Eurotunnel Fire: Delays Continue For Third Day

Travel disruption sparked by Saturday's fire in the Channel Tunnel is dragging on into a third day.

Eurotunnel (Paris: FR0010533075 - news) passengers travelling by car or coach from the UK are having to wait about 90 minutes, and "approximately three hours" on the French side.

In an early morning update , the company said there was still "some timetable disruption" as repair work went on to fix damaged sections of the tunnel.

Despite the delays, Eurotunnel said it was "optimistic" of "more regular departures".

Train operator Eurostar, a separate company, was also hopeful, tweeting: "Eurostar plans to run a full service on Mon 19 Jan. Passengers are advised to check-in as normal."

Thousands of passengers using Eurotunnel and the Eurostar high-speed train were left stranded on Saturday after a lorry fire stopped services.

Spokesman John O'Keefe said a "smouldering load" was found in the trailer of the lorry.

No one was injured but the incident led to long queues at London St Pancras station, as well as in Paris and Brussels.

Travel woes piled up on Sunday, with a separate electrical problem forcing the tunnel to shut for two hours.

Eurostar said that cancellation had affected six trains due to leave from London, and five leaving from Paris and Brussels.

Passengers were asked to "postpone their travel and rebook for an alternative date" – but many then complained of waiting hours on the phone.

One user, Esme Caldwell, in a response to whether she had the right number, tweeted: "Yes I called 03432 186 186 at 8am. It's playing the music and the hold message. Still on hold. It's been 9 hours. Please call me."

Up-to-the-minute updates can be found on the Eurostar and Eurotunnel Twitter accounts.