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  Hi Martin, Passport checks will still have to be done immediately prior to boarding at the Eastern Docks under the new outgoing checks regime.
  
  I am not party to the details of how the off-dock pre-check and process zone will work or the impact that this will have on staff at the docks here in Dover, but the way in which it works elsewhere in the world where such schemes have been implemented is that; port traffic flows into the zone direct from the road network and checks into a parking spot. Once parked up, all the paperwork is dealt with and checked against information already held online or entered to the relevant system. They are then assigned a time slot for the journey down to the port. When their time arrives, they leave their parking slot and are automatically booked out of the zone via OCR (Number plate recognition cameras) technology as they join the convoy to the docks to catch their vessel. OCR at the dock gates confirms the right vehicle has turned up at the right time for the right sailing and lifts the barrier, with unconfirmed/booked vehicles being turned round on a 'feeder loop' and redirected back to the zone to get properly booked in. Of course, I simplify.
  
  To embed such a system and link up the various IT systems will take some time, but once done can (and does elsewhere) reduce or eliminate port traffic congestion in the vicinity of the port. The works on the A20 and the principle of pre-marshalling vehicles before they enter the final approaches to the port are, I believe, a precursor to a much more comprehensive and long term change to the way in which port traffic is handled before it enters the confines of Dover Town.

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