Eurostar services resume amid angry scenes - Update

Paris/London - Passengers vented their anger at Eurostar staff as a limited train service resumed through the Channel tunnel Tuesday following a three-day shutdown. Eurostar said it would operate at 75 per-cent capacity Tuesday and give priority to passengers who have been stuck following the breakdown of four high-speed trains in the tunnel Saturday.

The operator said it would take no new bookings until the backlog was cleared. A first train departed from the Gare du Nord station in Paris early Tuesday, followed by a service from London St Pancras to Paris a little later.

However, confusion reigned at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris early Tuesday as the first train prepared to leave.

Priority was given to travelers who had purchased tickets for the weekend, but ticket holders did not appear to be well informed about which queue was the correct one.

A young woman named Shula, who had a ticket for a Monday train to London, told Europe 1 radio that she had been at the station since 5.30 am.

"And I am determined to spend the entire day here if that means I will be able to leave," she said.

In London, where people queued in their thousands to board the first trains, passenger fury erupted as travelers were told there was "no guarantee" they would reach their destinations before Christmas.

Amid chaotic scenes at the station, and with police on standby, some spoke of their frustration that they were not guaranteed a seat.

A Eurostar spokeswoman said the company would operate a services on a "shuttle basis" to get as many people across the Channel as possible.

But when asked whether ticket-holders were guaranteed to get home in time for December 25, she said: "I cannot guarantee that, no."

US citizen Bryan Field, who was planning to travel to Italy for Christmas, said rail bosses should have been better prepared for the wintry weather.

"Why aren't the British prepared?," he asked, after spending three nights in a London hotel waiting for a train to go.

Daniel Sharp, from London, was forced to postpone his weekend plans to visit his girlfriend in southern France, but boarded a train Tuesday.

"I'm glad to be getting across to see her at last, but am highly unsure that I will now be getting back to Britain for Christmas. They definitely have a lot to answer for," he said.

On average, some 15,000 people a day travel from St Pancras on Eurostar.

"We are looking at running extra trains," said spokesman Matthias Maher. "But it is very much dependent on the weather. There is just no way of guaranteeing seats for the people here."

The nightmare began Saturday when four Eurostar trains broke down in the tunnel, trapping more than 2,000 people for up to 15 hours and shutting down the service.

Heavy snowfall and icy temperatures in northern France are thought to be responsible for the breakdown of the trains. A further two trains also experienced problems.

The weekend cancellations affected some 59,000 people, including many families with children, who would have used the trains in the busy final weekend before Christmas.

Eurostar promised Monday to "get people home for Christmas" but said a normal service would only be restored after the holiday.