4 Trains Carrying 2,000 People Stuck Under English Channel

[MrFSS]

Passengers have described how they opened emergency doors themselves to escape broken down Eurostar trains after becoming stranded in the Channel Tunnel, Sky News reported.

Some 2,000 travelers were trapped in four trains for 10 hours overnight in a "complete nightmare" ordeal.

Conditions were described as "awful" with some passengers left without light, air-conditioning, food or water.

Full Story

And, more info with video.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Passengers have described how they opened emergency doors themselves to escape broken down Eurostar trains after becoming stranded in the Channel Tunnel, Sky News reported.
Some 2,000 travelers were trapped in four trains for 10 hours overnight in a "complete nightmare" ordeal.

Conditions were described as "awful" with some passengers left without light, air-conditioning, food or water.

Full Story

And, more info with video.

Let's hope that this doesn't happen here in the NE as the current storm moves up into New England! I don't miss the NE winters for sure, guess Eric is smiling over in the Islands, wonder if Neil was on one of this trains, doesn't he usually fly to the Continent when he leaves England?

 

[MrFSS]

. . . wonder if Neil was on one of this trains, doesn't he usually fly to the Continent when he leaves England?

His trip reports say he usually tale the train in the Chunnel.

 

[DET63]

The Channel Tunnel should be shut down until a more satisfactory emergency system is in place. The one that was there (if indeed there was one at all) was obviously not satisfactory.

 

[GG-1]

Passengers have described how they opened emergency doors themselves to escape broken down Eurostar trains after becoming stranded in the Channel Tunnel, Sky News reported.
Some 2,000 travelers were trapped in four trains for 10 hours overnight in a "complete nightmare" ordeal.

Conditions were described as "awful" with some passengers left without light, air-conditioning, food or water.

Full Story

And, more info with video.

Let's hope that this doesn't happen here in the NE as the current storm moves up into New England! I don't miss the NE winters for sure, guess Eric is smiling over in the Islands, wonder if Neil was on one of this trains, doesn't he usually fly to the Continent when he leaves England?

Aloha

Been reading about all the concern about the storm that maybe I can cheer up anypne stuck in the storm. Last night it got so cold in Honolulu on Oahu, I had to sleep in a T-Shirt :lol: Sorry I could help it, I do hope everyone gets where they are going safely.

 

[Neil_M]

The Channel Tunnel should be shut down until a more satisfactory emergency system is in place. The one that was there (if indeed there was one at all) was obviously not satisfactory.

So how many people were injured or killed then?

 

[Neil_M]

. . . wonder if Neil was on one of this trains, doesn't he usually fly to the Continent when he leaves England?

His trip reports say he usually tale the train in the Chunnel.

I used the Eurostar last week, but flew to Zurich on Tuesday and came back this afternoon. Quite lucky really!

 

[Shanghai]

I've been on the Eurostar several times. It take about 20 minutes to pass through the Chunnel and it is very dark, except for the

lights in the train. I would think it would be very distressful to be stuck in the Chunnel without and water.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i thought the tunnel had lights on the walls like subway tunnels. they must not have been working.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

i thought the tunnel had lights on the walls like subway tunnels. they must not have been working.

Maybe it was at night. :blink:

 

[GG-1]

i thought the tunnel had lights on the walls like subway tunnels. they must not have been working.

Maybe it was at night. :blink:

Or somebody forgot to pay the electric bill :lol:

Aloha

 

[jis]

The Channel Tunnel should be shut down until a more satisfactory emergency system is in place. The one that was there (if indeed there was one at all) was obviously not satisfactory.

Could you elaborate? Or are you just blowing smoke? I'd recommend that you spend a little time googling on the subject and learn a bit about what is there and what is not first.

Should the North River Tunnels in New York be shut down too, since it has next to no emergency system when compared to the Channel Tunnel?

 

[Neil_M]

The Channel Tunnel should be shut down until a more satisfactory emergency system is in place. The one that was there (if indeed there was one at all) was obviously not satisfactory.

Could you elaborate? Or are you just blowing smoke? I'd recommend that you spend a little time googling on the subject and learn a bit about what is there and what is not first.

