Eurotunnel has prepared for the London 2012 Olympic Games with the addition of an extra half shuttle, to transport passenger vehicles through the Channel Tunnel.

At the same time, the speed of the passenger shuttles has been increased to 160 kph (normally 140kph), reducing the crossing time to 30 minutes (normally 35 minutes).

As part of its ongoing partnership with Eurolines, coach transport provider for the Olympic Games, the timetable has been intensified in order to enable high levels of coaches to cross early in the morning, to ensure that spectators can arrive in London in time for the morning sessions of the Olympic events.

Additional booths have been put into service to speed up frontier controls and increase the flow of traffic.

During the Olympic Games significant peaks of traffic are expected between the Continent and the UK.

The announcement came as the organisation released results for the first half of the financial year.

Revenues for the six months to June rose 14 per cent to €473 million compared with a year ago, although net profit was unchanged at €5 million.

Eurostar passenger numbers also rose by three per cent.