2008 Channel Tunnel fire

Fire

The fire was reported on 11 September 2008, at approximately 13:57 UTC (14:57 BST / 15:57 CEST) in the North Tunnel 11 km from the French tunnel entrance. The shuttle was carrying 27 vehicles, and the blaze spread to other trucks during the evening, destroying six carriages and one locomotive. The fire continued to burn overnight and was reported to have been put out by 06:00 UTC the following day, although fire crews continued to smother nearby minor fires for a further two hours. More than 300 firefighters from both sides of the English Channel helped tackle the blaze, supported by emergency services from East and West Sussex, London and Essex.

The 32 people on board the train were led to safety down a separate service tunnel; fourteen suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, and were taken to the hospital.

A lorry thought to be carrying 100 kg of phenol (carbolic acid), a toxic product used in the pharmaceutical industry, was initially believed to be close to the seat of the fire; however, it only carried 100 g.Technical Investigation Report p85 Eyewitness accounts state that two loud bangs, described as explosions, were heard before thick smoke swept through the carriage. The train came to a grinding halt and the lights went out. Further eyewitness accounts suggest that the emergency exit was jammed, and that one passenger smashed a window with a hammer to climb out. The temperature in the tunnel was described as "very hot".

About 650 m of tunnel were damaged by the fire, 50% more than during the November 1996 fire.

Aftermath

Tunnel closure and reopening

Eurotunnel initially announced that all services would be suspended until 14 September; however, an inspection uncovered no damage to the south tunnel, and empty test shuttles were trialled during the evening of 12 September. A freight train was permitted to enter the tunnel in the early morning hours of 13 September, and limited Eurostar services resumed at 06:00 BST that morning, with 18 services in each direction, including a return journey from London to Disneyland Paris. Some passengers arriving at St Pancras Station reported smelling smoke whilst travelling through the tunnel. A limited passenger shuttle service restarted on 14 September with the 06:18 BST from Folkestone.{{cite news While the final sixth of the tunnel was being repaired, trains were limited to 100 km/h by the Intergovernmental Commission. Service levels were reduced so that only 90% of Eurostar services, 60% of Eurotunnel passenger vehicle shuttles and 70% of the HGV shuttles were able to run, costing Eurotunnel an estimated £185 million (€200 million) in lost revenue.{{cite news

Tunnel repair

Repair works were estimated at . On 18 October, the investigation authority released the damaged section of tunnel back to Eurotunnel,{{cite news

Eurotunnel response

When the train stopped in the tunnel due to a fire, the procedure was that the smoke had to be removed by the high powered ventilation before an evacuation could be allowed. However, when the train came to a halt, people saw the smoke and some panicked, broke a window and started evacuating on their own. The evacuation procedure is now shown in nine languages in the lorry driver's club car. Eurotunnel was also concerned because it took 75 minutes before the fire services started to tackle the blaze and that the ventilation was on during this time, fanning the fire and increasing the damage. After tests in April 2010, Eurotunnel built four "fire-fighting stations" in the tunnel. When a fire is detected on a train, it continues to the next station, where passengers and crew are evacuated into the service tunnel while an automatic system puts the fire out with water mist. These stations became operational in autumn 2011 and were tested in January 2012.

Investigation

The investigation was led by the French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau (Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Accidents de Transport Terrestre) and supported by the British Rail Accident Investigation Branch. The report was published on 22 November 2010.

References

References

1. (11 September 2008). "Channel Tunnel closed after freight train fire". The Daily Telegraph.
2. Robert Wright. (12 September 2008). "Channel tunnel fire causes further cancellations". Financial Times.
3. (12 September 2008). "Channel Tunnel disruption goes on". BBC News.
4. Millward, David. (11 September 2008). "Channel Tunnel closed after reported fire". The Daily Telegraph.
5. (12 September 2008). "Tunnel blaze finally out but chaos continues". The Independent.
6. "Fire breaks out in Channel Tunnel".
7. Milmo, Dan. (12 September 2008). "Channel tunnel fire worst in service's history". The Guardian.
8. (February 2009). "Today's Railways UK".
9. Jones, Sam. (13 September 2008). "Channel tunnel fire : Eurostar resumes limited services". The Guardian.
10. (13 September 2008). "Channel train services resuming". BBC News.
11. (13 September 2008). "Channel trains resume after fire". BBC News.
12. (23 December 2008). "Eurotunnel seeks safety changes". Railway Gazette.
13. (April 2010). "Eurotunnel on Track". Eurotunnel}}{{dead link.
14. (16 January 2012). "Eurotunnel demonstrates effectiveness of new SAFE stations". Eurotunnel.
15. (22 November 2010). "Fire on a freight shuttle train in the channel tunnel". [[RAIB]] and [[BEA-TT]].