The UK’s exit from the European Union has resulted in the gradual establishment of a new legal framework applicable to the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link in terms of railway regulation.

Four UK-French agreements have been signed:

1. The agreement on railway company licences, which entered into force in March 2022;
2. The agreement on train driver's licences and supplementary certificates, which entered into force in March 2022;
3. The agreement on the safety certification of railway undertakings, signed on 8 February 2023;
4. The agreement on security and interoperability requirements, signed on 9 April 2025.

On 14 April 2022, the IGC consulted Channel Tunnel stakeholders on a draft binational regulation aligning, as far as possible, the safety and interoperability rules applicable on both sides of the border in the Fixed Link. The consultation ran until May 31, 2022.

Consultation on the draft IGC Regulation

List of organisations consulted by the IGC letter of 14 April 2022

Following discussions between French authorities and the European Commission to validate the conformity of the draft IGC regulation with European law, it became an intergovernmental agreement, signed by the competent ministers on 9 April 2025 in London.

This agreement was ratified by the UK Parliament in June 2025 and is expected to enter into force in 2026, as is the agreement on the safety certification of railway undertakings.

Upon the entry into force of these two agreements, the IGC will cease to be the safety authority for the UK part of the Fixed Link and this competence will be transferred to ORR.