Winter storms cause travel chaos in Europe
Pastor Dale Morgan
Winter storms cause travel chaos in Europe
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ROBIN MILLARD
December 19, 2009 - 3:59PM
Europe braced itself Saturday for a weekend of travel chaos as a cold
snap covered parts of the continent in a pre-Christmas blanket of snow.
The Channel Tunnel rail link between Britain and mainland Europe was
suspended due to three broken-down Eurostar passenger trains blocking
both lines, with passengers being evacuated, operators Eurotunnel told AFP.
The bad weather affected the continent from Britain to the Black Sea,
hitting airports, roads and railways, shutting schools and affecting
power supplies.
Eurotunnel said the situation was "unprecedented" as efforts went on
through the night to get passengers out of the world's longest
uninterrupted undersea link.
"Currently the tunnels are closed," a spokesman said.
A total of around 1,200 to 1,300 passengers from two of the trains in
one tunnel were to be evacuated on an empty vehicle shuttle being sent
to collect them from the other tunnel, the spokesman said.
The third train, in the other tunnel, was scheduled to be pushed out later.
"At the moment we're not giving timescales. We hope to get this done as
quickly as possible," the spokesman said.
A fourth passenger train had earlier broken down and was pulled to London.
"Because of the weather, the snow and the extreme cold, we have severe
problems with our trains," a Eurostar spokesman told AFP.
The difference in temperature between the chilly open air and the warm
tunnel under the English Channel caused the trains to fail, he said.
The spokesman said the disruption to services would continue throughout
Saturday.
"We strongly advise passengers not to travel. Because of the bad
weather, we will have a reduced service," he said.
In France, the winter snows caused major disruption in Paris, with
flights delayed at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, airline
officials said.
French meteorologists warned of more snow and ice over the weekend for
most of northern France, the French Alps and the Mediterreanean island
of Corsica.
Authorities said one homeless man in Val-de-Marne, near Paris, died from
hypothermia, while another in Chateauroux, central France, had also
likely died from the cold.
The inclement weather also forced France's high-speed TGV trains to
travel at slower speeds, causing delays.
In Britain, some 1,500 schools were closed Friday, affecting more than
500,000 children. Meanwhile around 3,000 homes in northwest England were
left without power. Several roads were closed, while rail travellers
also faced heavy delays.
A couple in Kent, southeast England, managed to get married Friday
despite the snow after calls to a local radio station saw a string of
volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles transporting their 40 guests
to the ceremony.
"When all these people started pulling together and we realised we could
get married, it was just unbelievable. It was a dream come true," bride
Karen Rawlins said.
The cold snap took its toll on sporting fixtures in Britain, with
Friday's rugby union European Cup match between Wales' Newport Gwent
Dragons and French side Biarritz moved to Saturday in nearby Llanelli
due to a frozen pitch.
Three Football League games were called off, with several more Saturday
fixtures facing pitch inspections.
Officials at Ascot abandoned Saturday's high-profile race meeting after
the course west of London was hit with up to 10 centimetres (four
inches) of snow.
Romania was also hit by a thick blanket of snow that caused major
transport problems and led to power blackouts in some areas of the
southeastern European country.
Most flights from Bucharest airport were delayed, some by as much as two
and a half hours, and many train services from the capital were cancelled.
In Belgium, dozens of flights were cancelled at Brussels international
airport after snow falls and ice on runways. Around 30 outbound flights
and 70 incoming flights were cancelled, while dozens more were flagged
with delays.