 Poster: A snowHead
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A Eurostar snowtrain on its return journey from the French Alps has been reported blocked by a rockfall "near Mont Blanc". The Saturday evening service from Bourg St Maurice was said last night - this report from The Scotsman (final paragraphs) - to have 450 passengers on board and be unable to move...
"A Eurostar spokeswoman said last night it was still waiting for the French authorities to clear the tracks", according to The Scotsman.
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We'll try to clarify this report, as it implies that the service has been delayed for over 24 hours (the passengers presumably taken off the train and given alternative transport or some accommodation?) More to come ...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Am watching this thread with interest as am of on train at end of the week.
Imagine they will sort by then, but it is inetersteing to know how they will have dealt with the passengers.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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A Eurostar spokesman has just explained to us that the line blockage was/is between Bourg and Moutiers, the train affected was the 22.15 on Saturday night to London (which normally arrives London 07.34 Sunday morning). Some passengers made their own way home, others were put onboard trains to Paris further down the line.
I'm awaiting a call from the press office which will hopefully clarify the position for next weekend's trains.
Maybe the overnight couchette services to Paris and Calais were/are affected too. We'll find out more...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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david, they're bound to be, that part of the line is single track.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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... though we don't know when the rocks fell, or whether the line is now clear ... yet.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Update: Eurostar have now told us that they expect services to run normally this weekend. If the line remains blocked (the severe weather is hampering maintenance teams on the site) then the trains will probably terminate at Moutiers, with onward transport by bus.
The landslide occurred at between 19.15 and 19.30 French time on Saturday evening. The arrangements made on Saturday were that any passengers affected received TGV travel to Paris by SNCF, and onward travel to London by Eurostar. I guess that got them home not too much later on Sunday than originally scheduled. Eurostar also tell us that they picked up passengers affected by the closure of Geneva Airport on Sunday.
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Were you booked aboard the stranded Eurostar, or one of the couchettes from Bourg? It would be interesting to know how you got back.
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Thanks for all the chasing arround you did on that David, it makes me feel better to know that they sorted out the onward travel for the passengers extremely well.
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The report from Tony Lane in this snowHeads thread indicates that the train went nowhere on Saturday night, with passengers staying on board and commencing their alternative travel on Sunday, which means what I wrote above was optimistic.
When you think about it, trying to offer people alternative trains to Paris late on a Saturday night from a remote station in the Alps is not the easiest piece of logistics!
One wonders if any insurance claims could kick in with a delay of that sort? I'm sure people would prefer to have stayed in hotels.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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David, I doubt if you would have found sufficient hotel capacity in BSM or Moutiers for one night.
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No, they don't have those vast airport hotels, eagerly awaiting the next faulty plane!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Not just the trains were blocked. There were massive traffic jams as well on the Nationale near Moûtiers. The club minibus with Hannou on board, on its way back from the Megève region heading for Bourg St Maurice, managed to take the back roads to get around the problem, but of course most holidaymakers were stranded for some hours.
The Tarentaise valley is subject to landslides more often than you might think. April 2003 the Nationale was cut off near Ste Foy for some 24 hours. We arrived half an hour after it happened, on our way to Tignes. Some of the boulders blocking the road were enormous, easily 10 tons plus, and had to be dynamited the following morning. It was the middle of the night, so to get to our hotel we had to climb over the landslide, having ordered a taxi from the Tignes side. They were doing a roaring trade at 50 euros a trip!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The numbers who were going nowhere in trains at Bourg St Maurice must have been impressive. I think I'm right in saying that at least 2 overnight couchette trains would have been there - 1400 passengers total? - and maybe a TGV for good measure?
The best business last Saturday night must have been the station kiosk, if they were enterprising enough to stay open!
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David Goldsmith, a quick summary of my recent experiences:
we were due to travel on the direct Eurostar from Bourg on the Saturday evening train. We arrived in Bourg ready for check in (having already had to hitch a lift with a bus of French school kids because our transfer was stuck in a traffic jam on the way up the hill from Bourg!) only to be told that no trains would leave Bourg that night due to the landslide.
There were 2 snowtrains (one to Calais and one to Paris) plus the Eurostar in the station. Eventually, it was confirmed that Rail Europe were able to accommodate everyone in the two sleeper trains that were in the station.
In the morning, all passengers (snowtrain and Eurostar) were put on buses to Moutiers where there would be a specially chartered TGV to take us to Lille from where, I assume, they were hoping to put us on a Eurostar train. Our bus left at 8.30am.
It took two hours for us to get to Moutiers (due to heavy snow and a small diversion) and the TGV waited until 12.15 for the remaining coaches and passengers to arrive. There was no system of checking or counting passengers and we heard rumours that some coaches did not make it to the TGV in time before it left.
In the end, and without explanation, the TGV was re-routed to Paris where there was to be a specially chartered Eurostar to take us to London.
The process of getting everyone on the special train was chaotic to say the least but it eventually left at 7.45pm and we arrived in Waterloo at 10.15pm (London time)
I have nothing but compliments for the way in which Rail Europe dealt with the situation (esp the young lad named Ben who took charge of the situation) but we didn't see any official representation from Eurostar until we got to Paris. As we were Eurostar passengers and not Rail Europe passengers, I have a number of issues with that and will be taking it up direct with Eurostar. As a result, I have avoided venting my frustration here!
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You know it makes sense.
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... So, how many hours is that from Bourg to London? That's the trick question from snowHeads today (study full thread for vital info). Clue: it's either 47, 48, or 49 hours.
I hope you had at least a little time to enjoy Paris, Tony, but maybe you weren't in the mood!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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David Goldsmith, as much as i appreciate your sympathy for our plight, it wasn't that long! We arrived in Bourg [one hour before departure] on Saturday and arrived in Waterloo at 10.15pm on Sunday - [X] hours travel (Edit - i have removed the correct figure so as not to spoil David's subsequent edit), not including the transfer to Bourg or the journey home from Waterloo (not very long in my case but another 90 minutes for some in our group).
Some of our group had simply changed after coming off the slopes. I was glad that I had been in the group that went for a swim and sauna at the Hotel Montana before heading down to Bourg.
Unfortunately, our time in Paris simply involved charging off the TGV to join the queue to get processed for the Eurostar - 2.5 hours.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Yes, I think I've utterly confused things with the 'trick question' and 'dodgy clues'. Thank God I don't set questions for 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' - I'd be in real trouble.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cough, cough, cough.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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David, please accept this very cheap throat lozenge.
Let's start again: is it 23, 24 or 25 hours, and what's the name of the train driver?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Pierre.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Ah, another Stone on the rails!
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FAQ
