Around 30,000 furious Eurostar passengers have been left stranded at St Pancras International today after a tunnel connecting Britain to mainland Europe was hit by flooding, seeing 43 international services axed.
Those hoping to ring in the New Year with loved ones in France, Belgium and the Netherlands have seen their festive plans squashed, with families – some headed to Disneyland – stranded in London in tears.
The disruption was sparked last night after water filled tunnels at Ebbsfleet International in Kent, with chaos continuing today after all high speed services south of the Thames were disrupted.
Some passengers raced online to try and book flights to try and salvage their end-of-year plans but were faced with soaring fares that were reportedly rising by the minute.
Amongst the stressed-out crowd were Dutch and French travellers trying to return home, with some not being able to understand the options available to them as advice on the Eurostar to rebook a train was only offered in English and French.
Other passengers hit out at the train operator for allegedly poor communications over whether or not trains would actually run – even as National Rail said that the tunnels would be out of commission until the end of the day at the earliest.
Travel journalist Simon Calder said he had spoken to families ‘in tears because their trip to Disney has been cancelled’ days before New Year, with others desperately seeking out flights and ferries in order to get their plans back on track.
Have YOU been affected this morning? Email jon.brady@mailonline.co.uk
Passengers at St Pancras International Station in London on Saturday as it emerged that all trains going south of the Thames, including Eurostar services, had been cancelled
Mike Hardie’s daughter Samira, 11, looks fed up after the family’s surprise New Year trip to Brussels was cast into doubt by Eurostar cancellations
Tourist Nicole Carrera, whose plans to celebrate New Year at Disneyland Paris with her new husband have been ‘ruined’ after Eurostar services were pulled
Passengers sit on the flood of the concourse at St Pancras International station as they wait for news on their trains
Passengers check their phones for updates on their travel from St Pancras. Network Rail says no services are expected to travel south of the Thames from the station today
Some passengers took to X, formerly Twitter, to accuse Eurostar of ‘ruining’ their festive travel plans. Others criticised the operator’s lack of communication
Southeastern Railway shared this image of one of the tunnels at Ebbsfleet yesterday
A Eurostar notice at St Pancras informs passengers that the cancellations are due to ‘an infrastructure problem on the high-speed line’
Mr Calder reported that 30,000 people’s plans had been disrupted after at least 43 services were axed.
Anguished passengers sitting on the floor in the international terminus have vented their anger at the operator over a lack of information, including Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benyamin, 26, from Sydney, Australia.
They have been travelling in Europe for almost a month and the final stop in their trip is Paris, where they hoped to spend New Year’s Eve before flying home on January 7.
The pair told how they have ‘travelled Europe on a budget’ before splashing out on an ‘expensive hotel with an Eiffel Tower view’ for the final leg of their trip.
Ms Benyamin said: ‘We travelled Europe on a budget and then like once we hit New Year’s we’re going to go hard, watch Paris light up, I don’t think that’s going to happen… I’m going to cry.’
She added that their ‘New Year’s plans are cancelled’, continuing:’We booked another train for tomorrow, we’re just hoping that one doesn’t get cancelled as well because otherwise we’re actually f*****, we don’t know what to do.
‘As long as we get to Paris that’s what matters, to get our flight home. Now we have to book a hotel to stay for the night here.’
Ms David added: ‘There were lots of people crying… we don’t know where to go, we have nowhere to stay.’
A father who surprised his twin daughters with a trip to Brussels for New Year says his plans have been scuppered by the unexpected cancellations, which have likely left him at least £900 out of pocket.
Mike Hardie, 40, and his partner Niecey had surprised 11-year-old twins Samira and Naima with the trip this morning, packing their suitcases and waking them up with the news they were going on holiday.
Eurostar has booked his family onto an alternate train that is meant to be leaving tonight — but with the tunnel likely to be closed until the end of today and no alternate route, he admits he may have to ‘take the hit’ and simply go home.
Wealth manager Mr Hardie, from south-east London, told MailOnline: ‘It’s not great. The girls are handling it reasonably well but they are gutted, since the whole thing was meant to be a surprise. This has taken a lot of the fun out of it.
‘We’ve had no communication from Eurostar, we weren’t told anything – no email, no phone call, nothing. There have been thousands of people queueing at St Pancras.
‘Eurostar would only say it was ‘infrastructure issues’ until we spoke to someone face-to-face, who told us it was flooding in the tunnels. We don’t know for sure what’s happening – it’s all ‘maybe’ this, ‘maybe’ that.’
He added: ‘The most frustrating bit is the lack of communication. We’ve all been up since five o’clock this morning and our train was meant to be just after 8am.
