VIDEO – Traffic was stopped early Saturday after a fire quickly extinguished. A new incident, electric this time took place on Sunday. A dozen trains should be canceled in the afternoon.
More fear than harm in the Channel Tunnel, where a beginning Fire broke out Saturday in the middle of the day. Quickly mastered, it nevertheless required the interruption of traffic for several hours in the tunnel, but no casualties. Eurotunnel said it was a “low smoldering” with a smoke. Traffic has resumed Sunday morning, but by late morning, a new incident in the Channel Tunnel Eurotunnel has forced to close the installation again for two hours, told AFP the general manager of the railway company.
The incident occurred while traffic was still significantly disturbed, after stopping the Saturday traffic for hours following an outbreak of fire in the tunnel. “Eurotunnel had another incident infrastructure, an electricity technical incident on a catenary around 10 am, so they closed the two tunnels 10:00 to 12:00,” said Nicolas Petrovic, CEO of Eurostar .
Hundreds of tickets to exchange
Since noon, the traffic resumed in one of two tunnels, but “we have accumulated additional delays. This means that this afternoon we will be obliged to cancel ten trains, “added the officer. The numbers of canceled trains will be indicated on the website of Eurostar, and affected customers can exchange their tickets or a full refund, he added. These two return trips from Paris to London and three round trips Brussels-London.
Customers who saw their train canceled Saturday and whose tickets will be refunded should contact the Eurostar call center to get a new one. “We have an exchange (tickets) but the trains were already filled” on Sunday, warned Nicolas Petrovic. “For customers who have not been able to travel Saturday, do not go Sunday station, you really have to book in advance” for a place, he insisted. Despite this warning, hundreds of passengers were massing Sunday at stations in London and Paris.
“Long queues for Eurostar at St Pancras”
Damage still evaluating
On Saturday afternoon, Eurostar traffic in the tunnel was completely stopped following for suspicious fumes. Initially, it was mention of an “incident”. Then the British police spoke of a truck on fire inside the tunnel. Smoke detectors have indeed triggered the passage of a shuttle carrying trucks coming from England, said Eurotunnel told AFP. She stopped a little further. Security procedures have been launched, the dispatched firefighters to carry out inspections. The 42 passengers in the truck shuttle were evacuated through the service tunnel and supported the French terminal. All Eurostar trains were forced to turn back to their home station, the railway manager added further.
Firefighters came to inspect the vehicles have been a “slow lean burn” and fire was completely extinguished in the late afternoon, as the sub-prefect of Calais Denis Gaudin, came direct the relief operations. “There was a lot of smoke,” reported it. “We do not know the extent of damage,” said he said again, but he said “this is not a major fire.”
In November 2012, a fire on a Shuttle cargo had caused the stoppage of traffic under the Channel for 2 hours. A fire was also reported on a truck shuttle September 11, 2008. The fire had damaged 650 meters of structure in the southern section of the Channel Tunnel, paralyzing traffic for about 30 hours. Eurostar traffic, freight trains and passenger shuttles, had been disrupted for five months.
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