Training | 2009.12.22
Letters: A thank you for Eurostar's marathon rescue
I was on the second of the Eurostar trains that broke down in the tunnel and am most grateful for the way we were looked after ( Travel chaos , 22 December). The train manager gave regular information over the tannoy and I settled down to enjoy the two small bottles of red wine and a Christmas pudding I bought from the buffet. My copy of the Guardian circulated among some of the other passengers who weren\'t asleep, and I read a novel until I went to sleep myself.
When we transferred to the rescue train, there were perhaps 50 firemen in yellow uniforms who guided us along the service tunnel , helping those who needed help to negotiate stairs, while a team of people were operating a kind of marathon runners\' water station, handing out bottles of water to all. The rescue train was indeed uncomfortable, with no seats. The 100 or so people in my wagon took things out of their suitcases to create makeshift cushions and pillows, putting on coats and hats and scarves against a chill. One senior fireman walked through and spoke to us and answered questions. A policeman walked through and asked if anyone needed medical assistance. No one I saw seemed distressed, while all the children slept on top of their parents\' bags and cases. Uncomfortable, yes, and I appreciate some people seem to have had it worse than others. But I would like to say thank you to the Eurostar staff and the emergency services whom I saw.
Chris Hickey
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
• Eurostar has a chairman and eight directors, none of whom appear to have a professional engineering qualification. So, they don\'t seem to have a clue what to do when their trains break down. When the banking system went into meltdown, it turned out that banks were run by marketing men, grocers and the like.
David Butterworth
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Eurostars cancelled. Continent cut off.
JES Bradshaw
Southam, Warwickshire
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/de[...]rostar-breakdown-tunnel-rescue
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