UK backs £15 million Barking Eurohub upgrade for Channel Tunnel freight

The aim is the return of regular intermodal freight trains through the Channel Tunnel: whisky and consumer goods are to reach the continent faster, and fruit, vegetables and drinks from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain to reach Britain more directly.

The UK Department for Transport announced shortly before 3 March 2026 that direct freight trains through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and the continent are to become possible again soon. To this end Network Rail and the property developer Platform4, with government financial support, are taking over the Barking Eurohub freight terminal in east London permanently and expanding it into an international logistics hub with a budget of £15 million (about €17.2 million); the report gives no completion date. Network Rail had already pointed out the potential of expanded intermodal freight through the tunnel in a 2023 report, and once Great British Railways is set up it will be under a statutory duty to promote rail freight (LOK Report, 3 Mar 2026).