Ian Aikman & Kris Bramwell
BBC News
James Grierson
Passengers were asked to leave the broken train near the curry
A broken Eurostar train has evacuated in northern France, over eight hours behind what was planned for a two-hour journey.
People said they were stuck inside the ship for four hours without air conditioning or working toilets before the rescue team arrived to hand out water and drive them out of the carriage.
James Greerson was evacuated with many “very frustrated” passengers. He said they are currently completing their journey to London on exchange trains.
Eurostar apologized and offered a full refund to affected customers. It said the train was stopped due to a power outage and the rescue train was “instantly dispatched” to gather passengers.
James Grierson
Passengers said they attended the train after the local rescue team stopped.
The train was scheduled to depart Brussels at 08:52 local time (07:52 BST) and arrive at London St. Pancras International at 09:57 BST.
However, the blackout between the reel and curry left the train without onboard power, EuroStar said in a statement.
Lydia Aviles, 38, of Brussels, said passengers were not allowed to leave the train for hours due to security concerns about people standing near the rails.
During that period, several passengers sent messages to the Eurostar at X, complaining of air conditioning, overflowing toilets and lack of renewals.
“The toilets weren’t working. This is especially bad for babies and elderly people,” Aviles said.
Greerson said “multiple passengers” were “suffering” on the hot train. Eurostar said the door was opened to help with the airflow.
The train was evacuated at 16:00 local time (15:00 BST), passengers told the BBC.
Photos from the scene show dozens of people standing outside the stationary train, with dozens of people standing with rescuers wearing high-screw jackets carrying arms of bottled water.
Also, members of Stornoway, a British folk band who were traveling by train, performed improvised trackside performances for other rising passengers.
Stornoway
Stornoway played the acoustic version of Yazz’s only way.
The exchange train had arrived by 16:45 local time. Aviles said she got on the train, but the “evacuation process” was ongoing.
More than two hours later, Stornoway told the BBC that the exchange train was not running.
“Each passenger is given a Kit Kat, and I’m grateful for that, but we still have no information on what actually happened or when we’ll move,” they said.
The band said people were “starting attacking the cafe cars” while waiting, and one person was taken away by a stretcher.
Eurostar said the “complex transfer operations” to the new train “take longer than expected” and thanked its customers for their patience and cooperation.
Passengers said the exchange train began to move at 7:30pm (BST 18:30pm).
Railway operators offer customers a reward package of either a full cash refund or a voucher equivalent to three times the ticket value.
“I understand how difficult this experience is and I sincerely apologize for causing confusion and discomfort,” he said in the statement.
