Eurostar, the cross-Channel high-speed train operator, announced on Wednesday it was restoring services almost to levels before last month’s fire as work began to clear debris from the blaze that wrecked a lorry shuttle train last month.

Eurotunnel, the Channel tunnel operator, hauled out the first third of the dam­aged train, which caught fire on September 11 11km from the French end of the north tunnel, one of two 50km rail bores, after receiving permission from the French judicial authorities, who are still investigating the incident. The fire blazed for 16 hours and reached temperatures of up to 1,000ºC.