21.11.17
Eurotunnel rebrand: a more ‘Anglo-Saxon’ name?
The owners of Eurotunnel have decided to change its name to Getlink, a move which the company described as “very Anglo-Saxon.”
Despite the company operating across both England and France it has decided to change its name as it looks to “take on the challenges of new forms of mobility.”
Previously called Groupe Eurotunnel, the company is responsible for Eurotunnel; Europorte, a major French rail freight operator; ElecLink, the future electrical interconnector between the UK and France; and CIFFCO, a key private European railway training centre.
It also owned GB Railfreight before the company’s sale in November last year, using the money to boost core infrastructure work.
Some people believe the move is a way for the firm to make itself seem like a more British company as Brexit fast approaches, but the company did not directly confirm this.
Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive of Getlink, said: “The core mission for Getlink is the development and management of safe, modern and environmentally-friendly mobility infrastructures, a challenge taken up with success by the 3,300 employees serving more than 20 million passengers and thousands of businesses in the United Kingdom, France and across Europe”.
When Britain’s exit from the EU was confirmed, Groupe Eurotunnel was quick to establish that this would not affect services, but with so little certainty surrounding the outcome of the process it is difficult to see how it might manifest in the rail industry.
Many organisations and figures in the sector have warned that a clear plan is needed to ensure there are no negative or adverse effects, while Chris Burchell, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, has previously urged the government to set out post-Brexit investment to shore-up security for the industry.
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