeShuttle
The Shuttle trains that carry cars, coaches and lorries through the Channel Tunnel between its terminals at Folkestone and Coquelles, by Calais. LeShuttle carries cars and coaches, with their passengers staying in their vehicles; LeShuttle Freight carries lorries, whose drivers ride in a club car. It was called Eurotunnel Le Shuttle until 2023.
Facts
- Current operator since
- 6 May 1994
- Main stations
- Folkestone terminal, Coquelles terminal
- Type
- Vehicle-carrying shuttle trains through the Channel Tunnel
- Depots
- Main routes
- Folkestone (Cheriton) to Coquelles, by Calais, terminal to terminal: 35 minutes platform to platform; two to four car and coach Shuttles and four to seven lorry Shuttles an hour, depending on traffic.
- Operating company
- Getlink, which owns and runs the Channel Tunnel
- Shares track
- The Channel Tunnel's two running tunnels, with Eurostar and freight trains. The Shuttles never leave the tunnel and its two terminals.
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
1 car, 72 ft (22.0 m)
Through the tunnel
LeShuttle’s trains run through the Channel Tunnel: 50.5 km from portal to portal, 37.9 km of it under the sea. The tunnel, its maps and cross section →
Routes 1 routes · 2 stations
Schematic, not to scale. Ringed stations are interchanges. Each strip is one service route with its stations in order, as the operator publishes them, entered by hand (see Sources); it doesn't show which trains call where.
| Station | Interchanges |
|---|---|
| Folkestone terminal | |
| Coquelles terminal |
Stations from the operator’s published routes, entered by hand (see Sources).
Fleet
| Class | Units | Formation and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eurotunnel Class 9 | 58 | Bo-Bo-Bo electric locomotives, one at each end of every Shuttle |
| Channel Tunnel Shuttle wagons | 9 car and coach Shuttles and 15 lorry Shuttles |
History 3
- The Channel Tunnel opens, with the Shuttle service.
- The third generation of lorry Shuttles enters service.
- Eurotunnel Le Shuttle is renamed LeShuttle.
Sources 4
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
- LeShuttle Wikipedia, read 29 October 2026the service, its fleet, lengths, crossing time and frequency, its names
- Revenue 2025 (shuttle traffic in 2025) Getlink, 22 January 20262,234,093 passenger vehicles and 1,163,124 lorries in 2025; the names LeShuttle and LeShuttle Freight
- Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal; Eurotunnel Calais Terminal; Samphire Hoe; Sangatte Wikipedia, read 27 October 2026the two terminals
- Navette Eurotunnel French Wikipedia, read 27 October 2026the cross-check: 2,625 ft (800 m) and 18 lorry Shuttles
- The fleet, lengths and service pattern are Wikipedia's; French Wikipedia gives 18 lorry Shuttles and 2,625 ft (800 m) for the car Shuttles
- The name: Wikipedia and Getlink's 2025 traffic release (read through search results) say LeShuttle; the operator's own site isn't yet checked
- The 2025 count of passenger vehicles is Getlink's release as read through search results
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