The French are determined to have their say before high speed rail operator Eurostar can move forward with its plan to buy 10 new 900-passenger high speed trains from Germany’s Siemens, that will travel on the route between London and France.

So far, the word is ‘arrête!’

Citing safety concerns about the German-built trains, France’s Transport Minister, Dominique Bussereau, has said that the plan cannot continue until assurances are made that the Siemens rolling stock is compliant with all evacuation guidelines for the Channel Tunnel. Specifically, Bussereau has said the the German trains are not long enough for a safe evacuation, according to CleanTechnica.

“The decision Eurostar took is null and void,” Bussereau said. ”We have told the management of Eurotunnel and Eurostar that material other than Alstom material cannot be used.”

French manufacturer Alstom, who designed the trains currently running on the Chunnel line are already safety compliant and it is likely that they would like to be the recipient of any future contracts to build new high speed trains for the Eurostar line.

Eurostar last week announced plans to invest more than $1.1 billion into new train equipment that will help it expand high speed rail service between London and Amsterdam, and from London to Geneva. Nipping at its heels is Germany’s Deutsche Bahn AG, which will be introducing high speed trains to London between the cities of Cologne and Frankfurt.

“They can block it, yes, but David Cameron will want to see more traffic through the tunnel and Angela Merkel will want fair access for Siemens, so it’s a case of two against one and I think there will be an agreement,” Eurotunnel CEO Jacques Gounon told Bloomberg.

There are numerous reasons why Eurostar would like to see a swift resolution to the train car scrum, both on environmental and economic grounds. Regional rail travel is more environmentally sound than traveling a comparable distance by air.

According to Business Green, the new Siemens trains would be the cleanest ever built.

The e3202 is an updated version of Siemens’ Velaro, the fastest high-speed train in the world, which over a distance of 100km consumes 0.33 litres of petrol equivalent per seat – about the same as a can of cola – and produces at least three times less CO2 per person-kilometre than a standard passenger flight.

Furthermore, with the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London, expanding transportation access for visitors from the continent assures that more people can attend the games. Additionally, 40,000 people per day ride the Eurostar line, and increasing the number of trains available means more seats and more paying customers.

Siemens recently began touting the benefits of the Velaro high speed trains to Americans traveling through selected airports, in an effort to drum up support for rail line construction.

Chunnel Evacuations are infrequent, but have occurred as recently as Sept. 11, 2008, when a fire aboard a freight train sickened six passengers due to smoke inhalation and lead to the closure of the tunnel for weekend service. The inferno began about five miles from the French entrance to the tunnel onboard a cargo truck carrying chemicals according to Reuters. There were 32 passengers aboard the train, and no deaths.