Latest News
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After power failure, passengers of the Channel Tunnel Rail face a second day of disruption
Train companies announced that services between Britain, continental Europe and Canada would resume on Tuesday but warned about further disruptions after technical problems suspended travel on Monday and left some passengers stranded on trains for the night. Chaos in rail services between London, Paris and Brussels, as well as Amsterdam, one of Europe's most busy international rail corridors, hit at the height of New Year travel. Eurostar, the company that runs passenger rail service, announced on Wednesday morning that services were resumed after "a power problem in the Channel Tunnel yesterday" and other issues with 'rail infrastructure overnight". It said: "We intend to run all our services today. However, due to knock-on effects there may be some delays and possibly last-minute cancellations." On Tuesday, a power failure forced the suspension of travel in?the 50 km (31 mile) tunnel. The UK network was hit by a technical issue in the evening, which made the situation worse for passengers. Some were trapped overnight in trains as some trains began to run. Eurostar 9152 arrived at Lille, in northern France, from London, at 0630 GMT, eleven hours later than expected. The trip usually takes 80 minutes. Herve, a passenger on the train, told BFM TV: "We are annoyed because we're tired and don't have hot drinks. It's a very unpleasant situation. A passenger named?Ghislain planque said, "People had accepted the situation." We could not do anything. Water was given to us. "We weren't abandoned completely." Eurostar was used by nearly 20 million passengers last year. Le Shuttle, a second rail service that transports passenger vehicles and trucks under the Channel Tunnel, also worked to minimize the impact of the shutdown after it had also suspended its operations on Tuesday. Getlink, the company that operates tunnel infrastructure and Le Shuttle service, said "the tunnel has recovered its maximum capacity."
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Drivers in Poland are stuck in tailbacks up to 20 km long due to heavy snowfall
Police reported that heavy snowfall caused a 20-kilometer (12.43-mile) tailback on an autobahn between Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, and Gdansk, a Baltic port town. The police report was made on Wednesday. According to the police, hundreds of people were trapped in their vehicles in freezing temperatures. However, the traffic was moving again by early Wednesday morning. Tomasz Marcowski, a police spokesperson in Olsztyn, said that the difficult situation started 'yesterday afternoon after 4 pm, when the first truck on the S7 route began to have difficulty approaching the slopes. This?led to an?overnight traffic jam that stretched approximately 20 kilometers." Stanislaw Bulkowiec, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, told a news conference that no one was injured as a result the traffic situation. Anna Karczewska is a spokesperson for the Ostroda police. She said that officers tried to assist drivers who were stuck. Ostroda is located on the highway, about 40 km west of Olsztyn. She said, "We did our best to help, and the Ostroda City Hall prepared hot tea and coffee for the drivers." State news? Agency PAP reported there were also some disruptions to rails and airports but that services are returning to normal.
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Eurostar announces the return of train services, but warns about delays and cancellations
Eurostar announced that it will resume all of its cross-Channel service on Wednesday, but warned that there could be delays and cancellations at the last minute after a power failure had suspended train trips throughout much of Tuesday. A fault in the overhead power supply caused a disruption on Tuesday that disrupted plans for thousands of passengers across 'London, Paris and Amsterdam during one of the busiest weeks of travel. On its website,?Eurostar announced on Wednesday that services had resumed following an electrical problem in the?Channel Tunnel yesterday as well as some additional?issues with rail equipment overnight. It said: "We intend to run all of our services today, but due to knock-on effects?there could still be some delays or last-minute cancellations." (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus; Dominique Vidalon)
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Monorail train crash in India leaves over 100 injured
A district official reported that two monorail trains collided late on Tuesday at a hydropower plant being built in India’s?northern?state of Uttarakhand. At least 109 employees were injured. The official said that the majority of workers suffered minor injuries. Four workers suffered fractures. The trains collided in a 'tunnel' in Pipalkoti. This is the site of a upcoming 'hydropower project owned by Tehri Hydro Development Corp. (THDC) and NTPC Ltd. Gaurav Kumar, top?administrative official in the?area, said by phone that the accident happened on Tuesday night, after brakes of a monorail train failed. The trains were used to transport workers and construction materials. Kumar stated that the tracks were cleared and work on the project will resume on Wednesday. About?51 gigawatts (about 505 gigawatts) of India's installed power capacity is hydropower. Uttarakhand has more than 10 operational hydropower plants, each with a capacity of around 2.0 gigawatts. Reporting by Saurabh sharma; editing by Raju gopalakrishnan
