Global General
2,000 trapped as Eurostar trains break down
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-20 11:33
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 People crowd around the outside of the Eurostar ticket office in St Pancras Station in London December 19, 2009. [Agencies] |
Early Saturday Eurostar announced it was sending stranded passengers home from London in three special trains -- only to cancel the service a few hours later. Two trains dispatched from Paris also canceled -- one broke down shortly after leaving the tunnel, while another was stopped at Lille in northern France.
Chief Executive Richard Brown said the company was "very, very sorry that so many passengers were inconvenienced last night and this morning due to weather conditions in northern France. We are working hard to get passengers home. We will give them full refunds and another ticket."
Eurostar provides train service linking London to Paris and Brussels. It is usually thronged with holiday travelers this time of year.
The train service's reputation for safe operation suffered a setback in September, 2008, after a fire broke out as one of the trains entered the 50 kilometer (30 mile) tunnel. Service was cut back for five months as extensive damage was repaired.
On Saturday, travel for motorists hoping to cross the English Channel on ferries and via the Channel Tunnel was also badly disrupted. Police in Kent, England, warned drivers not to travel to the port of Dover except in emergencies because of massive traffic snarls caused by problems in the tunnel and in the French port of Calais.
