"This was definitely the worst night of my life"
Some 180 passengers were stuck on a Thalys train without electricity and heating last night. "It was ice cold and pitch dark. The worst night of my life", one of the passengers reported. The train had left Brussels for Paris, but ran into trouble after crossing the French border, due to the bad weather.
It was not Thalys, but the weather which was to blame. Fierce winds had uprooted trees which were blocking the rail tracks. The train had to make a stop as a result. Afterwards, it turned out the train itself had also been hit. Some 180 passengers were forced to spend the night on the train.
Passengers said there was no power or heating. Thalys staff brought blankets in the early morning. "We had to share one with two or three people", one passenger told Europe 1. "It was dreadful: no light, no heating. It was ice cold and pitch dark. It was, by far, the worst night in my lifetime."
The passengers arrived in the French city of Arras this morning, where they were able to take a different Thalys to Paris.