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Three children among the four injured in Russian attack on Odesa
Regional authorities reported a drone attack by Russia on Ukraine's Odesa Region overnight. The drone caused damage to?residential structures and infrastructure, and injured four people, including three children. Odesa is a major Black Sea Port that has been repeatedly attacked by Russian drones and missiles over the past four years. Strikes have often?hitted energy, transport, and port infrastructure, as well as residential areas. Oleh Kiper said that drones had attacked the residential, logistic and energy infrastructure of?our region on the messaging app?Telegram. Serhiy lisak, head of Odesa’s military administration, told Telegram that four people, including a 7-month-old baby, two children and a man aged 42, were injured in Odesa, the?administrative?centre for the wider Odesa area. He claimed that drone debris, direct hits and window damage caused by high-rise apartment blocks. Lisak shared images of a smoke billowing from an apartment building with several windows showing flames and what appears to be the water jet of a firefighter aimed towards the facade. Could not independently verify reports. Russia did not immediately comment on the Odesa attacks. (Reporting and editing by Saad Saeed in Melbourne, Lidia Kelly from Melbourne)
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Air China buys 60 Airbus planes for $9.5 billion
Air China, China's largest carrier, announced on Tuesday that it and its subsidiary signed a "pact" with Airbus for the purchase of 60 A320NEO aircraft. The deal is worth approximately $9.5 billion in list prices. This announcement is just the latest of a series made by carriers in the second largest aviation market in the world, including Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines. Both plan to buy Airbus aircraft. Air China has informed the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it will deliver its planes in batches from 2028 to 2032. Airbus said that it was "very pleased" with Air China's decision to order additional aircraft of the A320 family. Li Hanming is an independent aviation analyst based in the United States. He said that this purchase was part of a framework agreement between China Aviation Supplies Holding Company and Airbus for 2022. This?deal covered about 132 A320 family aircraft and eight A350 Widebodies with a total value of around $17 billion. Li stated that "negotiations of individual contracts can take time." Airbus has gained an advantage due to the tensions between Beijing and Washington. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez; Brenda Goh and Sophie Yu contributed to this report).
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Ukraine drone attack damages port, gas pipeline in Tuapse, Russia says
The regional administration reported that a Ukrainian drone attacked the port infrastructure and a gas pipe in a residential area in Russia's Black Sea Port of Tuapse on Wednesday. No injuries were reported. The operational headquarters of Krasnodar Region said via the Telegram messaging application that emergency crews had been dispatched to repair damage. The port's dock had been damaged. A Telegram news channel with Russian security service sources said that a series of explosions were heard late Tuesday over Tuapse and residents in one area reported a fire. On?Telegram, several Ukrainian media outlets, including RBC-Ukraine, published photos that appeared to show a fire in the distance burning at night with a communication mast in the foreground. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack. Could not independently verify the report, or the extent to which the damage was caused. Tuapse, one of Russia's most important Black Sea outlets for oil, is anchored by Rosneft Tuapse's export oriented refinery. It has a capacity to process 240,000 barrels a day and provides products such as naphtha fuel oil, and diesel. The port and refinery were repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones during the war that Russia started nearly four years earlier. Previous strikes reportedly caused fires or disrupted operations. Reporting by Lidia Kelley in Melbourne, Editing by Chris Reese & Lincoln Feast.
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CSX train carrying toxic sulfur derailments near Kentucky-Tennessee border
Emergency officials?stated that a CSX derailment near the 'Kentucky/Tennessee border early on Tuesday caused 30 cars to 'fall off the tracks. One car was?carrying molten sulfur, which caught fire, and prompted a halt in the train until the toxic threat cleared. CSX, Todd County emergency officials, and the Kentucky Department of Transportation are still investigating what caused the derailment near rural 'Trenton, Kentucky. The town has about 350 residents, is located 60 miles north of Nashville in Tennessee. The accident happened around 7 a.m. Firefighters battled a fire from a rail car carrying liquid sulfur. This is commonly used in industrial applications such as fertilizer manufacturing. Officials said that it released toxic gasses in the smoke. Todd County Emergency Management said the fire was contained by noon. Officials confirmed that air quality testing has shown there is no threat to the public. There were no reported injuries. CSX shares fell just under 1% to $36.36.
