the tunnel it operates see channel tunnel . groupe eurotunnel se type societas europaea traded as euronext get industry rail transport founded 1986 headquarters paris france key people jacques gounon chairman and ceo services operation of channel tunnel infrastructure ; freight rail transport ; car shuttle train services revenue 1 207 million 2014 1 operating income 334 million 2014 1 profit 57.1 million 2014 1 total assets 7.363 billion end 2014 1 total equity 1.758 billion end 2014 1 number of employees 3 959 end 2014 1 subsidiaries europorte gb railfreight myferrylink 2 website www.eurotunnelgroup.com groupe eurotunnel se manages and operates the channel tunnel between britain and france including the vehicle shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains db schenker freight and eurostar passenger through the tunnel . it is listed on both the euronext london and euronext paris markets and was listed on the london stock exchange until 19 july 2012 . 3 4 the company is based in paris . the railway operation has 50.45 kilometres 31.35 mi of double track railway in the main tunnels plus extensive surface level terminal facilities at folkestone in the uk and at coquelles near calais in france ; the operation is entirely self contained with connections near the two terminals to the respective national railway networks . signalling and electric traction supply at 25 kv ac are also under eurotunnel control . train operation consists of shuttle trains conveying cars and coaches and other trains conveying heavy goods vehicles between the two terminals . other trains using eurotunnel infrastructure are operated by the respective owners . contents 1 history 2 operations and services 2.1 car shuttle 2.2 freight 2.3 passenger services 3 rolling stock 4 see also 5 references 6 further reading 7 external links history edit the company was formed on 13 august 1986 with the objective of financing building and operating a tunnel between great britain and france . 5 the company awarded a contract for the construction of the tunnel to transmanche link tml . the tunnel cost around 9.5 bn to build about double tml s original estimate of 4.7 bn . 6 the tunnel was financed partly from investment by shareholders and partly from 8bn of debt and was officially opened on 6 may 1994 by hm queen elizabeth ii and president fran ois mitterrand . 5 in its first year of operation the company lost 925m because of disappointing revenue from passengers and freight together with heavy interest charges on its 8bn of debt . 7 in april 2004 a dissident shareholder group led by nicolas miguet succeeded in taking control of the board . however in february 2005 jean louis raymond the chief executive appointed after the boardroom coup resigned and jacques gounon took complete control becoming chairman and chief executive . 8 in july 2006 shareholders voted on a deal which would have seen half the debt by then reduced to 6.2 bn exchanged for 87 % of the equity . 9 10 however this plan failed and on 2 august 2006 the company was placed into bankruptcy protection by a french court for six months . 11 in may 2007 a new restructuring plan was approved by shareholders whereby deutsche bank goldman sachs and citigroup agreed to provide 2.8 bn of long term funding the balance of the debt being exchanged for equity and the shareholders agreed to waive the unlimited free travel and other perks that they had enjoyed . 12 in june 2007 the company entered into a partnership through subsidiary europorte 2 with the port of dunkirk relating to rail freight traffic ; the company was to operate trains from dunkirk to the delta 3 logistics terminal at dourges and collaborate on container shipments to the uk using the port of dunkirk via the tunnel . 13 14 following the restructuring eurotunnel was able to announce a small net profit in 2007 of 1 million for the first time in its existence . 15 16 half year earnings for 2008 rose to 26 million 20.6 m . the net profit for 2008 was 40 million despite the costs associated with traffic loss from september 2008 to february 2009 following a fire in the tunnel and this allowed eurotunnel to issue its first ever dividend of 0.04 per euro value . 17 18 the return to financial health allowed the company to announce on 28 october 2009 the anticipated voluntary redemption of some of its convertible debt . by anticipating to november 2009 the reimbursement of debt due in july 2010 it aimed to issue up to 119.4 million new ordinary shares and thus shore up its capital while reducing its debt load . 19 in late 2009 the company and sncf acquired veolia cargo splitting the business between them . the company took over french operations veolia cargo france veolia cargo link and cfta cargo are expected to be rebranded europorte france europorte link and europorte proximity and become part of its europorte freight business . socorail has not been announced as being rebranded . 20 in january 2010 the port of dunkirk awarded the company a seven year concession to operate its 200 km 124 miles railway system . 21 in june 2010 the company acquired british railfreight company firstgbrf for 31 million to be merged into its europorte . 22 23 on 11 june 2012 a bid by the company for three channel ferries belonging to the former operator seafrance in liquidation for lease to another operator was accepted . 24 on the 11 june 2012 eurotunnel acquired the assets of seafrance ferries berlioz rodin and nord pas de calais . they were chartered to start the myferrylink ferry company on 20 august 2012 owned by eurotunnel . citation needed operations and services edit car shuttle edit main article eurotunnel shuttle the company operates shuttle services with eurotunnel class 9 locomotives . freight edit main article europorte europorte operates freight trains in france as well as the cross channel freight services performed by europorte 2 before 2009 . since the part acquisition of veolia cargo in 2009 it also provides rail transport services to industrial locations through socorail . passenger services edit passenger services are operated by eurostar who has a practical monopoly on tunnel passenger services . eurotunnel levies charges on eurostar currently 25 per passenger per return journey and other operators for use of the tunnel . 