2023-12-30 16:31:47
All Eurostar trains to and from London were canceled on Saturday due to flooding of the tracks in the south of England, stranding around 30,000 passengers on the eve of the New Year festivities.
“Due to flooding of a tunnel on the high speed line near London, we are having to cancel all our trains on our line to/from London on Saturday 30 December,” we can read on the website of Eurostar.
According to a press release from the company, a subsidiary of SNCF, 41 trains were canceled in total. This represents around 30,000 passengers, who find themselves stranded in London, Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam.
These cancellations come during one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Flooding in the tunnel between St Pancras International station, the Eurostar departure and arrival station in the British capital, and Ebbsfleet, in the south-east of England, “has not improved and train services cannot operate,” explains Eurostar.
Two closed tunnels
The company says it is “extremely sorry”. Customers are asked to go to the website to “find out what compensation they are eligible for”.
Eurostar had previously announced the cancellation of trains until 4:00 p.m. GMT. The British railway operator South Eastern Railway indicated on Saturday morning that the disruptions might last “until the end of the day”, which had not been confirmed by Eurostar.
“Flooding has occurred in both railway tunnels near Ebbsfleet International, which means that both tunnels are closed,” explains this railway company.
Bus, ferry
At Saint Pancras, in the middle of the day, thousands of passengers waited quietly, their phones in hand, in the hope of being able to book a flight, a ferry or a hotel in London.
“We have a party at our house tomorrow night, but we don’t know if we’ll be there!” said the 40-year-old woman, smiling. “At least we had a good holiday in London!”
“The trip was fun until today,” joked Isabella Sloan, a 17-year-old Australian, who is touring Europe with her parents and two sisters.
After a few days in London, the family was supposed to go to Paris, but their train was canceled. “We are trying to find a solution to reach Paris. Maybe the bus,” she explained.
“We have tickets booked for the Palace of Versailles on Monday! Who knows if we’ll make it!” added Isabella Sloan.
“Fallen in the water”
The couple from New York, Nicole and Christopher Carrera, aged 29 and 31, wanted to spend the last day of 2023 at Disneyland in Paris. “Our plans fell through,” lamented Nicole.
However, they have a new ticket for Sunday and therefore hope to be able to walk the streets of Paris at the end of the day. But Eurostar did not say whether trains would run on Sunday.
Rail operator Network Rail “continues to keep Eurostar informed of developments before tomorrow,” Eurostar said.
On December 21, in the middle of the holiday departure period, Eurostar passengers were already faced with numerous train cancellations due to a surprise strike which paralyzed the Channel Tunnel.
A total of 30 trains were canceled that day, leaving thousands of travelers without a solution.
Eurostar traffic finally resumed on December 22.
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