Passengers were stuck on a Eurostar train in the Channel Tunnel for two-and-a-half hours after an apparent breakdown of the London to Paris service.
On one of the busiest travel days of the festive season, the first train of the day from London St Pancras International departed on time at 6.01am. It was due to arrive at Paris Gare du Nord at 9.20am local time. But it broke down in the Channel Tunnel.
Gaby Koppel, a television producer, told The Independent: “We stopped in the tunnel about an hour into the journey, so roughly 7am UK time.
“There were occasional loudspeaker announcements saying they did not know what the fault was.
“Eventually they said at 9am that we would get going ‘in 20 minutes’ but we are still here.
“Some of the lighting in the carriage has been switched down, but it has become very stuffy in the carriage.”
The train eventually started moving at 9.30am. Passengers have been taken to Calais Fréthun station to await a replacement train. They are expected to be at least four-and-a-half hours late arriving in Paris.
Ms Koppel said: “We were due at the Pompidou Centre at noon. Cross fingers they take pity on us.”
Alicia Peters, an operations supervisor, is on the train taking her daughter to Disneyland Paris.
“Sitting for 2.5 hours on a stationary train with my eight-year-old daughter was very stressful,” she told The Independent.
“She was very worried as we heard a noise and then there was no power.
“It was very hot and we didn’t really know when we would be moving as they were unable to provide any timeframe.”
Ms Peters later said: “We don’t know how long we have to wait either for a replacement train, so we have to just sit once we arrive – we’ve been told they cannot open the door until it arrives.”
All the following trains in both directions are also severely disrupted after the tunnel switched to single-bore operations to avoid the stricken train.
At London St Pancras, arrivals from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam are running 30 to 70 minutes behind schedule.
The disarray may cause cancellations later in the days at a time when Eurostar services are extremely heavily booked.
A spokesperson for Eurostar said: “The 6.01am Eurostar service from London to Paris experienced a technical issue this morning while travelling through the Channel Tunnel.
“The train is now running at reduced speed to Calais where customers will be transferred to another Eurostar train to continue their journey to Paris.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our priority. We are keeping them informed as we resolve the situation and we’re really sorry for the delay to their journey today.
“Other Eurostar services to and from London are experiencing delays of around 30 minutes as a result.”
The 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm arrivals from Paris to London are currently shown as 50, 70 and 30 minutes respectively. Compensation is payable for delays of one hour or more.
Last Christmas thousands of Eurostar passengers had their trains cancelled due to a strike by Eurotunnel workers.
