UK Ferry Tickets

The Channel Tunnel appears to be back up and running again with a restricted service after the latest fire closed operations on September 11th.

The fire broke out last Thursday afternoon, the third since opening in 1994, and both Eurostar and Eurotunnel shuttle services were initially suspended whilst rescue operations fought to clear around 27 burnt our HGV vehicles from the tunnel. No one was seriously hurt in the fire although several passengers spent the night in a French hospital where they were briefly admitted for ‘observation’.

Since the fire, the short-sea ferry companies have enjoyed a mini-boom in bookings as displaced customers sought alternative means to cross the Channel and Eurotunnel will no doubt be keen to resume commercial operations as quickly as possible to mitigate losses.

Once again, Eurotunnel’s emergency procedures seem to have worked satisfactorily and the evacuation of the tunnel was handled well, however, the ensuing chaos on the M20 caused by ‘Operation Stack’ has met some criticism.

We can only speculate as to the cause of the fire whilst investigations continue but the bad publicity can only serve to damage consumer confidence in Eurotunnel’s product.

Mini-post by Alan Potts

Friday, September 19th, 2008