Eurostar passengers 'threatened to smash windows' as trespassers seen on roof and on tracks in Channel Tunnel
Hundreds of passengers were left stuck on carriages for hours while people were removed
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Your support makes all the difference.Eurostar services were in chaos overnight as frustrated passengers reportedly screamed and threatened to smash train windows after being left stranded in the dark in hot and stuffy carriages for up to five hours.
Rail services between Britain and France were suspended as reports of trespassers on the tracks of the Channel Tunnel and on train roofs caused major disruption to some 2,000 passengers - including some forced to wait for almost 16 hours to get to London St Pancras.
As of 11am, those aboard Tuesday's 19.13 Paris Gare du Nord train had still not arrived, according to the Telegraph, yet Eurostar insisted a rescue train bringing the passengers to London was due to arrive in "a couple of minutes".
Channel tunnel train grinds to a halt after migrant spotted
Eurostar trains at Calais 'delayed' by migrants
Two Eurostar trains - one to London and one to Paris - were forced to turn back after those on board endured long delays at the French port, and a total of six services were stopped entirely while the tracks were cleared. Passengers on one train near Calais were said to have threatened to smash the windows after a power failure plunged them into darkness and left them without air conditioning in sweltering conditions, the Telegraph reported.
Frédéric Bruel, a French passenger, told France Info radio: "I saw people who were finding it hard not to totally go off the rails. Some people started screaming and threatening to smash the windows. It must have been 35C in there.
"And all this time, we were just four minutes from the Calais-Frethun train platform. I was told by rail staff once we finally got to the station that we were locked in this train, whose doors were shut mechanically and impossible to open – imagine if there had been a fire – because those in charge were scared that that if they opened the doors, then migrants would try and make the most to get into the train."
The London-bound train was unable to get back to Paris due to a technical fault and some passengers, many of whom were given foil blankets to keep them warm after being stranded, complained they had been “abandoned” in the early hours of the morning as they waited for alternative transport.
Eurostar staff even appealed to passengers to listen out for the sound of movement of people on the roofs of the trains, according to the Daily Mail.
Police had been called to Calais just before 9pm to reports of people on the tracks at the crossing, with hundreds of passengers stuck on carriages for hours while the trespassers were removed.
Some travellers said they had seen migrants on top of other trains, and many complained of their frustrations at the delays and re-routes.
One passenger on the 9055 train from Paris to London told of his anger on learning that he had to wait on alternative transport, having already been re-routed back to the French capital.
Danny Bell tweeted: “We've been abandoned on a platform somewhere in the cold with NO INFORMATION.”
Eurostar apologised saying: “It may be possible for another train to be sent to you. We appreciate it is very late now and everyone must be very tired.”
While the operator referred only to the people on the tracks as trespassers, a number of passengers said they saw or were told of migrants in the area. Lucy Francis from London posted online: “the trespassers are on the roof of the train in front of us”.
Simon Gentry said: “On a Eurostar apparently 'surrounded by migrants'. Been asked to 'listen out for people walking on the roof' while we wait for the police.”
Conor Maples wrote: “Our Eurostar has been stopped outside Calais. Train manager told us there are migrants on the roof. Police are now here. Very very sad”.
A spokesman for Eurostar said passengers hoping to travel later this morning should expect a normal service but added that two trains have been cancelled “in order to ensure the service is as robust as possible”. The spokesman told The Independent that it was "back to business as usual" and said that the firm would continue to work with the authorities to ensure that any further problems were dealt with.
Passengers due to travel on the 7.55am service from London to Paris and those who had booked the 11.13am Paris to London would be transferred to other services at times close to their intended departure, the spokesman said.
Three trains, one from Brussels and two from Paris, were able to continue their journeys to London after the delays this morning.
But those already delayed described the breakdown of services - and the subsequent rescue operation - as a "fiasco".
Anyone affected by the disruption will be compensated, the spokesman said.
He said: “For the passengers affected what we have in place is people waiting for them in stations. We can, if passengers wish, re-book them on the next available train to get to their destination.”
He said taxis, hotels and refreshments would be provided.
The operator was inundated with passengers seeking information and venting their frustrations at the delays.
One woman, named Joanne, complained about the temperature: “it's so cold on the train. Give us blankets!!!!”
The crossing at Calais has been plagued with problems all summer amid a growing migrant crisis.
Many migrants are stationed at a camp near the port and on several occasions have broken into the Tunnel and climbed aboard lorries or trains in an attempt to get to the UK.
At its peak the number of attempts to board lorries or trains was around 2,000 a night but that has since fallen.
The crisis in Calais is part of a wider migrant surge into Europe from north Africa and the Middle East.
Eurostar said it was sending an empty train to Calais from London in the “early morning” to pick up stranded passengers of the 9055 service.
Traveller Tom Mayes said he had so far endured a nine-hour delay and described the operator's apology as “not good enough”.
He tweeted: “Hungry, tired and fed-up people here. Not good,” adding: “children out in the cold here. Disgusting.”
Additional reporting by PA
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