Olympics-High expenses, safety concerns harm Paris Games reservations
Spiralling travel and accommodation costs, French political tumult and security concerns are dissuading numerous sports fans and visitors from attending the Paris Olympic Games this summer season.
Cities that win a coveted possibility to host the world's biggest sporting event typically do so on expectations that they will attract crowds of visitors to showcase themselves and boost their economy.
However Paris has a handful of factors breaking it that have held down bookings.
Flight bookings to the French capital - an indicator of traveler activity - are anticipated to increase by 10% year-on-year from June 6 onwards, according to flight ticketing information firm ForwardKeys.
That is a plain contrast to the 115% increase in tourist arrivals for the 2016 Rio Games. Even the Tokyo Games, held during the COVID-19 pandemic, saw a 20% increase, ForwardKeys stated.
Data from Paris-based consultancy MKG reveals hotel appointments have dropped given that last year for the weeks ahead of the Olympics, along with a 25% revenue decline for much of June.
The data alongside interviews with travel agents, sports fans and ticket sellers reveal high costs and security issues are making even the most ardent Olympic fans hesitant to participate in.
Today, it's the lowest reservations we've seen in 25 years for almost any sports event, Alan Bachand, a sports travel agent based in the United States, informed .
The findings highlight the challenges significant cities deal with hosting global sporting events - they are already crowded and expensive, frightening more price-conscious customers.
They also reveal that unrelenting travel demand, with tourists going to splash cash on experiences rather than products in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is slowing as they become more sensitive to increased rates.
London experienced something similar in 2012. It just saw a 3% increase in arrivals, as numerous tourists steered clear of a city that would usually be inundated with travelers over the summertime.
Still, it will be a blow for the French capital - one study just recently estimated the Games would produce as much as $12 billion in financial benefits to the Paris region. In 2015, the Australian state of Victoria withdrew from staging the Commonwealth Games due to the fact that of ballooning expenses.
NIGHT BUS
Emma Mathieson, 29, has tickets in August for the females's bronze football match in Lyon and is wishing to get tickets to the gold match the following day in Paris.
However rather than staying over night afterwards, she will capture a night bus back to London. Accommodation of over 300 euros ($323) for the night was above her budget.
I would have enjoyed to have actually seen more women's matches or group stages if it was more economical, she said.
Average hotel costs in between July 26 and Aug. 11 have actually surged by 70% to 342 euros a night from in 2015, according to the Paris traveler workplace.
Even wealthier visitors have been postponed. Bachand stated four-star hotels were charging up to 1,000 euros a night throughout the competition, with many clients hesitating as a result.
Even so, homesharing site Airbnb says it has actually seen record Paris reservations. Since March, nights scheduled in the Paris area throughout the video games were 400% higher than the exact same time a year earlier.
ORGANIZATION FALLOUT
Nevertheless, Air France-KLM stated on Monday it expected weaker-than-expected summer season sales as travellers avoid the Olympics.
Global Travel Moments, a luxury travel agency, stated clients had likewise mentioned security concerns in addition to pricing as a factor to postpone their journeys.
France is on its highest level of security alert as the Games approach, with the country additionally undergoing breeze legal elections.
Islamist terrorism is the primary security concern, the French capital's chief of authorities Laurent Nunez said last month.
People are providing it a wide berth offered the present climate, said Duncan Greenfield-Turk, Global Travel Moments' primary travel designer, pointing out challenges like the election called by President Emmanuel Macron.
One customer recently postponed a trip to Paris till next year while another chose to visit before the games, he said.
Luxury sellers are hoping to boost sales in other locations beyond Paris as travelers avoid the French capital.
BENEFITS
Some travel bureau hope there will be a last-minute rush for tickets and accommodation and possible discount rates in the last weeks before the games start.
Visitors may be showing up by train or car which will not show up in flight data, however might drive last-minute home rental bookings, stated Jamie Lane, short-term rental analytics firm AirDNA chief economist.
Eurostar stated train ticket sales volumes to Paris until July 1 for the Olympics and Paralympics travel period were up 7% year-on-year.
It's going to be okay. In France, as normal, they're constantly not delighted and always criticising, stated Samuel Riezzo, who runs a firm selling tickets for sports events.
(source: Reuters)