Eurostar 'must improve after December breakdowns crisis'

Date: 12/2/2010

Eurostar should improve the way it communicates and assists its passengers, an independent review has recommended.

The review also criticised Eurostar for not having sufficient contingency plans in place, following the crisis before Christmas in which passengers were left stranded in trains in the Channel Tunnel.

According to the report, Eurostar's trains had not "undergone sufficient weather preparations" so that they could withstand extremely severe weather conditions.

However, it added that the evacuation of trains was done "safely and efficiently".

Some 2,500 passengers were left stranded in the tunnel for up to five-and-a-half hours.

Cancellations and delays following the breakdowns left an additional 100,000 passengers stranded.

Following the release of the report, Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown stated the company is to invest more than £30 million to implement its 21 recommendations.