For the second time this week, train passengers have been trapped for hours in a stranded Thalys with out-of-service air conditioning. At least three people became unwell, French local media reported. After waiting almost three hours in the sweltering high-speed train, the approximately 270 passengers were able to continue their journey in a new train.
The Thalys between Disneyland Paris and Amsterdam came to a halt on Sunday around 5 p.m. for unknown reasons on a stretch of track in the French department of La Somme. Because there was no power, the air conditioning also went out.
On Twitter, travelers complained that it was very hot on the train and that they feared that people would become unwell. The train was evacuated after more than two hours. Passengers were allowed to wait outside, where it was still more than 30 degrees, for a replacement train from Paris.
According to the French medium Picard mail three people became unwell. An air ambulance also arrived, but no one needed to be taken to hospital. The French railway company SCNF handed out bottles of water to the victims. There were reportedly mainly Dutch, Belgians and French on the train.
A new train arrived around 9 p.m. and the passengers were able to continue their journey.
Window smashed from stranded train in Paris
It is the second time in a week that people have been trapped for hours in a stranded Thalys. The same happened on Tuesday at Gare du Nord station in Paris. It even got so hot in the compartments that travelers smashed a window. People on the platforms then threw bottles of water into the train through the broken window.
Because the train could not leave, the passengers had to look for an overnight stay in Paris. Due to the large crowds in the hotels, two hundred passengers had to spend the night on the train. Blankets, pillows and food and drink were distributed there. The train was still able to leave Paris on Wednesday morning.
The outage was then caused by the heat in France.
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