‘We’ve managed to get another train booked for 7.30pm but even now I’m wondering if it’s actually going to happen. We just don’t know what’s happening.
‘If it doesn’t, and we go tomorrow, we’ll spend just 24 hours in Brussels and it just wouldn’t be worth it. Otherwise we’ll just have to take the hit.
‘I’m not even sure if my travel insurance will cover it or if they’ll just say it’s an act of God because it’s the weather. It’s been terrible, it’s awful, it’s unacceptable.’
Passengers sit on the floor at St Pancras as they wait for news on their trains to Europe and south of the Thames
A family stands on the main concourse outside the entrance to the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras International on Saturday as they wait for news on their train
Travel journalist Simon Calder said passengers were left ‘in tears’ after their New Year trips to Disneyland were derailed
The Eurostar departure board shows that trains have been cancelled almost across the board – though none are expected to run until tomorrow as they must pass through Ebbsfleet
Passengers at St Pancras on Saturday morning as it emerged that Eurostar and Southeastern services heading south of the Thames had been cancelled
Thousands of Brits’ travel plans have been thrown off by the disruption on the High Speed 1 line
Passengers waiting for news on their Eurostar trains at St Pancras earlier on Saturday
Two newlyweds visiting from New York said their plans to spend New Year’s Eve at Disneyland Paris had been ‘ruined’ due to the Eurostar travel chaos.
Nicole Carrera, 29, and her husband Christopher, 31, were due to catch a train from London St Pancras International to Paris on Saturday morning but it was cancelled due to flooding.
They have had to rebook for a 2.30pm outbound train on Sunday, scuppering their plans to spend New Year’s Eve at the theme park and leaving them out of pocket for a non-refundable hotel booked in Paris for Saturday evening.
Ms Carrera, who works for cosmetics firm L’Oreal, told the PA news agency: ‘We actually got married in October and we had this trip planned before we got engaged.
‘So 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 our ruined because now we won’t get into Paris tomorrow until about 6pm. So we’re just going to walk around the city (Paris) tomorrow when we get there and finally get to our hotel. It’s just one of those things.’
Ana Whitton, 45, who works in communications and lives in Sydney with her fiance David Grude, said: ‘We’re meant to be going to Paris. We don’t really know what’s happening.
‘We came to see my family for Christmas, who are based in Worcester. My partner, he’s Australian so it’s his first time here, so we thought it would be fun to go to Paris, we are meeting friends from Australia. We have got a restaurant booked for New Year, for tomorrow.
‘It’s just a bit worrying because you don’t really know… it feels very uncertain, you don’t know if you are going to make it there today or maybe tomorrow.’
Simon Shaw, 36, and his wife Heather, 37, from Derbyshire, are travelling in a party of eight, comprised of their wider family and their son, eight, and daughter, five, hoping to reach the French Alps for a skiing holiday.
Mr Shaw said: ‘We just arrived and saw everything was cancelled this morning, got here at 7am and it was chaos so we don’t know what’s happening. We will get there one way or another.
‘We have done this a couple of times, just us and the kids, and it has been really efficient, really smooth, and today we’ve brought extended family with us and it’s all gone to pot. It’s just frustrating.’
She said ‘these things can’t be helped’ but feels ‘a little bit anxious on when we are going to get moving’.
Another passenger told BBC News of their struggles: ‘I’m desperate to get to Paris. I’m really, really desperate to be with my family on New Year.’
‘We’re not going home today,’ said another. ‘We’re just waiting and we’re hoping it’s going to be fixed.’
Problems with flooding became apparent last night, when Southeastern tweeted to say it would be running ‘very limited’ services to and from St Pancras when one of the tunnels at Ebbsfleet filled with water.
The operator shared an image of the curved rail tunnel, its track completely submerged in water, and later posted a video of water gushing into the underpass.
The flooded tunnels are used by high speed trains such as the Eurostar to connect to the Channel Tunnel – kiboshing the possibility of international rail services going ahead for the whole of December 30.
Eurostar trains have a capacity of approximately 750 passengers – suggesting thousands of travellers have had their plans disrupted.
This passenger told BBC News: ‘We’re not going home today. We’re just waiting and hoping it will be fixed’
This woman said she was ‘desperate’ to get to Paris in order to spend New Year with her family
Network Rail says no trains will run in the high speed tunnels at Ebbsfleet until the end of Saturday
Eurostar trains run directly from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, with connections via other Eurostar and domestic services to other European cities and destinations
A Eurostar train sits empty on the platform at St Pancras International on Saturday – going nowhere amid the flooding at Ebbsfleet down the line
Passengers took to social media to express their frustrations at an apparent lack of information from Eurostar on the cancellations in both London and Paris
Despite the fact flooding at Ebbsfleet became apparent yesterday, international passengers heading for the continent appeared to be none the wiser when they arrived at St Pancras this morning.
