A major electrical fault on the Eurotunnel has caused severe disruption to passengers travelling home from last weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours on the Calais side.
The fault restricted Le Shuttle’s services to just one tunnel, resulting in queues stretching down the A16 motorway from all directions. At the time of writing, the delays reported by Eurotunnel were increasing, despite the issue being resolved late afternoon.
“Our passenger service is currently operating with some timetable disruption,” the latest statement on the Eurotunnel website reads. “This is due to an earlier incident on the Tunnel which has now been resolved.
“There is a waiting time of approximately four hours before check in and five hours on the terminal. We regret that we are currently unable to sell tickets to non-reserved customers.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this will cause to your journey.”
A number of major personalities from the WEC/Le Mans paddock were caught in the congestion, including Audi Sport driver Oliver Jarvis, WEC media manager Fiona Miller and Ford Performance photographer Drew Gibson, who all tweeted about the situation.
The @LeShuttle is an absolute disgrace today. 3hrs & not even through customs yet. Disorganised & no info. #appallingservice #calais #avoid
— oliver jarvis (@ollyjarvis) June 20, 2016
Never have I seen congestion as bad, every one pre booked, yet 3 hours delay at check in. #Eurotunnel pic.twitter.com/eQPKiNJ1sO
— Drew Gibson (@drewgibsonphoto) June 20, 2016
While many travellers affected attempted to book a late a ferry from Calais, DSC’s deputy editor’s party ended up diverting to a DFDS service from Dunkirk to Dover to avoid the delays.
It is unclear at this time the extent of compensation on offer by Eurotunnel for affected customers.
DSC recommends that anyone travelling late tonight or tomorrow morning should monitor Eurotunnel’s official travel updates page for up-to-date news on the disruption.
