Eurostar Plans Full Service Monday as Tunnel Recovers From Fire
2015-01-18 19:28:13.100 GMT
By Chris Jasper
(Bloomberg) -- Eurostar International Ltd. said it aims to
operate a full train timetable tomorrow as the Channel Tunnel
rail link recovers from a fire that led to its closure for most
of the day yesterday, with further cancellations today.
Eurostar’s passenger expresses are likely to operate with a
30-minute delay in the morning as Groupe Eurotunnel SA continues
work to reopen the northbound tube, where the detection of a
smoldering load on a truck led the tunnel to be closed.
Six trains from London plus two from Paris and three from
Brussels were struck from the Eurostar timetable today even
after the southbound bore reopened for traffic in both
directions, spokeswoman Catherine Bayles said by telephone. The
cancellations followed a two-hour shutdown of the bore caused by
a power outage that led to delays this morning, she said.
“Eurotunnel has advised that it is carrying out
engineering works tonight and is putting more sections of the
tunnel back into service tomorrow,” Eurostar said. “Eurostar
plans to run a full service and passengers are advised to check-
in as normal. As Eurotunnel will not be completely operational
Eurostar services may be subject to delays.”
Today’s cancellations frustrated attempts to clear the
backlog of stranded passengers from yesterday, while people
booked on the scrapped services were advised to rebook.
Extra Capacity
Eurotunnel had said earlier that all Eurostar passengers
stuck since yesterday would be able to complete their journeys
today, and spokeswoman Fabienne Lissak said after the Eurostar
announcement that while engineers were still working on the
northbound tube there had been no issues on the open line.
“Eurostar is responsible for managing its trains,” she
said. “The tunnel is open and I have no information about a
power issue. Traffic has been moving since this morning.”
The two companies disagreed about whether extra capacity
had been granted to help move stranded passengers, with
Eurotunnel saying that the planned 42 departures compared with a
number “in the thirties” on a normal Sunday, and Eurostar
saying that it would normally operate 45 trains.
Eurotunnel ran an initial train through the southbound
tunnel at midnight to clear any gas pockets. The full shuttle
service resumed at about 2 a.m., with trains running alternately
north and south in batches of five to minimize delays, Lissak
said. Eurostar services commenced after 6 a.m.
The 8:19 a.m. train from London arrived in Paris almost two
hours late after waiting at the entrance to the tunnel.
Sprinkler System
The 30-mile link was saved from major damage yesterday by
the triggering of a sprinkler system after smoke from the
stricken lorry activated carbon dioxide detectors, with the
train soaked in water even before firefighters arrived, keeping
temperatures below 50 degrees Celsius, according to Lissak.
The tunnel has suffered a number of fire-related shutdowns
since opening in 1994, including a two-hour closure in 2012 and
another spanning two days in 2008, when one tube was put out of
action for five months. The events all involved trucks, some 1.5
million of which use the Folkestone-Calais shuttle each year.
Lissak confirmed that nobody was hurt in yesterday’s event,
with the 38 truckers on the affected shuttle all escaping via
the system’s service tube, together with the train driver, a
guard and two rail mechanics. As many as 800 maintenance staff
worked to get the tunnel open again yesterday, she said.
Customers due to travel yesterday or today whose journeys
were disrupted can change their booking for free in the next 60
days to dates in the next four months, or get a refund.
There was no backlog at shuttle terminals as vehicles were
diverted to Eurotunnel’s MyFerryLink sailings between Dover and
Calais. The Paris-based company said last week it was seeking a
buyer for the ferry arm after a U.K. court upheld a regulator’s
decision blocking it from owning the unit on antitrust grounds.
For Related News and Information:
Link to Company News: 2298Z LN <Equity> CN <GO>
Link to Company News: GET FP <Equity> CN <GO>
--With assistance from Sophie Caronello in London.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Christopher Jasper in London at +44-20-3525-2755 or
cjasper@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Benedikt Kammel at +49-30-70010-6230 or
bkammel@bloomberg.net
Sara Marley, Hellmuth Tromm
2015-01-18 19:28:13.100 GMT
By Chris Jasper
(Bloomberg) -- Eurostar International Ltd. said it aims to
operate a full train timetable tomorrow as the Channel Tunnel
rail link recovers from a fire that led to its closure for most
of the day yesterday, with further cancellations today.
