Tunnel section reopens after fire

The damaged track is due to reopen in three 17km (10.6-mile) sections

A first section of the track closed after a fire in the Channel Tunnel earlier this month has reopened.

Trains are said to be running well, with about half the normal services now operating, after the 10.6-mile (17km) north tunnel section reopened.

Operator Eurotunnel said almost 170 trains a day were running and it hoped to reopen more track soon.

Thirty-two people on a lorry shuttle service were led to safety after the fire broke out on 11 September.

Fourteen had suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.

Eurotunnel hopes a second section of the north tunnel will be open in the next few days, allowing it to increase capacity further.

Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said: "We reopened the first 17km stretch of smoke-damaged track in the north tunnel this morning and things are running smoothly with no reported problems.

"We are now running almost 170 trains a day - including 44 Eurostars, 90 truck shuttles and 29 passenger shuttles from Folkestone."

The final 17km-section most badly damaged by the fire is being investigated by police and it will be some time before it reopens.

The cause of the blaze has not yet been identified but French officials say a lorry carrying chemicals, which is understood to have overturned, was close to the seat of the fire.

The Channel Tunnel has suffered several incidents since it opened to traffic in 1994 although only one - a fire in 1996 - caused injuries.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story, based on information from a news agency, wrongly stated that Eurostar "would be running at nearly 100% capacity by the end of the week".