“Tunnels between London St. Pancratius and Ebsfleet [tarptautinių stočių] continue to be flooded and train services cannot be operated. Therefore, Eurostar had to make the difficult decision to cancel all flights for the rest of the day,” the company said in a statement.
Before Christmas, French trade unions staged a major strike, this time flooding two tunnels near Ebbsfleet International Station in Kent.
The UK Met Office has issued warnings for rain, snow and ice across large areas of the country.
Hundreds of travelers were left stranded in St. At Pankratius station, when Eurostar canceled all flights until at least 4 p.m. local (18:00 Lithuanian) time.
Newlyweds Nicole Carrera, 29, and her husband Christopher, 31, from New York, said their plans to ring in the New Year at Disneyland Paris were ruined.
“Now we won’t get to Paris until at least six o’clock tomorrow night,” the couple said, adding that they would simply stroll around the French capital instead.
Another pair of travelers, Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benyamin, 26, from Sydney, planned to make Paris their last stop in Europe before flying home.
Ch. David said she felt frustrated, angry and sad, adding that many people were crying and she now had nowhere to stay.
Eurostar, which runs trains from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam via Ashford, halfway between London and the south coast of England, has apologized to customers for the disruption.
Train operator Southeastern Railway wrote on the social network X: “We forecast that today between St. Pankration and Ashford international stations will not run high-speed trains.”
“We are working to clear the flooding in the tunnels,” the statement said.
Southeastern Railway added that “due to flooding between Ebbsfleet International Station and London St. All lines of Pancratius International Station are blocked.”
“Disturbances are expected until the end of the day,” the operator said.
A year of chaotic traffic
Simon Shaw, 36, and his 37-year-old wife Heather, from central England, were due to go on a skiing holiday in the French Alps with friends and family.
“We just arrived and found everything canceled this morning. It was chaos,” Shaw said.
The fresh disruption comes following French unions called off a strike days before Christmas that stranded travelers and halted freight.
The unexpected strike caused hours of chaos at the Paris and London rail hubs.
After reaching an agreement, Eurostar train services were resumed on December 22. The trade unions then announced that they were satisfied with the results of the negotiations.
Saturday’s cancellations cap a year in which UK traveler travel has been disrupted by strikes, storms and other problems.
In April, travelers bound for France had to wait up to 16 hours at Dover due to higher-than-expected passenger numbers and weather conditions.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman at the time denied the delays were a result of Brexit.
In August flights to and from the UK were disrupted by a technical fault affecting air traffic control systems, and in November Ferries and flights were canceled due to Storm Ciaran.
Commuters were also affected by more than a year of strikes by rail workers over pay and conditions amid a cost-of-living crisis.
While rail union RMT said last month that its members had voted in favor of a pay deal, Aslef, the union representing train drivers, has yet to reach an agreement.
55.75 percent Eurostar is owned by the French state company SNCF Voyageurs.
Eurostar nearly went bankrupt during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was saved by shareholders, including the French government, with a €290 million bailout. financial assistance of EUR.
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2024-07-15 20:14:43
