France and Britain plan to reject the European Commission’s request to lower charges for passenger and freight trains using the Channel Tunnel, the CEO of operator Eurotunnel said yesterday.

In June, the Commission gave both countries two months to respond to a request to lower the fees or face possible court action. It said excessively high track-access charges resulted in higher ticket prices for passengers of the Eurostar service linking London with Paris and Brussels.

“I met both ministers in person a couple of hours ago and they told me that both France and Britain would jointly reject the EU’s request,” Jacques Gounon said.

The French transport ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Britain’s Department for Transport said it could not immediately comment on the news.

Tunnel operator Eurotunnel charges a one-way reservation fee of €4,320 for Eurostar trains and €16.60 per passenger.

A spokeswoman for the Commission said in June that partly as a result of the high charges, 43 per cent of the tunnel’s capacity was not used. (Reuters)

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