The train operator ended the year with a crisis but overall 2009 sales were up

Eurostar, the high speed rail link between England, France and Belgium, announced that is sales rose by 1.7% over 2009 despite travel chaos caused by the cold weather.

In December “fluffy” snow was blamed for disrupting the travel plans of 100,000 passengers, reports the Times newspaper.

The company reported revenue of £675.5mfor the past 12 months, and passenger numbers grew by 1.2 % to 9.2m.

Eurostar ended the year with a crisis that left 2,000 passengers stranded in the Channel Tunnel overnight after trains stopped working because of the cold.

Eurostar expects to pay about £10 million in compensation to about 100,000 passengers, said the Times.