Eurostar services cancelled after travellers stranded

2009/12/20

LONDON: Eurostar passengers faced more chaos as the company axed its services for Sunday, causing fresh turmoil for train travellers after more than 2,000 spent a night trapped in the Channel Tunnel. The decision followed dramatic scenes overnight into Saturday, when hundreds on the service linking Britain to France spent a desperate night stranded under the sea on the pre-Christmas weekend, one of the busiest of the year.

Angry passengers have accused the train operator of being woefully unprepared to deal with the breakdowns sparked by freezing weather, with one describing the handling of the emergency as "catastrophic."

The trains began breaking down late Friday, unable to cope with the change in temperature as they moved from the freezing conditions in northeastern France to the warm air in the tunnel.

Snow at airports and on the roads added to the travel chaos.

"Eurostar has confirmed that on account of the continuing severe weather conditions in northern France it will not be running any services," it said in a statement about Sunday travel.

The operator said it would be carrying out tests on the line to find out what had caused the problems.

"Eurostar does not want to cause its passengers any further disruption," the operator added.

On Saturday a couple of Eurostar passenger trains made it through the tunnel, one of which broke down just outside London, and most services linking London with Paris and Brussels were cancelled.

Some passengers complained they were left to fend for themselves when the trains failed under the English Channel.

Patrick Dussaut, who was with a group of 40 people from a French company hoping to visit Britain, complained they had been stuck in a Eurostar train since Friday evening and by Saturday lunchtime had still not reached London.

"People have been stuck in the train for 16 and a half hours non-stop, without being able to open the doors," he told AFP by telephone.

"There have been heated arguments between Eurostar staff and passengers who were fed up of being shut inside the trains. On a human level, the management has been catastrophic."

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

"We are very sorry, we are giving them a full refund of their ticket, another free journey with us, and we will be offering each 150 pounds (170 euros, 240 dollars) per person," he told Sky News television.

Tunnel operator Eurotunnel, which runs a drive-on train service for cars and trucks, said it resumed services Saturday after being forced to suspend its trains.

The disruption in the tunnel was the worst since a large fire on a Eurotunnel train in September 2008 caused a two-day suspension of services.

The problems with the Eurostar trains added to an already difficult situation in Europe, which was hit by a cold snap from Britain to the Black Sea.

In southeast England, through which the high-speed Eurostar trains normally run, temperatures were not expected to top minus four degrees Celsius overnight, with Sunday "only just above freezing for much of the time", said the Met Office national weather service.

Ferries between France and Britain were also heavily disrupted by the adverse weather conditions.

The motorway from London to Dover, Britain's main Channel port, was in places at a total standstill and gridlocked with trucks on Saturday.

Air passengers also risked delays Sunday due to freezing conditions and snow in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

A statement on British Airways' website said "delays, cancellations and baggage problems" were "likely to continue".

London's main Heathrow Airport warned passengers that "delays and cancellations are possible" and urged them to contact their airlines. - AFP