Eurostar expects to pay around 10 million pounds (16.3 million dollars) in compensation to more than 100,000 customers affected by the travel chaos when five trains broke down in the Channel tunnel before Christmas, the company said Monday. Eurostar suspended services for three days during the busy pre-Christmas period after the trains' electrics failed due to the sharp difference between the freezing temperatures outside and the warmer air inside the tunnel.

Hundreds of passengers were evacuated or towed out of the tunnel with many spending long hours trapped in their overheated compartments. A limited service was resumed just a few days before Christmas as Eurostar modified engines with heat shields. An independent report into the breakdowns is due to be completed by the end of January. In a letter of apology to passengers published Monday, Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said the company had failed to deliver the standard of service expected.

Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 2010