Many Eurostar services were canceled on Saturday due to flooding of tracks in southern England. Thousands of passengers were stranded during one of the busiest weekends of the year. An update arrived around 3.30pm: Eurostar announced on Saturday the cancellation of all its trains to and from London, 41 trains in total. The situation therefore stranded more than 30,000 passengers on the eve of the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Fabien is one of the affected travellers. “Chaos at the Gare du Midi“he warned us, via the orange Notify Us button, this Saturday.”Everyone is disappointed. We wait for information that is not provided to us“, complained Fabien.
Resumption of service on Sunday
A glimmer of hope appeared this Saturday, just before 10 p.m. Eurostar announced in a press release that the company “tomorrow it will operate all services to London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam“.Eurostar says flooding in Thames tunnels has been brought under control.”This means that it is now possible to use at least one tunnel and provide a complete service. Speed limits will be introduced in the morning, which may cause delays and stations are expected to be very busy“, explains the company.”Unfortunately, this unprecedented event has caused significant inconvenience to customers today. Eurostar has worked to ensure that all those affected are supported at all our stations. Customers were given the option to rebook on other services or opt for a refund“, adds Eurostar in its communication.
Big inconveniences
Eurostar had asked passengers not to go to the station without a ticket exchanged for a moving train. Flooding in the tunnel between St Pancras International Station, the departure and arrival station of the Eurostar in the British capital, and Ebbsfleet, in the south-east of England,”they have not improved and train services cannot operate“, explains Eurostar.
Many have chosen to spend New Year’s Eve in London, like Juliette:”For now it seems a little compromised. We are thinking of a plan B. Let’s see if there are buses, if we can go there by car, maybe the trains will end up running at the end of the day. We have reservations on site that we can no longer cancel. The goal is to try again to get there“, He tells us.
Others hope to reach London to catch the plane. Heather, her husband and her three children want to return home to New York: “We patiently await news. We will have to find an alternative flight home, probably expensive. Fingers crossed that they have a big pump to fix the problem“, he testifies.
Cancellations
At least 14 trains were announced for the first time on Saturday morning as canceled by Eurostar on its website. “Due to an infrastructure problem on the high-speed line near London, we are forced to cancel some trains to or from London“, writes the company. But according to the British train operator South Eastern Railway, the disruptions could last”until the end of the day“. “Flooding has occurred in both rail tunnels near Ebbsfleet International, meaning both tunnels are closed“, writes this railway company. “No trains can run“between Saint Pancras International, the departure and arrival station of the Eurostar in London, and Ebbsfleet International,” it adds.We are working to resolve the floods“in the tunnels, writes on X (formerly Twitter) Ferrovie Sud Orientali.
In addition to Eurostar traffic, these floodings on the tracks also affect rail traffic connecting London and the south-east of England.
In the afternoon, Eurostar finally canceled all its trains to and from London.
Fabien explains to us that he still intends to reach London by ferry. This will cost him dearly:We take a taxi that takes us to Calais to catch the ferry. It costs us 1250 euros more for 7 people“.
Change or cancellation
Heavy rain is still expected in this part of England on Saturday. The cancellations, which come during one of the busiest weekends of the year, will leave many passengers stranded.
At St Pancras station in London, a few thousand passengers waited peacefully mid-morning on Saturday, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Some were sitting on suitcases, or on the floor, waiting for information.
“Sorry for the inconvenience“, writes Eurostar on its website. The company offers passengers the option to exchange the reservation for a trip at a later time or cancel the ticket.
On 21 December, in the midst 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. Some then decided at the last moment to take the bus or plane, in the hope of reaching their loved ones in time for Christmas. Eurostar traffic finally resumed on 22 December.
2023-12-30 21:01:42
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