Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel is boosting shuttle capacity and speed ahead of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games.

It expects a surge of business from the continent and is bringing an additional half shuttle - a so-called rake - into service to transport cars between Calais and Folkestone.

The new rake has cost around £800,000. It entered service this morning in Coquelles, near Calais, after a VIP launch by French Olympic rhythmic gymnast Delphine Ledoux.

The rake is 400m long, with 14 wagons and two locomotives.

Since September, the project has taken 250,000 hours of work, 322 km of cabling and the installation of 89,000 parts and components.

Eurotunnel is also increasing the speed of the shuttles from 140 km/h to 160 km/h, which will reduce crossing times to less than 30 minutes, enabling five departures an hour in each direction.

Jacques Gounon, Eurotunnel group chairman and chief executive, said: "Eurotunnel is looking forward to the Olympic Games in London where the values of performance, innovation and rigour, to which we adhere, will be celebrated.

"We have invested and we are ready to meet the growing demand from our customers."