Due to flooding in a tunnel beneath the River Thames, Eurostar has cancelled all Saturday services to and from London St. Pancras, throwing New Year’s travel plans into disarray. Many customers had to reschedule their New Year’s Eve activities as Eurostar cancelled all 41 trains, despite initial optimism that subsequent services would be able to run.
Water is seen pouring onto the tracks in a video shot inside the flooded tunnel through a pipe that is fastened to the tunnel wall. The water company Thames Water claims that a “fire control system” is to blame for the floods, not a pipe in its network.
Eurostar Chaos: Newlyweds’ New Year Plans Shattered, Passengers Stranded in Paris
Nicole and Christopher Carrera of New York, who were just married, were among those impacted. They had intended to spend New Year’s Eve at Disneyland Paris. All of their preparations were “ruined,” and even if they rescheduled for Sunday, they won’t be able to reach Paris until tomorrow night.
Customers on affected routes to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam can get a full refund or exchange, according to Eurostar. We don’t yet know when services will resume on Sunday.
Curt Downs, Megan, and their one-year-old son were among hundreds of Parisians stuck at the Gare du Nord station after Saturday morning’s cancellations. Flights and ferries were sold out, making it difficult to find an alternate route back to the UK.
Eurostar Halts Services: Flooding Woes Disrupt New Year Travel Plans
Eurostar cited the continuously increasing flooding scenario as the reason to cancel services till late afternoon. Due to concerns for everyone’s safety, all services for the day were canceled at 2:00 pm.
The track’s responsible party, HS1, said that engineers toiled all night to drain the water, but the record-breaking amount was too much. The water levels are being progressively lowered by use of on-site pumps and tankers.
Additionally, Southeastern stated that services from St. Pancras, Stratford International, and Ebbsfleet International will not be operating at this time. Ten days before to this, Eurostar services were disrupted due to a “last-minute strike” by French workers just before Christmas.
Frustration and anger were expressed by passengers stuck at St. Pancras. Sydneysiders Christina David and Georgina Benyamin were planning to ring in the New Year in style in Paris following a frugal European vacation. They described the situation at the station, where many were crying and feeling stranded without housing choices, after being forced to cancel their plans.
At this critical time of year, Eurostar and related agencies are doing all they can to help impacted travelers, and they apologize for the trouble this has caused. The extraordinary level of water in the tunnel continues to cause hurdles as engineers endeavor to repair the situation.
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