There’s this big tunnel over in Europe you see.  In fact it goes right under the English Channel to connect the United Kingdom to Europe so that cars and trains may travel freely.  They call it the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel for short.  It’s run by Eurostar, and it’s a marvelous feat of engineering and technology, really.

Except, well, for when it isn’t.

You see, during the weekend, a couple of trains got stuck on their merry way from France to England.  A couple.  Hmm…

Well, let’s count…

One…

Two…

Three…  (Really?  Three? Didn’t someone notice a problem?)

Four… (Wow.   Four!  In a row?!)

Five!

Holy Flirking Schiznet and his orchestra, five trains all got stuck, one right after the other, in the Chunnel.  Around 2000 passengers were stranded under the English Channel, some for as long as 16 hours.  (Fortunately, no one was injured at least.)  And the reason, it would seem, was snow.

Yes, snow.

The trains seemed to have picked up a bit of snow traveling through France.  This snow melted in the Chunnel, shorting out electrical systems.  This caused the trains to become stranded, and, well, things didn’t turn out so good.

Now, first, one must wonder why the shields built onto the trains for just such a purpose as preventing snow build up still don’t actually, you know, prevent snow build up.  That itself is bad.

Second, one must further ponder how in today’s time, and with the modern marvel of engineering that the Channel Tunnel is, that it would even be possible to short out electrics with just a bit of water.  Shouldn’t we have found a way to engineer a system more robust than that?

Third, of course, would be how five trains were allowed to get stuck in there when there should have been a way to prevent further trains from following the first one or two into bedlam.

And last but certainly not least, Fourth, would be why did it take so very long to get everyone rescued?  That, at least, has a simple answer.  Because when the electrical trains of the Chunnel fail, they’re rescued by diesel locomotives, of which, there are two. Yes, a whole whopping two.  Five trains get stuck with only two emergency vehicles to rescue them.  Brilliant math, no?

These are all valid questions to ponder as one contemplates the majesty that is Eurostar.  Of course, when you’re the only option, I suppose it’s rather easy to rest upon one’s laurels.  Still, there must be a better way, one would imagine.