Stranded in the dark for hours

LONDON. December 20. KAZINFORM Four passenger trains broke down in the Channel Tunnel between France and Britain, stranding more than 2,000 passengers for hours Saturday, many without heating, light or water, Kazinform refers to Arab News.
None
None

Eurostar executives suspended service, blaming the breakdowns in the trains from Paris on wintry weather conditions on the French side of the English Channel.

Fatigued passengers arrived in London 10 hours late after a long night trapped on trains, where they said some people suffered panic attacks because of lack of air in dark, unheated cars short of water and supplies.

Embarrassed Eurostar executives apologized for the breakdowns and confusion. "Eurostar is very, very sorry that so many passengers were inconvenienced last night and this morning due to weather conditions in northern France," chief executive Richard Brown said. "We are working hard to get passengers home; we will give them full refunds and another ticket." Brown blamed the breakdowns on extremely low temperatures and heavy snow in northern France, which he called the worst in eight years. The problem began because of the abrupt temperature change when trains traveled through extremely cold air in France and then entered the warm tunnel, he said.

Eurostar said there were "extreme subzero" temperatures in northern France. The temperature inside the tunnels varies according to its depth but was much warmer than the air outside, it said.

Eurostar officials said all the passengers were safe and had been removed from the tunnel.

Other passengers were evacuated on foot and put on Eurotunnel shuttles that brought them to nearby stations in England, where they were eventually put on regular trains bound for London or given bus transportation to the British capital.

When they arrived at St. Pancras International station in London, some passengers complained they were left trapped in trains throughout the night and then evacuated by firefighters who made them walk through the tunnel carrying their own baggage.

Eurostar officials warned that service for the rest of the busy holiday weekend would be "severely disrupted" due to extreme weather conditions, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.

Currently reading