Limited Eurostar service resumes

A EUROSTAR train has left Paris for London for the first time in four days.

The train left at 8.10 as a limited service starts up again after technical problems caused trips to be suspended from Friday evening. The firm said the trains were affected by electricity cuts caused by melted snow in motors. It is expected that about two out of three trains will be running today.

Eurostar director Richard Brown said a normal service would not resume until after Christmas. Travellers with a ticket meant for weekend travel are getting priority and those with tickets for yesterday or today can travel tomorrow (Wednesday), he said. Those with tickets for the 23rd or 24th will be able to travel on the 24th. Reservations were closed yesterday.

“Our priority is to transport people who’ve already got tickets in their hands,” a Eurostar spokesman said.

Transport Secretary Dominique Bussereau said: “Traffic blocked for several days in a row is not acceptable – it is not reasonable that this fundamental transport link between England and France stops working because of snow.”

The SNCF has opened an enquiry into what went wrong. Reimbursements will be due to people who were not able to travel because of cancelled trains and there will be compensation for those who were left stuck under the Channel on Friday night – in some cases people’s trip between Paris and London took 16 hours.

CGT-Cheminots union leader Didier Le Reste said the breakdowns may be linked to reductions in spending on maintenance.

Low-cost airline Ryanair has offered to take people home for Christmas if they are unable to get back by Eurostar. They are putting on a Paris Beauvais flight to London Stansted at 18.20 tomorrow (to be booked by 10.00 tomorrow) complemented by one from London to Beauvais at 15.35 to be booked by 8.00 tomorrow. Both cost €99.

Photo: Eurostar