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Full service has been resumed in the Channel Tunnel almost five months after it was seriously damaged in a fire.

Tunnel operator Eurotunnel spent about £50m fixing the damaged section, known as Interval Six, on the north running line. Its customer services staff had to reschedule more than 70,000 passengers in the months of disruption that followed and it was with some relief that a freight train was signalled into the new section on Monday afternoon.

~Listen: Jacques Gounon, chief executive of EuroTunnel, explains how a fire is almost inevitable considering conditions in the tunnel>>>

Secretary of State for Transport Geoff Hoon pressed the button in the Folkestone underground rail control centre to send the train on its way, its reporting number 7952 sliding across the screen to show it entering the tunnel.

As it eventually roared out of the tunnel in France, cheers broke out among the assembled throng in Folkestone watching on a big screen – it had been a tough few months for Eurotunnel.

Mr Hoon had actually been on a Eurostar stuck at the tunnel entrance in September and saw the fire crews making their way down to fight the fire from his seat.

He said: “We got to the entrance of the tunnel and we waited for quite some time. I was able to see fire crews firsthand and the efforts being made to fight the fire.

“I have taken a keen interest in the work that has been going on.”

~Watch: Transport minister Geoff Hoon unveils the repaired tunnel. See the video at the top of this page

He told the assembled VIPs and journalists that the reopening of Interval Six was good for the country.

Eurotunnel chief executive Jacques Gounon added it would bring the countries closer together.

Eurostar’s full service will resume on February 23, in particular the long-awaited direct service from Ashford to Brussels. Chief executive Richard Brown explained crews had to be rostered and timetables checked before slotting the class 373s back into full service to Brussels and Paris.

He added: “The big thing for Ashford is that there will be a direct train from Ashford through to Brussels as well as the services already to Paris and Disneyland. It is a big fillip for Ashford.

“Our fastest train to Paris will be back to two hours and 15 minutes, the same times as we were running back in September.”

Round-the-clock work to fix the damaged section saw tonnes of ballast laid down to provide a track for vehicles to drive along, 4,000 tonnes of concrete sprayed onto walls and 8,000 metres of cable replaced. Soot was cleaned off the walls, steel reinforcements were drilled into the lining, the old slab track was ripped up and the new laid, and finally the overhead power wires were strung up.