Eurostar says it should clear its backlog of delayed passengers today, following the three-day shutdown last weekend. But it's being estimated that the problems with snow, which caused trains to stall in the Channel Tunnel, could cost the company as much as £10 million.

It's thought some 75,000 passengers were refused travel between Saturday and Monday, three of the busiest days of the year. Five London-bound trains stalled in the Tunnel on Friday night, and Eurostar has now confirmed that the problem was caused by fine snow blowing in through the ventilator grilles and then melting on electrical equipment when the trains entered the warmer Tunnel.

Services started running again on Tuesday, following tests with new protection for the engines, and no further technical problems have been reported.

But in other ways the problems for Eurostar may have just begun. Not only has the company lost a possible £10 million pounds in cancelled journeys, refunds and compensation to stranded travellers, but it's also come under fire for the way many passengers were left without help or information for hours in failed trains. One train was eventually evacuated only because off-duty police officers took control and led passengers to the service tunnel, from where they were able to reach the other line and escape on a Eurotunnel vehicle shuttle back to France.

An independent review has been launched, and Transport Minister Sadiq Khan has ordered that it shall report directly to him rather than just the Eurostar Board. The French government has also been demanding explanations and reassurances that the problem has now been solved.

Eurostar CEO Richard Brown has resisted calls for his resignation, but he is in any case due to step down on 1 January and become Eurostar's non-executive chairman.