AbstractThe Channel Tunnel, due to open in 1993, will provide a high-speed rail link between Britain and France. In this paper various scenarios are considered relating to the volume of freight which may be transported during the initial years following the opening of the tunnel. The aim is to judge whether the planned provision for freight service will be adequate in dealing with the demand. The methodology employed is that of bulk-service queueing theory; in particular, an approximate time-dependent solution to the relevant bulk-service queue is derived.