Eurostar cancels all trains leaving London after Channel Tunnel blackout


Thomas McIntoshand

Nikki Schiller,At St Pancras Station

Kelly North and Bethany Massey-Chase tell the BBC how they had to rebook their Eurostar service to Paris

Eurostar has canceled all trains from London to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels until further notice due to a Le Shuttle train failure caused by a power outage in the Channel Tunnel.

Staff at London’s St Pancras station told Eurostar passengers to postpone travel plans and rebook for a later date.

By midday, at least a dozen Eurostar flights between the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands had been canceled and many more had been delayed or changed.

Elsewhere, Eurotunnel service Le Shuttle also suspended trains between Folkestone and Calais due to “power supply issues”.

National Rail said it expected the major disruption to last until the end of today.

Eurostar said: “Services to and from London have been suspended until further notice due to overhead power issues in the Channel Tunnel and a breakdown on the Le Shuttle train.

“We advise customers to rebook their journey for another day and offer free exchanges.

“We apologize for the disruption and will continue to provide customers with the latest information.”

Reuters A passenger carries a suitcaseReuters

Ben Clark, from Bedfordshire, told the BBC that he, his wife and three daughters had been stuck on the Le Shuttle flight from Calais since 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

“The first two and a half hours were fine, but the girls got restless in the last half hour, so we had them run around the boarding car to burn off some energy,” he said.

“Some people are angry but there’s nothing they can do, others are sleeping in their cars. We’ve run out of snacks and there’s no plan B or C right now.”

Passengers with luggage wait next to departure sign showing canceled trainReuters

Eurostar passengers booked to travel on Tuesday have been told to reschedule their journeys if possible

According to Eurostar, passengers can reschedule their plans for free, or cancel and receive a refund or e-voucher.

Meanwhile, the Le Shuttle service, which carries road vehicles across the English Channel by train, is also experiencing delays.

At Folkestone Airport in the UK, Le Shuttle said the scheduled departure was about three-and-a-half hours late.

Matthew Webb, from Suffolk, said he had been trapped for several hours and it was unclear whether he and his team would be able to continue their journey.

“It’s terrible that not much information was given,” he told the BBC.

“There was a huge queue, everyone was waiting to get into the tunnel. It was very busy and people were leaving to get the ferry.”

BBC/Nicky Schiller Departure boards at St Pancras station show canceled flights to Amsterdam, Paris and BrusselsBBC/Nikki Schiller

Eurostar departure boards show that a number of flights from London to France, Belgium and the Netherlands have been cancelled.

Delays at France’s Calais terminal are currently around three hours.

Steph Roberts, from Ashford, Kent, told the BBC she had been trapped in the Calais terminal with her husband Robert and bulldog Dempsey since 10.30am.

She spent two weeks in France over Christmas visiting her parents and family.

Ms Roberts said: “We haven’t received any updates and we haven’t been given any food or water.

“We just spent time scrolling through social media and reading magazines. I also went out to walk the dog a few times.”

Le Shuttle said teams are working to resolve power supply issues.

PA Media Passengers queue to enter the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone, Kentpublic media

Cars and coaches have started queuing outside the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal

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