Eurostar’s passenger expresses are likely to operate with a
30-minute delay in the morning as Groupe Eurotunnel SA continues
work to reopen the northbound tube, where the detection of a
smoldering load on a truck led the tunnel to be closed.
Six trains from London plus two from Paris and three from
Brussels were struck from the Eurostar timetable today even
after the southbound bore reopened for traffic in both
directions, spokeswoman Catherine Bayles said by telephone. The
cancellations followed a two-hour shutdown of the bore caused by
a power outage that led to delays this morning, she said.
“Eurotunnel has advised that it is carrying out
engineering works tonight and is putting more sections of the
tunnel back into service tomorrow,” Eurostar said. “Eurostar
plans to run a full service and passengers are advised to check-
in as normal. As Eurotunnel will not be completely operational
Eurostar services may be subject to delays.”
Today’s cancellations frustrated attempts to clear the
backlog of stranded passengers from yesterday, while people
booked on the scrapped services were advised to rebook.
Extra Capacity
Eurotunnel had said earlier that all Eurostar passengers
stuck since yesterday would be able to complete their journeys
today, and spokeswoman Fabienne Lissak said after the Eurostar
announcement that while engineers were still working on the
northbound tube there had been no issues on the open line.
“Eurostar is responsible for managing its trains,” she
said. “The tunnel is open and I have no information about a
power issue. Traffic has been moving since this morning.”
The two companies disagreed about whether extra capacity
had been granted to help move stranded passengers, with
Eurotunnel saying that the planned 42 departures compared with a
number “in the thirties” on a normal Sunday, and Eurostar
saying that it would normally operate 45 trains.
Eurotunnel ran an initial train through the southbound
tunnel at midnight to clear any gas pockets. The full shuttle
service resumed at about 2 a.m., with trains running alternately
north and south in batches of five to minimize delays, Lissak
said. Eurostar services commenced after 6 a.m.
The 8:19 a.m. train from London arrived in Paris almost two
hours late after waiting at the entrance to the tunnel.
Sprinkler System
The 30-mile link was saved from major damage yesterday by
the triggering of a sprinkler system after smoke from the
stricken lorry activated carbon dioxide detectors, with the
train soaked in water even before firefighters arrived, keeping
temperatures below 50 degrees Celsius, according to Lissak.
The tunnel has suffered a number of fire-related shutdowns
since opening in 1994, including a two-hour closure in 2012 and
another spanning two days in 2008, when one tube was put out of
action for five months. The events all involved trucks, some 1.5
million of which use the Folkestone-Calais shuttle each year.
Lissak confirmed that nobody was hurt in yesterday’s event,
with the 38 truckers on the affected shuttle all escaping via
the system’s service tube, together with the train driver, a
guard and two rail mechanics. As many as 800 maintenance staff
worked to get the tunnel open again yesterday, she said.
Customers due to travel yesterday or today whose journeys
were disrupted can change their booking for free in the next 60
days to dates in the next four months, or get a refund.
There was no backlog at shuttle terminals as vehicles were
diverted to Eurotunnel’s MyFerryLink sailings between Dover and
Calais. The Paris-based company said last week it was seeking a
buyer for the ferry arm after a U.K. court upheld a regulator’s
decision blocking it from owning the unit on antitrust grounds.
For Related News and Information:
Link to Company News: 2298Z LN <Equity> CN <GO>
Link to Company News: GET FP <Equity> CN <GO>
--With assistance from Sophie Caronello in London.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Christopher Jasper in London at +44-20-3525-2755 or
cjasper@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Benedikt Kammel at +49-30-70010-6230 or
bkammel@bloomberg.net
Sara Marley, Hellmuth Tromm