Thousands of passengers have seen their New Year's Eve plans ruined as severe disruption continues to plague Eurostar services, with some travellers left stranded on a train overnight.
Infrastructure Failures Cause Widespread Cancellations
The high-speed rail service connecting London to Europe was thrown into chaos on Tuesday after a dual failure. An overhead power supply fault in the Channel Tunnel coincided with a broken-down LeShuttle train, forcing Eurostar to scrap multiple routes.
Although limited services resumed on a single line on Wednesday evening, the operator reported "further issues with rail infrastructure overnight," leading to more cancellations on Thursday morning. Eurostar is urgently advising all customers to check its website for the latest travel updates before heading to stations.
A Passenger's Nightmare Journey
One passenger, Francis Collings, shared his harrowing experience with Sky News after believing he had beaten the odds. His 7pm service from London's St Pancras to Paris was one of the few not initially cancelled, though it was delayed until 8.45pm.
"We felt we were the lucky ones," Mr Collings said. However, the train ground to a halt outside Folkestone around 9.15pm and remained stationary for hours. The power was eventually turned off at approximately 11pm.
"So we have lighting, but it's low lighting," he explained. "This seems to have affected the toilets, which don't seem to want to flush." He praised staff for being "very attentive" in handing out water but noted it did not seem they knew "entirely what's going on themselves."
Ongoing Disruption and Conflicting Causes
Getlink, the firm operating the Channel Tunnel, stated that the initial power supply incident was resolved overnight and full capacity had been restored. It suggested the train carrying Mr Collings faced a separate, unrelated issue on the British network.
Despite services resuming, Eurostar has warned that knock-on effects from the chaos mean passengers should still expect delays and possible last-minute cancellations. The first departure from St Pancras on Thursday, scheduled for 6.01am, was axed.
A statement on the Eurostar website read: "We plan to run all of our services today, however due to knock-on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations." Meanwhile, travellers using the Eurotunnel in Calais face wait times of up to six hours.
The combined incidents have created a travel disaster at one of the year's busiest periods, leaving an untold number of holiday and celebration plans in tatters.
