The operators of Eurotunnel, Groupe Eurotunnel has said that it plans to introduce high-speed freight trains through the tunnel which connects the UK to the continental Europe.

The company is launching many initiatives to boost passenger and freight traffics. Eurotunnel is partnering with consortium developing high-speed rail freight called Carex for the initiative.

"We are working on a number of projects, including the Carex project, and we think that we can regenerate the railfreight business if we are able to have a service of high quality," said executive chairman of Groupe Eurotunnel, Mr. Jacques Gounon.

The company saw a significant fall in profit from €40million in 2008 to €1.4million in 2009 mainly due to a fall in demand and a fire accident. The revenues also fell from €704million in 2008 to €571million in 2009.

The company said that its 2009 revenues were down 18.9 per cent compared to last year because of drop in key market and the fire accident which restricted tunnel capacity until February 9 last year.

The company received €69m payment from insurers against an estimated cost of repairs and lost revenues of €250million. It is likely to announce a dividend of€0.04 per share

The high speed fright trains could be a serious competitor to some of the short haul flights.

The company is also working with the Germany's state-owned rail company, Deutsche Bahn to set up train services between London and Frankfurt, two import financial centers in Europe.

The working party set up by the two parties is examining how the German high speed trains could use the tunnel after satisfying its safety regulations.

The present regulations require the passenger trains to be at least 400m long so that the stopped train at least touches one emergency exit which are located 375m apart. The German high speed trains measure only 200m long unlike 400m long Eurostar trains.

The company reported its first profit in 2007 after its inception in1986. The modest profits were mainly due to a restructuring in 2007 which brought down its debts from €9.18billion to €5.85billion.

The shares of the company fell €0.10 in Paris to €7.60.