Eurostar rapped in breakdown report

A Eurostar train is pulled from the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone, Kent, after breaking down
12 April 2012

The extent of Eurostar failures and the "appalling" conditions hundreds of its passengers endured while trapped on broken-down trains in the Channel Tunnel have been highlighted in an independent report into the pre-Christmas travel chaos.

The report said Eurostar had not prepared properly for the snow-ingestion which caused five trains to break down and had to "improvise" as it had no plan to deal with such an emergency.

Passengers, including expectant mothers and youngsters returning from Disneyland Paris, had to contend with darkness, extreme heat, hunger and a lack of information.

On the stranded "Disney train", with 664 people on board, parents had to strip their children down to underclothes and nappies because of the heat.

Later, having transferred to a Eurotunnel passenger shuttle in the tunnel, the same passengers were confronted with cold and dirty conditions, with "pregnant women and small children having to sit on greasy floors or lean against the side of the carriage".

Toilets on this train overflowed, forcing passengers to designate one carriage as an open toilet area.

Conditions on this shuttle were "appalling" and Eurostar had been "found wanting", said former GNER East Coast Main Line rail boss Christopher Garnett who produced the report with French transport expert Claude Gressier.

Making 21 recommendations, including train modifications, improved communications and better emergency plans, the two men said: "Passengers must not go through this again."

Some passengers took as long as 17 hours to complete their journeys and Eurostar had to cancel all services on December 19, 20 and 21 before resuming a reduced operation on Tuesday December 22.

Following the publication of the report, Eurostar said it had modified its trains and more work on them was being done. The company was spending £30 million, including £12 million on a new communication system. Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said: "I know we let our passengers down before Christmas and I am determined to put things right."

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