25 deutsche bahn planned to operate passenger trains between london and frankfurt amsterdam and cologne using the tunnel ; planning started around 2005 but the plans were shelved in 2014 because of the special safety and security requirements in the tunnel . 26 rolling stock edit class image type top speed number routes operated built notes mph km h class 9 electric locomotive 100 160 58 channel tunnel 1993 used for vehicle shuttles class 92 electric locomotive 87 140 16 27 channel tunnel 1993 used by europorte channel for freight services class 0001 diesel locomotive 60 100 5 rescue locomotive 1992 class 0031 diesel locomotive 31 50 12 shunting 1990 see also edit high speed rail in europe irish sea tunnel references edit a b c d e f groupe eurotunnel se 2014 registration document http www.eurotunnelgroup.com uploadedfiles assets uk media press releases 2013 press releases 130606 getvscc uk.pdf http www.eurotunnelgroup.com uploadedfiles assets uk media press releases 2012 press releases 120719nyse euronext londres uk.pdf http www.eurotunnelgroup.com uploadedfiles assets uk media press releases 2012 press releases 120620nyx welcomes groupe eurotunnel.pdf a b history . eurotunnel . 1984 11 30 . archived from the original on 2010 11 23 . retrieved 2010 04 27 . o connell dominic 2006 01 08 . channel tunnel project has made britain 10bn poorer . the times . archived from the original on 2011 06 12 . retrieved 2013 12 17 . ipsen erik 1996 04 23 . bank debt causes 925m loss at eurotunnel . international herald tribune . retrieved 2010 04 27 . dead link norris floyd 2005 06 11 . chief of eurotunnel quits amid turmoil on board . the new york times . retrieved 2013 12 17 . eurotunnel faces debt opposition . bbc news . 2006 06 04 . harrison michael 2006 07 14 . eurotunnel blames deutsche as it files for bankruptcy protection . the independent . london . archived from the original on 2007 11 20 . retrieved 2010 05 02 . eurotunnel gets court protection . bbc news . 2006 08 02 . retrieved 2006 08 03 . eurotunnel saved by investors . bbc news . 2007 05 25 . retrieved 2007 05 26 . channel tunnel freight deal follows crucial vote www.railwaygazette.com 1 july 2007 eurotunnel and the port of dunkirk together on rail freight www.usinenovelle.com in french 15 june 2007 pour la premi re fois de son histoire eurotunnel est devenu b n ficiaire . le monde . 2008 04 08 . retrieved 2008 07 19 . peurotunnel reports first profit . bbc news . 2008 04 08 . retrieved 2009 10 28 . premier dividende pour les actionnaires d eurotunnel . le figaro . 2009 03 04 . retrieved 2009 03 04 . 2008 summary . groupe eurotunnel s.a. 2009 03 23 . retrieved 2009 10 28 . eurotunnel tourne la page de sa dette . le figaro . 2009 10 28 . retrieved 2009 10 28 . eurotunnel completes veolia cargo takeover james faulkner 1 12 2009 www.ifw net.com dunkerque port choisit eurotunnel pour l exploitation et la maintenance de son r seau f rr www.dunkerque port.fr in french 13 january 2010 firstgroup plc disposal of rail freight business permanent dead link pr newswire europe via comtex 1 6 2010 via www.tradingmarkets.com eurotunnel buys gbrf from firstgroup 1 6 2010 uk.reuters.com wright robert 2012 06 11 . eurotunnel to take over seafrance vessels . financial times . retrieved 2012 06 14 . interview with eurostar chief executive pdf . retrieved 2010 04 27 . db puts london frankfurt plans on ice february 19 2014 eurotunnel s rail buy . daily express . 2011 07 19 . retrieved 2011 08 18 . further reading edit eurotunnel operations in profit for the first time . rail . no. 325 . emap apex publications . 25 february 10 march 1998 . p. 9 . issn 0953 4563 . oclc 49953699 . external links edit listen to this article info dl this audio file was created from a revision of the eurotunnel article dated 2005 07 11 and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article . audio help more spoken articles official website v t e channel tunnel construction transmanche link lgv nord high speed 1 folkestone terminal calais terminal corporate eurotunnel group eurostar u.k. ltd. sncf nmbs sncb passenger services eurostar freight services eurotunnel shuttle europorte channel trains eurotunnel class 0001 eurotunnel class 0031 eurotunnel class 9 british rail class 92 british rail class 373 british rail class 374 other rail transport in france rail transport in the united kingdom channel tunnel safety authority 1996 channel tunnel fire 2008 channel tunnel fire cycling in the channel tunnel v t e cac next 20 companies of france air france klm arkema bureau veritas casino guichard cgg dassault syst mes edenred eurotunnel herm s gemalto kl pierre lagard re natixis scor ses sodexo suez environnement thales valeo wendel v t e railway infrastructure companies africa algeria anesrif asia japan japan railway construction transport and technology agency railway technical research institute south korea korea rail network authority iran railway services and technical construction engineering company rstc co. europe austria bb infrastruktur belgium infrabel bulgaria nric croatia hz infrastruktura czech republic spr va elezni n dopravn cesty denmark banedanmark estonia evr infra france sncf r seau rff eurotunnel finland finnish rail administration germany db netze greece hellenic railways organisation hungary magyar llamvasutak italy rete ferroviaria italiana lithuania ldz infrastrukt ra luxembourg communaut de transports acc s r seau montenegro icg netherlands prorail keyrail infraspeed norway norwegian national