p16 Columnist feb19 16/2/10 15:10 Page 16
news comment
ttglive.com
Mike Pearse ITV News
“Eurostar will slowly recover
but the fiasco will put many
people off travelling with
them for some time to come”
I
was at the press conference last week into damaged. Eurostar will slowly recover but the
the damning report on the Eurostar fiasco fiasco will put many people off travelling with
just before Christmas. This should be a them for some time to come.
wake-up call for the entire travel industry That’s a pity, because some will go back to
to be prepared to deal with a major incident. using the plane, which is less good for the envi-
Passengers were left stranded on trains for ronment. It also comes as Eurostar should be
hours with no food and water, in 40C tempera- trumpeting about a new high-speed line in
tures. Eurostar failed every step of the way. Holland which, with a connection in Brussels,
In fact things got so bad one carriage is a fast way to get to Amsterdam.
became a “communal toilet”, said the official Compensation is an issue the report did
inquiry. not cover. The company says it will spend
One of the most worrying points is how £10 million. But has it got off lightly?
unprepared the company seemed to be. Many people who were on those trains
No one had ever thought that five trains feel a free ticket and £150 is as
might break down simultaneously in the miserable as the experience itself.
Channel Tunnel. But why not? If the company were subject to
Up to 12 Eurostar and Eurotunnel new US airline rules they would be
trains can be in the tunnel at any one paying out 10 times that figure.
time. It is inexcusable for any operator Eurostar will now spend £30 million
not to prepare for the worst-case sce- to try to put things right, and top of the
nario. To say “we never thought it would list will be making sure the trains do
happen” is simply not good enough. not fail when it snows. It is a great
The reason it is so important to deal shame it failed to rectify issues that had
with incidents well is the potential im- been raised in the past and will now pay
pact and reputation of your business. a high price to put things right.
If you are seen to have lost control The question also to be asked is how
or handled a situation badly the will the cost of making the changes be
stark reality is it can send you bust. funded? Will it be passengers forced to
That goes for all businesses from the suffer again through higher fares?
smallest travel agent to the biggest Thousands of people were made to
airline. suffer appallingly and that must never be
We are all facing difficult economic times allowed to happen again on Eurostar or
but as Eurostar has discovered, its failings any other operator. Be prepared!
will cost the company a fortune.
The train company is lucky there were no
serious injuries but its reputation is badly Mike Pearse, transport correspondent, ITV News
16 19.02.2010
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