Eurostar train services canceled indefinitely

[babylonsister]

Eurostar train services canceled indefinitely

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer


LONDON – The only passenger rail link between Britain and the rest of Europe has been shut down indefinitely, Eurostar said Sunday, promising more travel misery for thousands of stranded passengers just before Christmas.

Services have been suspended since late Friday, when a series of glitches stranded five trains inside the Channel Tunnel and trapped more than 2,000 passengers for hours in stuffy and claustrophobic conditions.

Some panicked passengers stayed underground for more than 15 hours without food or water, or any clear idea of what was going on — prompting outrage from travelers and a promise from Eurostar that no train would enter the tunnel until the issue had been identified and fixed.

Eurostar runs services between England, France and Belgium. The company said Sunday it had traced the problem to "acute weather conditions in northern France," which has seen its worst winter weather in years.

The company did not go into details, but in a statement it said its program to prepare Eurostar trains for winter conditions had not been adequate and that engineers had to "further enhance the snow screens and snow shields in the power cars of the trains."

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091220/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_train_breakdowns

[1]

1. ah, the romance of train travel...

[vadawg]

2. simple problem, its zombies

[WolverineDG]

3. Funny how this happens just as their monopoly on using the Chunnel runs out nt

[spanone]

4. 15 hours in the chunnel.....not fun