Some 500 people using the high-speed Eurostar spent several nervous hours stranded in the French countryside after their train broke down, France’s SNCF rail operator and passengers said on Saturday.
The passengers, which left London Friday evening bound for Paris, were forced to switch trains at the northern French city of Lille after their train developed technical problems, according to SNCF’s operations centre.
The replacement train then broke down in the countryside, with police and firefighters responding as a precaution, although no incidents transpired.
A second replacement train had to be dispatched from Paris to pick up the passengers, some of whom complained about the lack of information.
“There has been very minimal announcements, mainly in French,” Neel Mersh, a London-based photographer said, “Some people were panicking.”
