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Eurotunnel shuts down car service | Eurotunnel shuts down car service |
(10 minutes later) | |
Eurotunnel has closed its shuttle car service to new arrivals, saying its terminal is at "saturation point". | Eurotunnel has closed its shuttle car service to new arrivals, saying its terminal is at "saturation point". |
Passenger David Brown told the BBC he was one of more than 1,000 passengers stuck at the terminal at Folkestone. | Passenger David Brown told the BBC he was one of more than 1,000 passengers stuck at the terminal at Folkestone. |
He said day trip passengers had been told to go home, and Eurotunnel was citing "severe technical problems". | He said day trip passengers had been told to go home, and Eurotunnel was citing "severe technical problems". |
It came as the separate Eurostar firm launched a review into train breakdowns which have stranded and delayed tens of thousands of passengers since Friday. | |
AFP news agency reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the head of the French rail operator that he wanted the suspended Eurostar service running again by Tuesday. | |
The company has asked passengers to avoid trying to travel over the next three days if possible, and said it hoped the problems would be resolved before Christmas. | |
It said the company's priority was to get displaced people back home. | |
Snow shields | |
Meanwhile Eurotunnel - which carries vehicles under the Channel - said its terminal was at "saturation point". | |
It blamed passengers who had turned up on Monday, after postponing their travel plans over the weekend due to bad weather. | |
BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said the company was sending away passengers who had booked day trip tickets on its Le Shuttle car service. | |
Passengers without bookings were also being told not to turn up because they would not be able to buy a ticket. | |
Eurostar trains - which serve rail passengers travelling from London St Pancras to France and Belgium - have been further modified to cope with cold weather. | Eurostar trains - which serve rail passengers travelling from London St Pancras to France and Belgium - have been further modified to cope with cold weather. |
The trains were being tested on Monday, after services were suspended for a third day. | The trains were being tested on Monday, after services were suspended for a third day. |
More than 55,000 travellers have had journeys cancelled after six trains broke down in the tunnel. | |
Eurostar said it believed it had identified the problem, and had made adjustments to try to stop water getting into the electrical systems. | |
It said snow shields used to protect the electrics had worked for the 15 years it has been running services through the tunnel. | |
Monday's tests were going "pretty well," a Eurostar spokesman told the BBC. | |
The company plans to make an announcement on progress by 1800 GMT. |