Hundreds of passengers trapped for 6 hours in 100F Channel tunnel
Well, not so long after I put a post up about London Underground trains being stuck we see that Euro Tunnel have had the same problem.
"Hundreds of passengers trapped for 6 hours in 100F Channel tunnel"
Again the issues are the same, but this time there was additional heat dumped into the carriages by the cooling of car engines.
Essentially there are two things to get right. First of all there is the fresh air make up into the whole of the train and each of the carriages. I'm not sure how this is achieved on LeShuttle during a power outage. For safety reasons there are no windows that can be opened to let in fresh air from the tunnel. Clearly this was a problem as temperatures and humidity rose steadily. Obviously the carriages were not completely sealed as French fire service personnel boarded the train. However, it all comes down to the pressure differenetial that would drive air movement from the tunnel into the carriages. Secondly there is local air movement around individual passengers, which will help with cooling. Clearly as the passengers were travelling by car then there was the possibility of turning on the air ventilation in each vehicle.
Unforutnately, when the air is hot and humid, thermal comfort is never going to be a realistic goal. However, achieving "tolerable" or survivable conditions is.
As I stated in a previous post, local air flow could also be provided by a SleepBreeze personal cooler. For info we're planning on providing a power socket compatible with car cigarette lighters in due course.
As an addendum it was heart warming to hear that in their centenary year Scouts on board the train were handing out their own supplies of bottled water supplies to elderly passengers. What a terrific reminder of Part 3 of the Scout Law - "A Scout is friendly and considerate." I'd be interested to know which troop was involved if any readers happen to know, then get in touch.