30 December 2023 , 19:18
800
0
Tens of thousands of people’s plans for New Year’s Eve have been thrown into doubt after this morning’s chaos as Eurostar cancelled all trains to and from London.
Routes to and from Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels were closed as a result of severe flooding, believed to have been caused by a burst pipe feeding the tunnel's fire safety system. It has left as teams work to fix the issue. Along the same line, Southeastern Railway said no services will run between Ebbsfleet International, in Kent, and London St Pancras International until tomorrow.
A Eurostar spokesperson said: "Flooding in the tunnels between St Pancras international and Ebbsfleet has not improved and train services are unable to operate. Eurostar has therefore had to take the unfortunate decision to cancel all services for the rest of the day. This is a total of 41 trains.
"Eurostar is extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues affecting customers today but safety remains our number one priority. We understand this is a vital time to get home at the end of the festive season and ahead of New Year and we are supporting customers in stations.
“Network Rail is continuing to keep Eurostar updated regarding how the situation continues to evolve ahead of tomorrow. We will be in direct contact with customers due to travel to keep them updated.”
Plane passengers stuck on flight for 13 hours - only to end up where they began
Images shared by Southeastern railway show severe inside the Ebbsfleet railway tunnel, with the water submerging the track entirely. It is believed around 16,000 people have already been hit by the cancellations with tomorrow’s would-be passengers worriedly checking their own routes.
Furious customers only became aware of the cancellations and chaos when they arrived at St Pancras this morning. In the aftermath of the cancellations, families and travellers were left scrambling to get to their destinations in time. It was reported that some returned home to get their cars and try and catch the ferry across, whereas others opted to book flights.
Tourist Nicole Carrera, 29, had been hoping to see in the new year in Disneyland Paris (PA)Newlyweds Nicole Carrera, 29, and her husband Christopher, 31, visiting from New York said their plans to spend New Year's Eve at Disneyland Paris have been "ruined" by the Eurostar travel chaos.
Ms Carrera, who works for cosmetics firm L'Oréal, said: "We've been in London since Wednesday and we wanted to leave today because we were actually supposed to go to Disney Paris tomorrow for New Year's Eve. So obviously those plans are ruined because now we won't get into Paris tomorrow until about 6pm."
A spokesperson for HS1, which runs the network, said: "Engineers have been working throughout the night to remove the water and continue to do so. Pumps and tankers are on site and water levels are reducing but the volume of water in the tunnel is unprecedented.
"We understand how frustrating this is for passengers and apologise for the inconvenience caused at such an important time of the year. We are doing everything to restore services but this will take some time and advise all passengers to check with their operator before travelling."