Around 340 passengers were stuck on a Eurostar train travelling from Amsterdam to London through Belgium for almost seven hours. Around 03:00 in the morning on Saturday, they were finally towed to Brussels Midi station.
Just several hours after Eurostar announced that traffic on its trains between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany, which had been severely disrupted due to bad winter weather, has almost returned to normal, the last service between Amsterdam and London became stuck for several hours.
The 18:45 service stopped near Machelen, to the southeast of Brussels, at around 20:30."Around 23:00, we were informed and nine volunteers left to lend a hand," the Red Cross of Machelen en Diegem said on social media.
One passenger on the train, Patrick English, who is Director of Political Analytics and YouGov's spokesperson, wrote on social media that a loud bang could be heard, and a flash of light was seen above the carriage. "This was followed by some aggressive breaking, and the power went out quickly afterwards."
Later in the night, all passengers were moved up to the front of the train, where power returned, and there was a scramble to book hotels in Brussels and new trains for the morning, which Eurostar noted would be reimbursed. Staff also asked passengers to fill out the paperwork for them to be allowed to get off at Brussels.
It took quite some time before an auxiliary locomotive could arrive at the scene to tow the train. The train was finally towed to Brussels Midi station at around 03:00.
Once they arrived there, the stranded passengers were given a meal and drinks, but first, they were checked by border guards.
What caused the breakdown is unknown for now, according to Belgian rail infrastructure company Infrabel.
