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Delays after Channel Tunnel fault Delays after Channel Tunnel fault
(about 2 hours later)
Five-hour delays to lorries caused by a technical fault in the Channel Tunnel have led to freight piling up along the M20 on a major holiday weekend. A fault which trapped passengers on a train inside the Channel Tunnel and caused delays of up to six hours for freight and passengers has been fixed.
Police have implemented phase one of Operation Stack, which means lorries unable to cross the Channel are parking on the motorway in Kent. Eurotunnel said the service was now up and running and extra trains had been added to cope with the backlog.
A powercut left passengers in about 100 cars trapped on a train inside the tunnel for up to four hours. But passengers heading for France would continue to face delays to journeys until at least midnight on Friday.
Eurotunnel say the fault has been fixed and services are now being increased. The electrical fault in an overhead gantry trapped a train with 130 cars on board near the French side at 1030 BST.
Three babies were very poorly and they had to get a doctor on board Emma Collins Six hours trapped on train Latest BBC Travel News Cars were on the Eurotunnel train for up to six hours, four of them inside the tunnel, when the power cut happened at 1030 BST. Three babies were very poorly and they had to get a doctor on board Emma Collins Six hours trapped on train Latest BBC Travel News
Cars were on the Eurotunnel train for up to six hours, four of them inside the tunnel, after the power cut.
Emma Collins, who was stranded in her car with her three small children, said: "It started getting very, very, hot.Emma Collins, who was stranded in her car with her three small children, said: "It started getting very, very, hot.
"Some of the double-stacked vehicles, they didn't fare so well and it got very, very hot."Some of the double-stacked vehicles, they didn't fare so well and it got very, very hot.
"Three babies, I understand, were very poorly and they had to get a doctor on board to see to them.""Three babies, I understand, were very poorly and they had to get a doctor on board to see to them."
The rail operator said a few hundred passengers would have been on the carriages. 'A bit eerie'
Train pulled out Eurotunnel said a few hundred passengers would have been on the carriages.
Drivers have been warned to avoid the area and anyone without a pre-booked ticket should not travel to the tunnel. A spokesman said the power cut affected only a small part of the tunnel and services continued throughout the day but at a reduced level.
Eurostar services have been delayed by about 30 minutes. "It would have been a bit eerie down there and reasonably hot," he said.
It would have been a bit eerie down there Eurotunnel spokesman
Eurotunnel passenger services are delayed by three hours, and freight services by five hours, a police spokesman said.
A Eurotunnel spokesman said the power cut affected only a small part of the tunnel and services continued throughout the day but at a reduced level.
He added: "The problem has been repaired and the service is now being built back up to normal levels by the end of the evening.
"It would have been a bit eerie down there and reasonably hot.
"The normal safety procedure is that the best way of dealing with this is to pull the train out rather than getting people to walk along the lines," he said."The normal safety procedure is that the best way of dealing with this is to pull the train out rather than getting people to walk along the lines," he said.
Under phase one of Operation Stack, the coastbound M20 is closed between junctions 11 and 12, for Hythe and Cheriton. Kent Police enacted phase one of Operation Stack to cope with the delayed traffic, closing the coastbound M20 between junctions 11 and 12, for Hythe and Cheriton.
All coastbound traffic must leave the motorway at junction 11 and use the A20, while lorries park between the two junctions. Drivers were warned to avoid the Folkestone area and anyone without a pre-booked ticket told not travel to the tunnel.
'Been misled'
But some drivers complained that police had directed them to Dover, telling them the ferry companies would honour tickets.
Alan Hawkes from Cambridgeshire said that when they got there they were told this was not the case and had to turn back.
"We have just been misled all the way down the line and I am very angry with the police," he said.
"It wasn't just one policeman - there were others directing people away."
A spokeswoman for Kent Police and they said they were not aware of officers directing traffic to Dover.
She said officers were not told of any reciprocal arrangement and apologised if there was any misunderstanding.