Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

About cars being loaded into a non-air conditioned carriage on eurostar, temperatures intolerable, I collapsed?

289 replies

herbiwhore · 11/05/2015 14:03

I've been complaining to le shuttle about this. they say nothing was done wrong and that all procedures were correctly followed - i just cannot believe this is the case.
facts of the matter are we were loaded onto a carriage last august, temperatures reached at least 40 degrees c with no air movement. at the time i was 20 weeks pregnant and after about 5 minutes of being loaded onto the train, i started to feel strange and when I got out of the car I collapsed in the heat, unable to move etc, flat on my back, could not stand up. i had to be carried by my arms and legs by other passengers to an air conditioned carriage. crew members couldnt really do anything but bring a bottle of water there seemed to be no first aid provision at all. an off duty nurse looked after me and she was amazing, laid me out in the back of her car, she was lovely, but it didnt feel right that the actual organisation had no provision for this eventuality.
i think this is really disgraceful and dangerous - customer services at le shuttle have said that 'crew followed all procedures' and that they are 'sorry i am not happy' and i have been issued with a £30 token.
its really not about the money - i have said I will not accept it. it was a horrible experience and I genuinely don't want others to go through it. there seems to be very little transparency of accountability. i've asked for a copy of their policy and procedures, health and safety guidelines, first aid policy etc and heard nothing - am i being unreasonable to think that policy and procedure could not have possibly been followed?

OP posts:
SoldierBear · 11/05/2015 19:13

What did you want the staff to do?
You were lying down, you were given water, you were in a cool carriage. You had fainted - that is the correct treatment. What more do you think they should have done?
How do you know that they had "no provision" for minor incidents like this and that none of the staff have first aid training?
Do you have any evidence, other than anecdotal, that it was "over 40 degrees"?

It was unpleasant.
It was dealt with.
It's over.
Let it go.

Dognado · 11/05/2015 19:14

Can we please stop confusing eurostar and eurotunnel?

No.

Dognado · 11/05/2015 19:16

Everything Fenella said.

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:18

Do link when you can- I can promise it would have been an intolerable heat and I can't believe that would have been the norm- perhaps air con replaced a fan and vent system?

Sod's law that the one day I clear history and quit safari I need to refine a link! Aaarrggggghhhhhh!

However, the London underground suffers "intolerable heat" every summer, and you're crammed together with thousands of other passengers with only refuge being equally hot and muggy underground platforms. I survived 7 London summers...........

herbiwhore · 11/05/2015 19:25

Could people please stop saying let it go - I'm on aibu for christs sake of course I haven't let it go!

The bonkers world of mumsnet- I believe passengers paying a lot of money have a right for the sake of a 4 car delay to not be in dangerous temperatures with no other searing option, sick bay or something like that. Is that really too much to ask?

OP posts:
herbiwhore · 11/05/2015 19:26

Disappointed, have you actually been on le shuttle?

OP posts:
DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:28

Not yet - thinking about it for the summer though! Have done Eurostar. Lots of friends have used Eurotunnel and recommended it - they've never mentioned the heat being an issue.

Heels99 · 11/05/2015 19:32

SicK Bay?

Yabu not to leave it, it was last year. Find something else to make a drama about.

ConnortheMonkey · 11/05/2015 19:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:40

We don't know that eurotunnel knew the air con was broken.

TigerFeat · 11/05/2015 19:45

Does this thread help you at all op?

Amazed at some of the weird shitty responses on here.

msgrinch · 11/05/2015 19:46

sick bay Grin Grin Deary me. Let it go woman.

nancy75 · 11/05/2015 19:50

Like sardines? obviously you have never been on the eurotunnel - there are 4 cars and about 16 people in each carriage, hardly sardines!

Oh and dogs don't die at 40 degrees, if they did there would be no dogs in quite a few countries that do actually have dogs

maddening · 11/05/2015 19:50

Who regulates them? You escalate to regulators if there is one when there is no joy from the business.

nancy75 · 11/05/2015 19:51

and a final thing, it is not a big tin can sitting in the sun, most of the journey is in a tunnel quite a long way under water

DisappointedOne · 11/05/2015 19:52

An air-conditioned tunnel, no less.

Essel · 11/05/2015 19:53

Sounds hideous OP. If i was pregnant with a young child i would definitely want a warning and the option of a different service. You would also need access to water.

I live in australia where it gets to 40 degrees every summer. Its horrible and dangerous. All public transport is airconditioned. What youve described wouldn't be acceptable for dogs here let alone children.

If they were designing the tube from scratch now it wouldnt be built the way it has been. For a start it would have air conditioning and access for people with disabilities. At least with the tube you have the option to get off after a few minutes.

I recon this thread is full of tory voters.

herbiwhore · 11/05/2015 19:54

Thanks maddening, thanks tiger- I'll look into both

OP posts:
TenerifeSea · 11/05/2015 19:56

It doesn't sound like there's room for a sick bay. Confused

msgrinch · 11/05/2015 19:56

labour voter actually. The company have responded to the op, said they feel they followed procedure, have credited her £30 etc. It was a while ago yet she's still harping on. It's dealt with, these things happen, life isn't perfect. I passed out on a hot bus once, air conditioning wasn't working and I stupidly didn't have enough water. NO big deal and I was thankful for the other passengers help.

TenerifeSea · 11/05/2015 19:57

"I recon this thread is full of tory voters."

Grin Grin Grin

I don't think a Tory voter would be travelling on the Eurotunnel, dahling.

herbiwhore · 11/05/2015 20:02

Well I'm not a Tory voter but I bet a lot of the knobs the people posting nonsense on it are!

OP posts:
Mistigri · 11/05/2015 20:02

Obviously the company knows it had a problem, because otherwise they would not be bragging about spending shareholders' money on it in their annual report ;)

I think this is one of those herd mentality threads where the first few posters decide the OP is BU and everyone else weighs in without really thinking about it.

TigerFeat · 11/05/2015 20:03

and this link seems to suggest there was a/c in 2006.

Apologies for DailyMail link, it was the earliest one. If you google, there are a number of reports (various newspapers) about failing a/c over the years. Some worse than others.

I am bored tonight Grin.

Smarterthantheaveragebeaver · 11/05/2015 20:04

Just out of interest, OP, which end of the tunnel was it? France or England?