eurostar

[ComedyPilot]

and you know enough of the local language to be able to enquire about what trains go where, assuming it is even possible to get to your destination by train in the first place that is.

Unlike (a huge majority of) my fellow countrymen and women, I speak fluent German (my destination) and enough French to get me by in France/Belgium to enable me to buy a ticket.

I can calmly enquire times/prices etc, without having to have a paddy, thinking the world revolves around me, and have a petulant strop at an information desk because 'I don't understand'.

 

[Crackle]

That's never stopped me.
I think you are just coming up with excuses for the timid.

No I agree. Unless the timetables are in cyrillic, a timetable is a timetable is a timetable and managing anything in a country you don't speak the language in is always the same, gestures, odd words, write it out, find someone to help.

 

[Wigsie]

No I agree. Unless the timetables are in cyrillic, a timetable is a timetable is a timetable and managing anything in a country you don't speak the language in is always the same, gestures, odd words, write it out, find someone to help.

Agreed, its all part of the fun and feeling of accomplishment once you have done it.

 

[Arch]

So if you were trapped on a train for 18 hours you would have no complaint whatsoever???

No, and I haven't said that. It would all depend on how well it was handled and whether I felt the staff on hand were doing all they could - bearing in mind that I'm capable of understanding when staff are at their limits themselves and I tend not to blame the first poor sod I come to. But the first thing I'd do on getting out would not be to go screaming to the media about how no one helped me walk, or how they weren't carrying enough water for such an abnormal situation. I understand that sometimes, things happen that are totally unexpected, and that getting irate isn't going to help.

Annoying though, it's the loudest voices that get heard, and the loudest voices usually belong to people with a lot of practice at complaining.

 

[Over The Hill]

Can't a normal train run through the tunnel?

Surely they could just put a Diesel train on.

 

[gavintc]

Perhaps, but I gather Calais was closed over the weekend.

It does seem odd - presumably the trains have run over winter for years. I wonder if it was the suddeness of the cold snap - after all, over here it went from mild to snow and ice almost overnight. Mayber there's a very fine tolerance that got overloaded. It certainly seems to have been a freak occurrance.

I'm coming down on the side of Eurostar, purely based on the ranting whingers I've heard on the news. When did the British become such whining wimps? One woman was complaining that they had to walk, unaided. The horror!

Arch, I am with you on this one. No company can cover for every eventuality - sometimes shoot happens. But, the level of scorn from the passengers left me more than little irritated by them. Come on - get a life.

 

[gavintc]

Can't a normal train run through the tunnel?

Surely they could just put a Diesel train on.

And where are you going to get a diesel train from? Remember most trains are already pretty full carrying people all over UK for Xmas.

 

[domd1979]

Can't a normal train run through the tunnel?

Surely they could just put a Diesel train on.

Nope. Different signalling system for starters and there ain't really anything else capable of the 186mph on the high speed bits (unless you count the Hitachi efforts recently delivered for domestic high speed services on the CTRL). As regards diesel, most diesel locos are diesel-electric with plenty of electronics on board....!

 

[CopperBrompton]

They did use diesel trains - see the thread on P&L

 

[domd1979]

To haul the broken ones out, yes. Not to run in service from London to Paris...

 

[Fab Foodie]

Whatever the ins and outs of this, it is a major F/up for the whole Eurostar/Eurotunnel (dis)organisation and a huge embarrasment for the operators and the train designers. Wrong type of snow anyone?

 

[CopperBrompton]

I think we have to be fair. The service has been running for 15 years in all weathers without this problem, then five failed trains in one day. That has to tell us conditions that day were exceedingly rare.

There were good contingency plans in place to rescue a stalled train, and they worked. The only reason the final train took such a long time is they had to rescue four trains before it.

 

[Wigsie]

I feel sorry for all the people stuck, but actually feel sorry for my cousin who works in Marketing/PR for Eurostar and is waking up to her 3rd day at St Pancras dealing with pissed of travellers.

 

[hackbike 666]

SWT was well buggered up yesterday.It did surprise me but I can understand what happened.I was working diesel trains for most of the day but was still affected.Mainly by displacement of train crews as a knock on affect.I had no guard and had to go empty from Woking to Salisbury.

SO I can underdstand the trouble with Eurostar.

Wrong type of snow anyone?

Yawn.

 

[661-Pete]

I must confess, have been disenchanted with the whole Eurostar/TGV setup for some time now. For all the numerous trips to France we've been going on these past few years, we only took the Eurostar once - and I reckon I've been through the Tunnel just twice, each way, since its inception.

Reasons: silly prices, slow journey (and they call this Train a Grand Vitesse??), frequent delays, awkward arrival times, innumerable stops (especially that tedious one at dreary Mickey-Mouse Station, on the Lille-Bordeaux leg...), poor facilities ... Need I go on?

So that's my green credentials blown sky-high, I'm afraid.

Mind you, this famous predecessor would have got through, no trouble! They don't build 'em like the magnificent Bulleid Pacifics!