Paris blaze stops Eurostar in tracks

EUROSTAR services are returning to normal after being suspended again for a short time today due to fire next to the track, following a weekend of delays and cancellations.

Firefighters closed the line, stopping all trains travelling to and from Paris’s Gare Du Nord, while they dealt with a blaze close to the tracks in a suburb of the capital. Passengers were stopped from boarding trains to London until the fire was brought under control.

Prior to the temporary closure of the track this morning, Eurostar services were running up to an hour late as the operator recovered from a weekend of disruption.

As reported, an estimated 26,000 passengers were stranded when a lorry fire on a train on Saturday closed the tunnel, leading to long queues at stations in Paris, Brussels and London after Eurostar cancelled 26 services

The travel woes piled up on Sunday, when a separate electrical problem forced the closure of the tunnel for another two hours. Six Eurostar services from London's St Pancras were cancelled, as well as two from Paris and three from Brussels.

Photo: Andy Roberts