Mega 1.3m Litre Fuel Station Opens

It has 141 nozzles and the capacity to serve 3400 vehicles a day.

Shell UK's marketing manager David Wood said while he hopes to target the 150 000 vehicles making use of freeway, he says the company was likely to make more money selling premium coffee and food from its service plaza than fuel.

Huge Investment Plan

The service plaza was built between Heathrow and Gatwick airports after nearly 17 years of planning disputes and public inquiries.

Wood said: “We are committed to ensuring more and more drivers have access to quality fuels and great customer service.

"At Shell Cobham, motorists can benefit not just from filling up but from the fantastic facilities on offer at the forecourt including helpful forecourt attendants, Costa Express Coffee, freshly made baguettes and hot and cold snacks from Shell’s award-winning Deli2go range.

"The new Shell station is also the only site on the M25 to sell autogas (automotive liquefied petroleum gas) to drivers. It also has three Adblue pumps, a solution designed to help reduce the nitrogen oxide content of diesel engine exhaust emissions. AdBlue is not currently widely available in the UK,” he said.

Shell Cobham is part of a huge investment programme for Shell, which by the end of 2012, the fuel giant expects to have opened an additional 250 sites and introduced 400 forecourt attendants to nearly 300 of its company-owned sites.