The traffic of freight trains in the Channel Tunnel near Calais was almost non-existent as a result of the intrusion of some 600 migrants on the site,
“Traffic was interrupted about 10pm to about 6.20am“, said a spokesman for the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais told AFP. Two freight shuttles could were able to travel according to a police source, while a Eurotunnel spokesman spoke of a “several shuttles able to run”.
Freight traffic returned to normal on Thursday morning, leaving from Calais half an hour late, according to Eurotunnel. Two shuttles passengers were leaving every hour, sometimes behind schedule, according to the Twitter account of the service.
Jams on the A16
Furthermore, the A16 serving Calais was crowded with some 15 km of traffic jams in the late morning, and highway interchanges at the port and tunnel were saturated, reported the Regional Centre for Information and Coordination road (CRICRs)
The day before, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited Calais to announce reinforcements of gendarmes and CRS and humanitarian measures to address the urgency of the 6,000 migrants living in precarious conditions in the camp Heath said the “Jungle”, located east of Calais.
