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

[herbiwhore]

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?

thanks mistigri, thanks tiger

Hi smart it was the whole journey, France to England

Sounds awful op.

Some very unpleasant folk on this thread. You have every right to complain about a service that you paid for that wasn't up to scratch.

This has put me off eurowhatever for life.

Ignoring the weirdness on this thread.

OP did the operators knowingly load cars onto a carriage without aircon? Because I think that would be pretty disgraceful and would make me question policies & procedures as you have mentioned. If they knew temperatures could become abnormally high but continued to load passengers and gave no warning of the defect then that is negligence IMO. I think making comparisons other forms of transport where the passengers either know to expect extreme heat or have the option to get off is not sensible.

Aircon breaking during a journey is an entirely different matter in my view. Yes I would expect staff to do whatever they could to help in such a situation, but moving you to another carriage and providing water pretty much cover that I would say. You got the same sort of attention you could expect if you were to fall ill or have an accident aboard an aircraft.

Jesus wept.
Aibu?
Majority - yes
Well I'm not. I have rights dammit. I want a HEARTFELT apology.
I could have carries out my own little risk assessment upon entering the inferno but no, I sat it out and now I want recourse. I had water and help, but I want policies and procedures examined. YABU. For the 2nd time!

omg, some of the answers on here, its like competitive cuntery...

Of course YANBU to hold them accountable and seek some answers.

Really, how hard is it to
a) shut the carriage
or
b) inform you the aircon isnt working and suggest you leave the car and travel in another carriage which does have working aircon.

competitive cuntery

As opposed to competitive fuck-wittedness

I think you've exhausted the options on this thread OP. Time to get into the DailyFail. Start practicing that sad face

When I was in Egypt it was over 40degrees every day and I managed sitting by the pool or mooching round town in that heat for hours on end without fainting

Your body was able to cool itself. How the human body cools itself, again Le Shuttle car carriages do not have opening windows, they rely on mechanical ventilation. It is a very different system to the tube. Incidentally, transport for London run campaigns every summer to warn people about the risks of overheating, particularly for those in high risk groups. Unlike Le Shuttle, who go with the message You stay with your vehicle throughout the journey in bright, air-conditioned carriages

She was hot not in an emergency

Heat Exhaustion can quickly turn to Heat Stroke particularly with the elderly, very young and pregnant women.

Fenella - it's obvious from your wishlist that you've never travelled on the shuttle.

And :o at packed in like sardines.

There is a woeful lack of understanding of logistics by some people. Taking out a whole carriage (it's double decker so we can probably assume the aircon wasn't working in both) would have an enormous knock on effect on services, impacting not only that day's services but the following one's too.

OP, they've apologised, they've offered you compensation. They're not going to subject their Policy and Procedures documents for your scrutiny as they're really none of your business. If you truly believe they put your health at risk, then consult a solicitor.

But I think you'd be best off to, as Elsa would say, Let it Go.

Oh and ftr, I've never voted tory in my life. Or libdem for that matter :)

Apologies OP for suggesting you could have put your cars a/c on - I've never travelled on the shuttle and had assumed the carriages were sufficiently ventilated so you would be able to run your engine for short periods to keep the temperature down. Obviously not

No one is saying she didn't have the right to complain, she's complained and received compensation and an apology yet still isn't happy almost a year on. That's just ridiculous.

There are only a small number of cars per carriage, so removing one carriage from service wouldn't have an enormous knock-on effect although it would undoubtedly cause some disruption.

Presumably a decision was made by the company at some point, about the level of risk for passengers that might be considered acceptable, when weighed up against the hassle of taking a carriage out of service at peak times.

Just because a policy exists doesn't mean that it's a good policy, nor one that meets H&S standards. Many transport operators play a bit fast and loose with safety in the pursuit of profit. They are rarely held accountable until a tragedy occurs.

No natural ventilation in the carriages: Passenger vehicle carriages are sealed off with fireproof doors and are pressurised

I realise it gets very hot (up to 47 degrees apparently!) on the Tube in summer, but:

1. Tube carriages are non pressurised with opening windows. Natural air movement and the 'piston effect' allow humans to regulate their body temperatures relatively successfully.

1. Elderly, very young and pregnant women are warned in advance of very high temperatures. It's an expectation, unlike on Le Shuttle where they advertise air conditioned carriages and comfort.

It is not compatible to the pressurised, sealed carriages of Le Shuttle.

Some great Darwin Award comments in this thread btw ;)

Presumably a decision was made by the company at some point, about the level of risk for passengers that might be considered acceptable, when weighed up against the hassle of taking a carriage out of service at peak times.

Again assuming that they knew about it before boarding.

A £30 voucher is crap compensation.

But it's not about the money.

Ah disappointed you beat me to it

This happened to us once. I wasn't pregnant but had 3 young children with me. Bearing in mind that Le Shuttle recommend that you stay in your vehicle, I was wary of taking the children into the next carriage, but needs must. There is literally nowhere to go, and you have to hang around at the side of someone else's vehicle. I think I did complain when I got home, but didn't get a response, and was too busy to pursue it. It was unpleasant and inconvenient.

Contrast this with Eurostar, where our carriage had broken air-con, and the train was full so no chance of moving seats. Every passenger was offered a 1.5l bottle of water and a free single ticket or half-price return ticket as compensation. It is a well-organised system, and appears to be offered as a matter of course for certain situations.

So I do have sympathy with the OP, but sadly don't think you will get anywhere with your complaint.

I don't disagree with complaining nor do I think YABU but I am a little surprised that 9 months later, the OP can be arsed to pursue it. I am still unclear as to what you want from them, OP. A sick bay is really impractical.

Eurostar have also had a lot of criticism in the past for inadequate contingency planning notably regarding passenger comfort in the case of electrical failure (which means no aircon).

Aircon is essential because the length of the tunnel means that you cannot rely on natural ventilation, and the trains themselves generate heat - without aircon temps in the tunnel can rise to 40c and above.

Thank God for the evidence based sound reasoning from mono and mistigri - I'm really grateful.

rtft- they have taken up to 2 months to reply to each email! I've had 4 responses from them in a course of 9 months! Is that ok, is that how you want to be treated after paying hundreda of pounds?

Thanks to chippy - I'm sorry you had a similar experience. I was flat out on the floor, which is like the floor of a carpark, not pleasant until a very kind lady and her husband offered me space in their car. Not ideal for them and yes, I do think there should be a small space for someone who is unable to lie in their own car. It's all about the profits, isn't it really.