Eurotunnel is to buy three new freight shuttles just days after learning it must sell its MyFerryLink business.

The Channel Tunnel operator will spend €40m (£31.3m) on the additions to its 15-strong fleet as it aims to carry two million trucks a year by 2020.

The three new shuttles are expected to increase capacity by 20%, allowing the company to run up to eight departures an hour at peak times, compared to six now.

Each 800 metres long, they will be built by WBN Waggonbrau Niesky GmbH, with 32 carrying wagons, three loader wagons and a carriage to transport the truck drivers.

Delivery is set for the end of 2016 and early 2017.

The move comes less than a week after Eurotunnel announced it has put its Dover to Calais ferry company MyFerryLink up for sale, following a ruling by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

It upheld a ban imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority which said the company had gained too much share of the cross-Channel market.

Eurotunnel chief operating officer Michel Boudoussier said: “As the world leader in the rolling motorway industry, Eurotunnel has been able to draw upon its 20 years of experience in the design of these third-generation shuttles.”