Cross-Channel passenger trains 'probably' back Saturday: Eurotunnel

Passenger rail service through the Channel Tunnel would "very probably" resume Saturday, two days after fire closed the undersea link between Britain and mainland Europe, Eurotunnel said Friday.

Eurotunnel, which manages the tunnel -- actually two tunnels running in parallel, of which one was seriously damaged by the inferno -- said freight trains would begin running overnight.

"Our inspections are now completed and (freight) traffic will resume tonight -- that is certain," said Eurotunnel chief executive officer Jacques Gounon on French television.

"Installations in the south tunnel, which was not touched by fire, are in excellent condition," he said.

Shortly before Gounon, a Eurotunnel spokeswoman said that passenger trains -- the high-speed Eurostar as well as car shuttles -- could be up and running again "very probably" on Saturday, a spokeswoman told AFP.

Eurotunnel had earlier said that service could resume by the end of Friday.

Travel plans for around 30,000 passengers on high-speed Eurostar trains were thrown into turmoil on Friday while firefighters put out the fire in the France-to-Britain north tunnel that had raged all night.

A Eurotunnel spokeswoman said earlier Friday that train traffic could resume in the other, undamaged south rail tunnel once safety inspectors deliver a green light.

The French national rail operator SNCF said that, if passenger service does resume Saturday, "it will be greatly reduced all weekend, with travel times extended."

It recommended that travellers holding tickets for Saturday or Sunday postpone their journeys. In a statement, it said tickets could be refunded in full or exchanged for later dates.

Air France said it would up the capacity of its Paris-London service over the weekend by 1,000 seats, using bigger aircraft and adding two extra flights on Saturday and again on Sunday.

The Eurolines bus network said it would lay on three extra buses between the French and British capitals.