Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission

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Joint Economic Committee

The gradual opening of the railway market to competition has been effective for freight since April 2009 and for the international carriage of passengers since December 2009, for the Channel Tunnel as well as the national rail networks.

The Binational Regulation of 23 July 2009 (Article 12) has designated the IGC as the regulatory body under the European Directive 2001/14/EC with responsibility for oversight of the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and charges for its use.

The IGC is specifically responsible for ensuring that the railway companies using the tunnel have adequate information and fair treatment and non-discriminatory access to the Tunnel.

A railway undertaking or international group which feels discriminated against, or has a complaint about related matters can appeal to the IGC.

The Joint Economic Committee, composed of experts from both countries, is responsible for advising and assisting the IGC in its economic regulatory role.

The Joint Economic Committee of the IGC produced a report into Eurotunnel’s economic model in October 2011. The report includes analysis of the structure of Groupe Eurotunnel, and the results of the JEC’s initial investigations into how Eurotunnel allocates costs across its different companies, and how charges are set in the Tunnel.

This report is very much a starting point and has informed the development of the JEC’s work plan for 2011-12. The report has been prepared with Eurotunnel’s co-operation, and their comments on the report are included as a separate Annex.

JEC Eurotunnel Report Word (624 kb)
Eurotunnel Annex Word (72 kb)

Channel Tunnel 2012 Report of the Joint Economic Committee to the IGC 4 October 2012