France calls probe on Eurostar faults

TRANSPORT secretary Dominique Bussereau has demanded an inquiry into the Eurostar service after 2,000 people were left stuck in the tunnel for 11 hours and 120,000 people were stranded on either side of the Channel.

Services have been affected for three days after four trains heading from Paris to London broke down in the tunnel, leaving some passengers stuck under the sea for up to 11 hours. Two of the trains had no heating or lighting.

Mr Bussereau said it had to be more than just an electrical fault to stop the service running for so long and he said he had spoken to Prime Minister François Fillon to organise an inquiry.

The train manufacturer, Alstom, has been called in to help solve the problem. Eurostar says it has identified the fault and hopes to have trains running again as soon as tests have been completed and modifications fitted. Test trains have already been run successfully.

Around 40,000 passengers use the Channel Tunnel trains each day and this is the worst time of year for any shutdown as all services are full.

The trains all broke down after they left the heavy snow and freezing air of the north of France for the much warmer air inside the Chunnel and Eurostar says its modifications stop snow from getting into the power car electrical circuits.

Eurostar commercial director Nick Mercer apologised to travellers and said an announcement would be made today about when services could resume. However, it is feared that it could come as late as 19.00.

Commuters in Paris were also hit when an RER train came off the rails at Choisy-le-Roi (Val-de-Marne), on the line between Juvisy and Paris. It had hit a car which landed on the tracks after crashing off the road. Seventeen people were hurt.

All services in and out of Paris Austerlitz station have been affected by the accident and the SNCF has set up a passenger helpline on 3635.