Safety and security

Safety, a permanent imperative

Inscribe a tthe very heart of railway culture, the safety of customers, employees, sub-contractors and all other stakeholders is an intangible principle which guides all of Getlink’s actions. Safety constitutes a principal requirement which has been taken into account since the Channel Tunnel was designed to make it one of the safest and most efficient transport infrastructures in the world.

The Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) created by the Treaty of Canterbury on 14 March 1986, represents the 2 States (France and the UK) awarding the Concession for the cross-Channel Fixed Link until 2086. The IGC aims to facilitate Channel Tunnel operations and, in collaboration with the Safety Authority made up of independent experts, adopt all regulation required for the Concession to run smoothly, particularly in terms of safety.

Safe stations: to protect the infrastructure and guarantee its availability

The four SAFE fire-fighting Stations, conceived by Eurotunnel’s experts and deployed in 2011, contributes to guarantee maximum system availability in any eventuality and, above all, enhances the long-term sustainability of the cross-Channel Fixed Link.

Getlink - safe station - Safety & security In the event of a fire occurring on board a Truck Shuttle, once all risks have been eliminated for the passengers, the driver can either drive the train to a SAFE station to extinguish the fire, or drive it out of the Tunnel, outside where firefighting tracks are located near the two portal entrances. The Safe stations are equipped with an innovative system of water projection which comes into play, spraying a pressurised water mist designed to immediately extinguish the fire. This patented system, unique in the world, has further increased the safety level of the Tunnel, which was already exceptional at its inception.

Workplace safety for employees and subcontractors: a major challenge

From 2018, Getlink and its subsidiaries et ses filiales have set up a continuous improvement approach based on the difinition of clear objectives and specific actions to achieve them as well as the assessment of relevant indicators. Different initiatives contribute to improve rail safety performance :

maintaining an approach to improve safety culture and management commitment on sites
enhancing safety communications to staff
continuing safety training courses
improving management and monitoring action plans linked to safety events
strengthening the sub-contractor monitoring and selection process.

Getlink is working on a big data project to help prevent work-related accidents, based on the analysis of big data items over the past six years, from which algorithms are used to identify combinations of factors that may lead to work-related accidents and to take effective preventive actions.

Frequency rate of lost-time work-related accidents in 2021:

4.6

The frequency rate of lost-time work-related accidents was 4.6 in 2021, down slightly compared to 5.0 in 2020. These accidents that mainly occurred during travel or manual handling (without mechanical tools) have been analysed and corrective actions taken. The Group is maintaining its efforts in the area of safety, which remains a top priority: continuous availability of the first-line management, strong commitment from the Executive Committee, strengthening of safety teams within the operational departments and an awareness campaign towards staff.

Severity rate of work-related accidents in 2021:

0.4

The annual "Safety Week" at Europorte and the continuation of the safety awareness campaign at Eurotunnel have also contributed to inspire safety culture through video spots featuring the operational teams. All of these actions have also contributed to stabilise the Group's severity rate of work-related accidents at a low level of 0.4 in 2021.

It also enables testing of the emergency services response and their effective coordination in the event of an accident inside the Channel Tunnel. Eurotunnel and the Public Authorities organise each year such full-scale exercise called BINAT. The latest exercise, which took place in the automn 2021 in the form of a tabletop exercise due to the public health crisis, was the 31th since the end of the construction of the Tunnel and the 25th since the opening of the services in 1994.

A comprehensive security plan

Security means ensuring the safety of people ( customers, employees of Eurotunnel and subcontractors) and goods, protecting the integrity of facilities and enabling authorities to carry out effective border controls.

The security of such a strategic infrastructure as the Channel Tunnel, which provides a vital link between the United Kingdom and the Continent, is a crucial priority for the public authorities in both France and the UK, as well as for Eurotunnel.

The Group was entrusted by the Treaty of Canterbury, signed on 12 February 1986 to be the Concessionaire for the cross-Channel Fixed Link. This founding document set out the respective responsibilities of the States and the Concessionaire regarding security. Eurotunnel, which has no police powers or any authority for border control, is required to provide the governments with the means to exercise their sovereign responsibilities.

Security plan

Security plan During the 2015 migrant crisis in Coquelles (France), seamless cooperation with both governments was reflected in the implementation of a multi-year action plan by Getlink which put a stop to the intrusion attempts on the Eurotunnel site and to the disruption to operations.