Eurostar suspends all Europe trains over power issue during holiday travel

Eurostar services betwixt London and Europe disrupted arsenic Channel Tunnel undergoes ‘technical intervention’.

Power problems and a stuck bid interrupted obstruction postulation flowing done the undersea passageway connecting the UK to continental Europe with rider bid relation Eurostar indefinitely suspending its services during the engaged vacation period.

Passengers were near scrambling connected Tuesday to find alternatives aft the relation postponed each bid question betwixt London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

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“There was a powerfulness proviso occupation successful the Channel Tunnel followed by a shuttle bid coming to a halt inside,” a Eurostar spokesperson said. “All journeys to and from London are suspended until further notice.”

The Channel Tunnel’s operator, Eurotunnel, said successful a abstracted connection that the powerfulness proviso occupation started successful portion of the tunnel, affecting some rider and conveyance question by obstruction successful some directions.

Traffic is expected to resume gradually connected Tuesday afternoon. “A method involution is required, which is presently underway. Our teams are moving to reconstruct the concern arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.”

In a ⁠statement connected its website astatine 15:30 GMT, Eurostar warned passengers that the powerfulness responsibility was persisting.

Travellers stranded astatine St Pancras presumption successful London connected Tuesday [AFP]

‘Disgusted, disheartened’

Crowds of stranded travellers, galore with suitcases, swelled astatine London’s St Pancras presumption and astatine Gare du Nord successful Paris arsenic the notification went retired – their end-of-year vacation plans were being thrown into chaos.

At Gare du Nord station, Jamie and Issy Gill scrambled to find a formation backmost to the UK aft their Eurostar bid to London was cancelled, hopeless to beryllium reunited with their babe lad aft a getaway successful the French capital.

“We came for my 30th birthday,” Issy Gill said, wiping distant tears.

Other frustrated passengers tried to publication level oregon autobus tickets.

“I’m disgusted, disheartened,” said Sarah Omouri, a French traveller whose plans to observe the New Year successful London were dashed.

“It’s been possibly a twelvemonth since we’ve had a vacation. We were made to get connected the train, to get off, get connected again, and get disconnected again. Now we’re told that everything is afloat booked for respective days. It’s ruined.”

The 50km (32-mile) Channel Tunnel, much than fractional of it undersea, revolutionised UK-Europe obstruction question since its inauguration successful 1994.

A record-high 19.5 cardinal passengers travelled connected Eurostar past year, up astir 5 percent from 2023, driven by request from visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics successful Paris.

Tuesday’s disruption was the latest to impact Eurostar astatine a clip erstwhile the institution has faced disapproval implicit its precocious prices, particularly connected the Paris-London route.

An electrical responsibility forced the cancellation of Eurostar services and terrible delays successful August. The theft of cables connected bid tracks successful bluish France caused 2 days of problems successful June.