Hundreds of Eurostar passengers have been evacuated from a Channel Tunnel train after it became stuck for several hours.
Almost 800 people were stuck in the tunnel for three hours before being evacuated to Calais. The disruption took place on one of the most busy days of the year.
Christmas commuters were travelling from the UK to Paris Gare du Nord and were due to arrive at 9.20am local time. But the carriages broke down during the journey, leaving families stranded.
Lawyer Chip Cain, from Franklin, Tennessee, told The Mirror people missed their flights from Paris due to the delay.
He said: “There are several people in our car that missed flights leaving Paris and they are being left to their own efforts to fix it.”
Chip continued: “We are on a day trip to Paris. Planned on being in Paris for 8 hours (our only day there) and coming back on the last Eurostar tonight…The train was without air and it got unbearably hot inside.
“Eurostar wouldn’t open the doors to just let some air in. The charging ports for cell phones don’t work and the food service wasn’t prepared for this. I saw one worker the whole time inside the car and he didn’t speak to anyone.”
Chip told how his group £1,354 on the journey. He also claimed the situation “hasn’t been handled well at all” with “very little information given.”
Freelance Journalist Gaby Koppel said in a post on X/Twitter: “I’m on the first @EurostarUK train out of London heading for Paris. We’ve been stationary in the tunnel for 2hrs now, and have been told that we’ll be going again in 15 minutes.”
She later added: “#Eurostarchaos just leaving Lille. It is now six and a half hours since we left London and we haven’t reached Paris yet. I’ve missed my rendezvous house with the surrealism exhibition at @CentrePompidou but have had a pretty surreal train journey instead.”
A spokesperson told The Mirror: “The 06:01am Eurostar service from London to Paris experienced a technical issue this morning while travelling through the Channel Tunnel. Once safety investigations were completed, the train ran at reduced speed to Calais where customers were transferred to another Eurostar train, and are now continuing their journey to Paris.
“During the Calais transfer, customers were offered hot drinks and water. The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our priority. We’re really sorry for the inconvenience and delay to their journey today.
“As a result of the incident this morning, Eurostar services to and from Paris are experiencing delays of up to an hour. There will be enhanced compensation that will be communicated to our customers after they arrive in Paris.”
According to LeShuttle, which was formerly known as Eurotunnel, the issue has since been resolved. In a statement shared to X/Twitter, a spokesperson said: “The technical issue with a Eurostar train in the Tunnel has been resolved. Services are now operating normally.
“LeShuttle services may still experience some delays as we return to full capacity. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their patience.”
Social media user Rugbyscrum claimed to have been on the train and complained communication from Eurostar had been poor. The user added: “I’m one of the passengers on the 6.01am from London.
“Now in Calais with very little assistance, people are still trying to get on the replacement train.. Communication has been extremely poor, with little information shared…Still don’t know what time we get into Paris.”
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