Hours of delays for passengers after all Eurostar services cancelled

 
Travel misery: travellers at St Pancras Station, London, who are facing hours of travel misery after all Eurostar trains were cancelled due to a lorry fire (Picture: PA)
Alexandra Rucki17 January 2015

Eurostar trains were suspended today because of a lorry on fire in a cross-Channel tunnel, the company said.

The blaze, at the French end of the tunnel, saw all services between London and Europe cancelled for the rest of the day, leaving many trapped in France and others unable to start their trips abroad.

A message posted on the Eurostar UK website said: “We are sorry but we are unable to run any further trains today because Eurotunnel has been closed due to smoke detected in the north tunnel.

Passengers face hours of travel misery and have been advised to postpone their journeys.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">SERVICE UPDATE - All trains are returning to original stations as Tunnel closed until further notice following smoke detection.— Eurostar (@Eurostar) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Eurostar/status/556432628799512576" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-113811-https://twitter.com/Eurostar/status/556432628799512576" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 17, 2015</a>

“If you were planning to travel today, we advise you to postpone your journey and not come to the station.”

All trains will be returning to original stations because the tunnel will remain closed until further notice, the statement said.

Eurostar delays: a queue forms at St Pancras Station (Picture: PA)

Kent Police said the smoke was caused by a lorry fire.

A spokesman said: "A lorry fire has led to the closure of both bores of the Channel Tunnel.

"The fire was at the French end of the tunnel and is being dealt with by the French authorities. There are no reported injuries.

"However, rail passengers are advised to expect significant delays whilst the vehicle is being recovered and fumes are cleared from the tunnels."

Messages to customers sent from the company’s Twitter account said it is expected to be closed “until this evening”.

Eurostar foot passenger trains link St Pancras in London with Paris and Brussels, while the Eurotunnel car and freight service connects Folkestone with Calais. Both have been suspended.

Some passengers said they were evacuated from trains in the tunnel and given gas masks.

One passenger, academic Professor Urfan Khaliq, said he has been stuck outside the Euro tunnel for more than two hours after boarding the 11.13am service from St Pancras to Paris Nord.

Smoke alert: Eurostar has suspended all trains today (Picture: PA)

He said: "The staff on the train are being as helpful as they can and have offered free water to passengers. They know as little as us.

"They have now taken us back to Calais town and have offered if any one would like to leave the train and make their own arrangements for a ferry to Dover, they will lay on a bus. No one seems to have left. There is also talk of going back to Paris.

"There are a fair few children on board and people will get hungry as they have run out of food at the restaurant car some time back. So Eurostar will need to get a move on or make arrangements.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Eurostar" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-113811-https://twitter.com/Eurostar" data-vars-event-id="c23">@Eurostar</a> Information is really poor. Been stuck outside tunnel for an hour. Give us better information!— Gerard Carlin (@gerardcarlin) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/gerardcarlin/status/556428706575839234" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-113811-https://twitter.com/gerardcarlin/status/556428706575839234" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 17, 2015</a>

"Everyone is currently rather stoic but a few more hours and that mood may become a little more vocal."

Another passenger, Helen Todd, tweeted: “Smoke in the channel tunnel! So unlucky! Hope they sort it out soon!”

Cross-Channel car service Le Shuttle tweeted: "CO2 detectors have been activated in one tunnel; we are currently awaiting feedback from teams in Tunnel. Further info to follow."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Eurostar" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-113811-https://twitter.com/Eurostar" data-vars-event-id="c23">@Eurostar</a> I am are stuck on the train outside the tunnel what are your plans for us passengers ?!— Urfan Khaliq (@ukhaliq) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ukhaliq/status/556432420015456256" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-113811-https://twitter.com/ukhaliq/status/556432420015456256" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 17, 2015</a>

In March hundreds of Eurostar passengers were delayed after a lightning strike triggered a fire in a building close to the entrance to the tunnel in Kent.

Although there was no damage to the track, four trains in and out of England were affected. Three eventually reached their destination but the fourth, which had been heading to Paris, was forced to turn back to London.

It comes as security remains heightened following the fatal terror attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher deli in Paris last week.

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