Should the North River Tunnels in New York be shut down too, since it has next to no emergency system when compared to the Channel Tunnel?

Exactly.

Seeing as an Air France plane crashed into the ocean a few months ago, maybe they should have stopped all planes flying over the Atlantic, any planes owned by Air France, any Airbus planes from flying or any planes flying at all seeing a more satisfactory emergency system is in place, if indeed there was one at all.

How many people have been killed in the Channel Tunnel?

(A clue is it is less than 1.)

 

[stonesfan]

The Channel Tunnel should be shut down until a more satisfactory emergency system is in place. The one that was there (if indeed there was one at all) was obviously not satisfactory.

Could you elaborate? Or are you just blowing smoke? I'd recommend that you spend a little time googling on the subject and learn a bit about what is there and what is not first.

Should the North River Tunnels in New York be shut down too, since it has next to no emergency system when compared to the Channel Tunnel?

Exactly.

Seeing as an Air France plane crashed into the ocean a few months ago, maybe they should have stopped all planes flying over the Atlantic, any planes owned by Air France, any Airbus planes from flying or any planes flying at all seeing a more satisfactory emergency system is in place, if indeed there was one at all.

How many people have been killed in the Channel Tunnel?

(A clue is it is less than 1.)

Don't be too surprised at a shambles like this. Whilst French and British railways generally have a reputation for being up there with the best, we do especially struggle in Britain when things go wrong. Whether its bad weather, a breakdown of a train, having to deal with a surge in passenger numbers for special events etc. There is very rarely any plan b.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

well you got your wish.

Eurostar train services canceled indefinitely
LONDON — The only passenger rail link between Britain and the rest of Europe has been shut down indefinitely, Eurostar said Sunday, promising more travel misery for thousands of stranded passengers just before Christmas.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-gener...ain.Breakdowns/

 

[DET63]

I'd call it luck that no one was seriously injured (if indeed that's the case).

Should the North River Tunnels in New York be shut down too, since it has next to no emergency system when compared to the Channel Tunnel?

How long are those tunnels? I'll bet they're a lot shorter than the Channel Tunnel, meaning that passengers, if they had to hoof it out, would be able to do so.

 

[jis]

I'd call it luck that no one was seriously injured (if indeed that's the case).

Why would they get injured unless of course they decided to beat each other up?

We are all gently trying to point out that the premise on which you are basing your comment is unfounded. It would have been an issue if there was ventilation failure but that was not the case given the triple redundant ventilation system that those tunnels, the two running tunnels and the service tunnel for use as an escape route in case of fire, are all equipped with, together with massive fire doors to seal off individual sections of tunnels in case of severe fire.

They apparently held the trains inside the tunnel where their electrical systems failed due to condensation on extremely cold equipment until they could make sure that they could get them to a station where they could safely offboard the passengers. It was safer for the people who were stuck to be in a nice protected warm and properly ventilated environment inside the tunnel than in freezing cold with no power outside.

As for the comment about the North River tubes being short, it is, as you might say, a matter of immense luck that so far there has not been a significant fire incident in one of them. There is literally no way for people to be pulled out of those tunnel in case of a significant fire, unlike in the Channel Tunnel where people can escape away from the fire into the Service tunnel and seal the tunnel with the fire off.

 

[jis]

I've been on the Eurostar several times. It take about 20 minutes to pass through the Chunnel and it is very dark, except for thelights in the train. I would think it would be very distressful to be stuck in the Chunnel without and water.

It is dark when the tunnel light are not switched on. Actually when the lights are switched on it is surprisingly bright. And then there are those green beacons pointing to escape cross tunnels connecting to the service tunnel. Of course the crossover caverns also can be lit up quite brightly.

 

[jis]

well you got your wish.

Well, Eurostars are canceled until a cause is definitively determined and corrective actions taken, a very reasonable and prudent thing to do. But this has nothing to do with safety of the Chunnel. The Chunnel is not shut down. The car/truck ferry service is still capable of operating. The electric engines that do the ferrying are of a different design and apparently do not have the condensation problem that the Eurostar sets do. The problem is that the highway from Frethune is shut down in France and hence after getting to the French side there is nowhere for the road traffic to go, and hence there is no point in taking them there in the first place, and hence the massive backup in the UK. As soon as the road stuation clears up the car and truck ferry service will be running full capacity again.

