Eurostar trains remain cancelled

Eurostar trains remain cancelled today while the rail company tries to get to the bottom of problems which left thousands of …

Eurostar trains remain cancelled today while the rail company tries to get to the bottom of problems which left thousands of passengers trapped in the Channel Tunnel for hours over the weekend.

Wintry weather is thought to be to blame.

The closure of the tunnel left thousands more people stranded in Kent and France as they waited to board trains, while the closure of Calais port added to the chaos.

Roads leading to Dover and Folkestone became blocked with traffic and there were reports that some families with young children had been trapped in their cars for more than 15 hours.

READ MORE

A Eurostar spokesman said test trains will run today before any passengers are allowed to board as the company tries to prevent a repeat of yesterday’s chaotic scenes.

London St Pancras was packed as exhausted passengers arrived hours later than expected and hundreds more waited anxiously for news.

Nirj Deva, Conservative MEP for the South East of England, called on the firm’s chief executive Richard Brown to resign to resign as a result of “Eurostar’s astonishing incompetence”.

All affected passengers will be offered a full refund, £150 compensation and a free return ticket but Mr Deva described the offer as “paltry” and said it showed “how out of touch the management of this company really is”.

“I therefore call on Richard Brown to admit that his company was not adequately prepared to deal with the situation today, and to do the decent thing and resign,” he added.

Some scheduled passengers stranded at St Pancras planned to stay the night in the hope of some good news this morning while others said they would try again tomorrow.

Angelique Stastny (21) said: “I would fly but I have too much luggage so I will get a train to Paris eventually.” A series of special trains had been planned last night to transport some of those delayed by the chaos but only one - destined for Paris - left.

A Eurostar spokeswoman later said the other services were cancelled because of adverse weather conditions.

“We have tried to run services but it’s not possible,” she said.

Another special service from Paris to London broke down after it came out of the Channel Tunnel, although passengers were eventually taken to London after long delays.

Mr Brown visited St Pancras yesterday as people arrived who had been trapped on four trains which broke down in the tunnel on Friday night.

He said he was “very, very sorry” about the inconvenience.

Many passengers said they were left without food, drink or power while in the tunnel.

PA