EUROTUNNEL is working on plans to take more freight off Kent's roads. After unveiling two new platforms and a 16th freight shuttle at the Cheriton terminal to expand lorry capacity, the tunnel operator admitted it needed to do more to relieve congestion on the county's motorways.

Eurotunnel's latest quarterly figures showed a worrying 47 per cent drop in rail freight but three per cent growth in lorry traffic (296,200 vehicles). Asylum seekers were blamed for much of the fall but Eurotunnel officials privately admit that even without the would-be immigrant problem - and the Sangatte camp closes within the next six months - the volume of rail freight is too low.

It is working on plans for a dedicated freight service, possibly from Lille to Daventry in the Midlands. Eurotunnel believes a regular, reliable service will restore customers' faith in rail freight.

After officially opening the two new freight platforms, each 900 metres long, Eurotunnel's chief executive Richard Shirrefs said: "The longer-term issue is how we get freight transferred onto rail which is clearly in Eurotunnel's and Kent's interests.

"We recognise the need to transfer the growth of freight off road and onto the rail network and we're working very hard on some ideas. We want support from the people of Kent in order to get that achieved."

That could mean building a terminal for so-called "piggyback" traffic, possibly in the county. Eurotunnel has identified several possible sites.

Mr Shirreffs said the £200 million investment in four new freight platforms - two in Cheriton and two in France - a new shuttle and a powerful 7MW loco, showed that Eurotunnel was committed to keeping its "rightful" share of the growing truck market, at present 40 per cent.

Meanwhile, Eurotunnel's total shuttle business rose by six per cent in the three months to September to £91 million, with extra revenue from cars and coaches.

But the number of passengers travelling by Eurostar fell seven per cent to 1.907,897. Rail freight fell 47 per cent to 338,241 tonnes.

Mr Shirrefs said Eurostar needed to look at its pricing policy, saying that passenger levels were half what the company predicted a few years ago.