“Please arrive after 6am tomorrow.” Michael Harrison, from Cranbrook, Kent, one of those on the evacuated train, told the PA news agency: “We entered the crossing at 3.50pm, about 10 minutes the lights went out and the train stopped. Mr Harrison said they were told they “needed to investigate a problem with the wheels”, which “took about an hour and a half to investigate and apparently found nothing”.
“There were gasps of disbelief”
He said they “kicked things off” and started for another five minutes: “It happened again so we waited another two hours to decide they couldn’t see a problem but had to evacuate the train to another train. “After further waiting, we left the train through the emergency connecting tunnel to the service tunnel. “We then walked about 10 minutes to a train in front of the injured train. “This was a coach carriage where we were taken to Folkestone. This train then stopped as it could not be pulled, probably because it was long and had no weight on it. There were gasps of disbelief when this was announced. “At last we reached Folkestone six hours after boarding.” Another passenger who was evacuated, but did not want to be named, told PA that “a lot of people are freaking out because they were down in the service tunnel, it’s a bit of a strange place”. He added: “We were stuck down there for at least five hours. “If I have one complaint it’s that they knew several hundred people were arriving at Folkestone who hadn’t eaten for five, six or more hours and there was absolutely nothing for us here. “Just huge lines for Burger King.”
“Caught in the Trap”
Journalist Bruce Atkinson, who experienced the delays in Calais, tweeted: “Sitting in the boarding queue at Calais with no idea how long we’ll be waiting. I’ve been here four hours now.”