 

[DET63]

I've been on the Eurostar several times. It take about 20 minutes to pass through the Chunnel and it is very dark, except for thelights in the train. I would think it would be very distressful to be stuck in the Chunnel without and water.

It is dark when the tunnel light are not switched on. Actually when the lights are switched on it is surprisingly bright. And then there are those green beacons pointing to escape cross tunnels connecting to the service tunnel. Of course the crossover caverns also can be lit up quite brightly.

And if there is a major power outage, are there sufficient backup systems to light those lights deep in the tunnel?

 

[Neil_M]

I've been on the Eurostar several times. It take about 20 minutes to pass through the Chunnel and it is very dark, except for thelights in the train. I would think it would be very distressful to be stuck in the Chunnel without and water.

It is dark when the tunnel light are not switched on. Actually when the lights are switched on it is surprisingly bright. And then there are those green beacons pointing to escape cross tunnels connecting to the service tunnel. Of course the crossover caverns also can be lit up quite brightly.

And if there is a major power outage, are there sufficient backup systems to light those lights deep in the tunnel?

Yes, because the tunnel lighting is not run off the overhead power cables..... funnily enough....

If you are going to get stuck in a tunnel, then the Channel Tunnel is your tunnel of choice, walkway alongside the trains, frequent cross passages into the service tunnel, fire fighting equipment and powerful ventilation.

At least if there is a serious incident ( trains breaking down isn't a serious incident) then you have a very good chance of getting out ok, now tell me a fire on a train in one of the NY tunnels or the Moffat Tunnel, and someone pulling the emergency brake in a panic, would give you the same chance. You can't.

As I said before, how many people were injured or killed at the weekend in the Channel Tunnel?

Clue= the number is still less than 1.

Just thought I would add this link, maybe it might help, possibly.

http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcCor...Infrastructure/

 

[DET63]

Eurostar runs test trains in Channel tunnel but no passenger service

Elderly travellers and families rerouted on to Dover ferries but roads to ports clear after 12-hour jams
After three days of travel misery on Channel rail services, empty test trains gingerly started running as Eurostar engineers worked to solve the puzzle of multiple breakdowns between London and Paris.

 

However, as thousands of travellers counted the cost of ruined trips, Eurostar confirmed tonight that it will not run any passenger services tomorrow.

 

Passengers were still being turned away at St Pancras, but the company arranged for 500 elderly travellers and families with children to use ferries from Dover instead.

 

Meanwhile, a marathon jam on the M20 and other roads to the Channel ports eased, with the first lorries for more than 12 hours embarking for the continent.

 

[leemell]

Anybody offering any clues as to what took out four trains that hasn't happened before? The only thing I heard was that there was ice on the trains out of France and it melted in the warmer tunnel and somehow caused the malfunction of the trains. At first blush this seems improbable as they have surely encountered these conditions before.

 

[jis]

Anybody offering any clues as to what took out four trains that hasn't happened before? The only thing I heard was that there was ice on the trains out of France and it melted in the warmer tunnel and somehow caused the malfunction of the trains. At first blush this seems improbable as they have surely encountered these conditions before.

What I came to understand is that certain parts of the electrical equipment that had gotten more cooled than was ever experienced before while running outside then was hit by warm moist air as the train entered the warm humid tunnels. Water condensed from the cooling air circulation into places where they were not designed to handle such, thus causing electrical short circuit and hence the complete failure of electric supply on the trains. Mind you this is my vague understanding from the usual less than perfect and somewhat garbled stuff that we get in the form of news reporting, so it is itself subject to correction.

I also read in one report that similar failures have occasionally occurred in the past but not to such a massive degree. Which of course leaves one wondering why Eurostar and Alstom were sitting on their hands and had done nothing about investigating and fixing the problem proactively.

 

[DET63]

I also read in one report that similar failures have occasionally occurred in the past but not to such a massive degree. Which of course leaves one wondering why Eurostar and Alstom were sitting on their hands and had done nothing about investigating and fixing the problem proactively.

Yep, good questions.