Channel Tunnel operator LeShuttle orders six new Alexander Dennis Enviro200
LeShuttle operates shuttle trains for road vehicles through the Channel Tunnel between terminals at Folkestone and Calais.
In addition to passenger shuttles in which occupants remain in their vehicles, it runs freight shuttles for heavy goods vehicles where drivers travel in the Club Car at the front of the train. As LeShuttle trains are half a mile in length, the company uses a fleet of midibuses to take drivers along the platform from and to their lorries. It is now gearing up to replace some of its older fleet of step-entrance vehicles with brand new low-emission buses.
Six new 8.9m long Alexander Dennis Enviro200 will join LeShuttle in the coming months following their preparation at Alexander Dennis’s AD24 Service Centre in Harlow. This will see an additional door added on the driver’s side to enable flexible boarding from and alighting to both side of the bus, as trains can stop at either platform face.
Rod Hunt, Security Logistics & Transport Manager at LeShuttle, said: “It was an easy decision to return to Alexander Dennis for our new buses as the six similar, earlier-model Enviro200 we bought in 2015 and 2018 have performed extremely well. The combination of doors on both sides and low-floor access ensures that they can pick up and drop off drivers safely as well as quickly, and is a testament to Alexander Dennis’s great approach to meeting customer requirements.”
