Power snag hits Chunnel services

London, July 7 (IANS) A France-bound shuttle train broke down in the Channel Tunnel Monday morning, leading to long delays and evacuation of more than 300 passengers, traffic authorities said Monday.

The incident occurred around 7.30 a.m. in the 50.5-km long tunnel linking Britain and France.

The evacuated passengers have been relocated at the French terminal, a Eurotunnel spokesman said.

"We are currently having major delays and cancellations because of a problem with the overhead power line in the Eurotunnel," Eurostar, a high-speed railway service owned and operated by Eurotunnel, said in a statement.

Eurostar's customer care team said on its Twitter feed that "a section of the tunnel is closed, entailing single line working while extensive repairs are being carried through", Xinhua reported

The company has cancelled four trains between London and Paris and four more between London and Brussels.

"If travel today is non-essential, we strongly recommend that you postpone your journey and not come to the station," Eurostar said on its official website.

Passengers are allowed to exchange their tickets to another available service free of charge within the next four months.

The Eurotunnel Group said its passenger service "is operating with some timetable disruption" due to "an incident in the tunnel which is in the process of being resolved".

For customers travelling via the tunnel's British terminal, there is a waiting time of about 90 minutes, while those travelling via the French terminal could face a waiting time of about two-and-a-half hours before check in and 90 minutes on the terminal, according to the group.

Customers have been advised to reschedule their travels or apply for a full refund if they were affected by the delays.