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17 Jan 2015

Eurostar trains cancelled after lorry fire in Channel Tunnel

Trains will resume running through the Channel Tunnel this evening following a lorry fire in one of the tunnels, Eurotunnel said.

Services on the Le Shuttle car service will restart as soon as possible after French firefighters give the all-clear, a company spokesman said.

He said the fire had been caused by a “smouldering load” on a lorry being carried in the north tunnel but that services would run through the south tunnel, and that the company anticipates running a full service through both tomorrow.

Eurostar latest following earlier lorry fire which closed the Channel Tunnel: 



Eurostar says it will run a full service tomorrow "for passengers who have an existing reservation for this date".



It said trains would be delayed by between 30 and 60 minutes because of only one tunnel being open.



But it said people whose trains were cancelled today were advised not to arrive at stations unless they had already been re-booked.



A spokesman said: "All passengers who are booked to travel tomorrow, Sunday 18 January, should check in as normal half an hour before departure.



"Eurostar services tomorrow are already very busy and availability is limited.



"If you were on a cancelled train today and need to travel urgently tomorrow, please call our contact centre on 03432 186 186 after 8am GMT tomorrow and we will try to re-book you on a service departing after 12pm GMT.



"We would strongly advise passengers whose journeys were impacted today by the problems in Eurotunnel not to come to our stations unless they have re-booked through our contact centre."

Earlier, Eurostar said all of its trains were returning to their original stations as the Channel Tunnel would need to be closed, causing travel misery to hundreds of holiday makers.

In a message posted on its website: “We are sorry but we are unable to run any further trains today because Eurotunnel has been closed due to smoke detected in the north tunnel.

“If you were planning to travel today, we advise you to postpone your journey and not to come to the station.”

The Eurostar website says that passengers who had to cancel their trips will be able to exchange their tickets.

Kent Police said the smoke was caused by a lorry fire.

“The fire was at the French end of the tunnel and is being dealt with by the French authorities. There are no reported injuries.

“However, rail passengers are advised to expect significant delays whilst the vehicle is being recovered and fumes are cleared from the tunnels.”

In July last year hundreds of passengers were evacuated from a broken down train in the tunnel.

Today’s fire comes as security remains heightened following the fatal terror attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris last week.