Ready to roll! Eurotunnel terminal images show border staff gearing up for Brexit as a giant real-time traffic display in the on-site control centre kicks into service

• Eurotunnel staff gearing up in Folkestone, Kent ahead of scheduled Brexit date
• Preparations underway at ‘pitstop’ area for checking any heavy goods vehicles 
• Large real-time display board in the Rail Control Centre is also being put to use
• Comes as Boris Johnson released his Brexit blueprint in hope of a deal with EU 

Eurotunnel staff are preparing for Brexit ahead of Boris Johnson’s ‘do or die’ pledge to leave the European Union by October 31.

With just 28 days to go until Britain is scheduled to depart, Eurotunnel staff have been carrying out final preparations at the ‘pitstop’ area in Folkestone, Kent where heavy goods vehicles are checked ahead of boarding trains to France. 

The area is for EU paperwork and vehicle safety checks and was completed ahead of the previous Brexit date on March 29, but is now in place for the next proposed departure date of October 31.

Pictures show staff ferrying lorries and other heavy goods vehicles through the ‘pit-stop’ while carrying out the necessary checks on the items being carried. 

Images show staff checking a real-time display board in the Rail Control Centre (RCC) at the Eurotunnel Terminal – showing where trains are within the tunnel and when they are scheduled to arrive

A member of the Eurotunnel team walks looks towards the giant real-time display board in the Rail Control Centre (RCC) at the Eurotunnel Terminal in Folkestone, Kent today 

Eurotunnel staff check heavy goods vehicles in the ‘pitstop’ area in Folkestone, Kent ahead of boarding the trains to France

A lorry marked with ‘Discordia’, which is the Greek Goddess of Strife, passes through the ‘pitstop’ ahead of boarding the trains to France

Areas marked ‘passport and security controls’ are visible in the area, built ahead of the previous Brexit date on March 29, but is now in place for the next proposed departure date of October 31

The images come as Boris Johnson revealed what he claims to be a plan to resolve the issue of the island of Ireland which would see Northern Ireland stay in the European single market for goods but leave the customs union (pictured, Eurotunnel staff in Folkestone, Kent today) 

Comes weeks after the government published its Operation Yellowhammer ‘reasonable worst case planning assumptions’ in the event of a no-deal Brexit (pictured, preparations at Folkestone, Kent)

A member of the Eurotunnel team walks past the giant real-time display board in the Rail Control Centre at the Eurotunnel Terminal in Folkestone, Kent

Elsewhere staff wait next to barriers ahead of vehicles being allowed through to the tunnel, as they ensure the goods carried are permitted to travel to the European Union.

Among the lorries passing through the ‘pit-stop’ was one marked with ‘Discordia’, which is the Greek Goddess of Strife. 

The images also show staff checking a real-time display board in the Rail Control Centre at the Eurotunnel Terminal – showing where trains are within the tunnel and when they are scheduled to arrive. 

It comes weeks after the government published its Operation Yellowhammer ‘reasonable worst case planning assumptions’ in the event of a no-deal Brexit.  

They warn of possible delays at the Channel Tunnel – which runs between Folkestone and Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France, beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover.

The documents claims vehicles are likely to be delayed for up to two and a half days at Dover causing miles of tailbacks. 

On day one of no-deal, up to 85 per cent of HGVs may not be ready for French customs, reducing the ‘flow rate’ to by up to 60 per cent. Fuel supplies across the South East could also be affected. 

Elsewhere, the document reveals some very real concerns over a no deal exit including electricity price increases, delays to medicine imports, protests across the UK and disruption to the financial services sector. 

But Mr Johnson has vowed to do his best to secure a deal with the European Union and yesterday released his Brexit blueprint – sending details of his plan to commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, and challenging him to accept a ‘reasonable compromise’.

He made clear the only alternative to his proposals is no deal. 

Operation Yellowhammer warns of possible delays at the Channel Tunnel (pictured, a pit-stop in Folkestone) – which runs between Folkestone and Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France, beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover

The area is for EU paperwork and vehicle safety checks and was completed ahead of the previous Brexit date on March 29, but is now in place for the next proposed departure date of October 31

On day one of no-deal, Operation Yellowhammer documents predict that up to 85 per cent of HGVs may not be ready for French customs, reducing the ‘flow rate’ to by up to 60 per cent. Fuel supplies across the South East could also be affected (pictured, a lorry in Folkestone, Kent today)

A general view of the building which houses the Traffic Control Centre and the Rail Control Centre in Kent today. Preparations are underway ahead of Boris Johnson’s ‘do or die’ pledge to leave the European Union by October 31

The images come as Mr Johnson insisted he had put forward a ‘serious’ blueprint that can win over a majority of MPs. He made clear the only alternative to his proposals is no deal

The Coquelles section of the Eurotunnel network is seen on the giant real-time display board in the Rail Control Centre at the Eurotunnel Terminal

A giant display shows traffic within the Channel Tunnel, as preparations continue ahead of the scheduled Brexit departure date of October 31

The five-point plan involves: Keeping Northern Ireland in the single market when it leaves the EU Customs Union with the rest of the UK, giving Stormont the right to veto staying in an all-island regulatory zone, conducting customs checks away from the border, putting money aside for Belfast and Dublin, and keeping freedom of movement between the UK and Ireland.

The PM’s proposals for the island of Ireland would effectively create a border in the Irish Sea, whereby goods coming into Northern Ireland from Britain are checked and sent back if they do not comply with EU standards. 

An ‘all island regulatory zone’ would eliminate the need for trade checks and avoid the possibility of a hard border between the Province and the Republic. Customs checks, however, would be necessary between the north and south, but most will be able to be done digitally with new technology. 

Freedom of movement would be guaranteed along with considerable cash injections for both Belfast and Dublin to ensure the new measures work effectively, but only if Mr Johnson’s proposals get through the ‘Stormont Lock’.

One of the PM’s five points is to give the Northern Ireland Assembly the power to veto his proposals, which could mean a no deal if politicians and voters are not happy with them. 

Opponents say his plans will lead to instability for businesses and threaten the peace brought to the region through the Good Friday Agreement. 

Mr Johnson has vowed to do his best to secure a deal with the European Union and yesterday released his Brexit blueprint (pictured outside Downing Street today)

Irish PM Leo Varadkar (pictured on a visit to Sweden today) said polls suggested the UK public would prefer to Remain in the bloc, but they were being failed by the ‘political system’

And today, the Irish Prime Minister risked torching the last shreds of Brexit goodwill as he accused Boris Johnson of defying the will of British people – claiming they want to stay in the EU.

Leo Varadkar said polls suggested the UK public would prefer to Remain in the bloc, but they were being failed by the ‘political system’.

The extraordinary intervention was immediately condemned as ‘meddling’ by Eurosceptics. 

It came as Mr Varadkar led a bruising rebuttal of the new Brexit blueprint unveiled by Mr Johnson yesterday. 

Speaking on a visit to Sweden, Mr Varadkar said the package did not form the ‘basis for an agreement’, suggesting there would have to be customs clearance checkpoints.

And asked about the possibility of the UK staying in the EU, he effectively demanded another referendum, saying: ‘All the polls since Prime Minister Johnson became prime minister suggest that’s what the British people actually want, but their political system isn’t able to give them that choice.’ 

Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s steering group voiced  ‘grave concerns’ about the UK’s Brexit package.

Its combative head Guy Verhofstadt said it would be ‘nearly impossible’ to get approval from MEPs for such a plan. 

The resistance came as Mr Johnson insisted he had put forward a ‘serious’ blueprint that can win over a majority of MPs.      

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