One traveller named Jamal posted on X shortly after 5.30am on Saturday that departure boards ‘suddenly changed all trains to cancelled’ without warning.
He asked: ‘Is there a replacement train? What are our options?’
One would-be passenger, Parker Winston, wrote on X – formerly Twitter – that she had got up at 3.40am on her way to catch a Eurostar service, only to be forced back to bed after a frustrated journey.
Another customer aiming to get to London from the French capital wrote that there had been ‘no communication and no possibility to rebook’.
Other passengers have expressed confusion at the fact that Eurostar still says some trains are set to run – even though all services to the continent must pass through the flooded tunnel in order to reach Europe.
Camden councillor Liam Martin-Lane urged people to check if their trains were affected before heading to the international rail terminal.
He tweeted: ‘Absolutely NO Southeastern or Eurostar trains in or out of #StPancras.
‘Please check with the rail company before coming to the station, so that overcrowding can be avoided.’
A Eurostar spokesperson told MailOnline shortly before 12pm: ‘Eurostar has unfortunately had to cancel a further 15 trains to and from London due to the situation not improving with flooding in the tunnels between St Pancras international and Ebbsfleet.
‘Network Rail is continuing to do all they can and will update Eurostar if any services can continue later in the day.
Eurostar is extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues affecting our customers and services. We understand this is a vital time to get home at the end of the festive season and ahead of New Year.
‘We are doing all we can to rectify the situation. Customers are encouraged to visit the Eurostar website for more information on their journey and compensation entitlement.’
Travel journalist Simon Calder posted on X, formerly Twitter, that St Pancras was in ‘chaos’ on Saturday morning.
Mr Calder later told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’ve been talking to people in tears because their trip to Disney has been cancelled.
‘We had some warnings yesterday afternoon that there were going to be problems because one of the tunnels beneath the Thames…was blocked because of flooding.
‘And at 4am this morning there was an announcement that both tunnels were blocked and there would be no trains initially this morning.’
He later added on Sky News that families, including some hoping to spend New Year at Disneyland Paris, were scrambling to book flights to keep their travel plans on track – with some even opting to get the car and drive via Dover.
Southeastern high speed trains sit in the sidings at Ashford International Station in Kent after their services were cancelled because of the flooding at Ebbsfleet
Eurostar services are not running from St Pancras this morning due to flooded tunnels (stock image)
Eurostar trains at St Pancras, which hosts direct railway services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from London
The disruption comes after Eurostar passengers’ travel plans were derailed by wildcat union strikes in France days before Christmas (pictured: travellers at St Pancras during the strike)
Some passengers have questioned why Eurostar has never re-resumed services at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International south of the Thames, which it canned during the coronavirus pandemic.
The operator has never committed to returning to the stations on the High Speed 1 line, with chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave saying earlier this year it would look to do so ‘once we can afford it’ in remarks reported by The Independent.
In an update posted on its website, Eurostar said passengers can reschedule their booking free of charge or cancel their booking for either a credit note or a refund.
The notice read: ‘Due to an infrastructure problem on the high-speed line near London, we’re having to cancel some trains on our route to/from London on Saturday 30 December. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.’
Closer to home, Thameslink has warned passengers to expect delays on services because of a lack of staff. It told passengers to expect to wait longer for trains today, and to expect cancellations tomorrow.
The company, which runs trains from Brighton and Gatwick through to Luton and Bedford via central London, has scrapped dozens of services today.
It said: ‘Due to issues with the availability of train crew, we are still expecting disruption to our services today, Saturday 30 December, and tomorrow, Sunday 31 December. Please continue to check our departure boards before travelling.’
Southeastern says it has staff tackling the flooded tunnels at Ebbsfleet, but does not expect services to run through the passageways today.
It tweeted: ‘We will be running NO highspeed services for the entirety of today, Saturday 30th December, due to flooding in the tunnels at Ebbsfleet.
‘No trains will run between Ashford and St Pancras, or between Gravesend and St Pancras. Please use alternative routes.’
The latest travel crisis comes after British holidaymakers were held to ransom before Christmas, when French staff on Eurotunnel staged a wildcat strike.
Tens of thousands had journeys disrupted days before Christmas after unionised workers demanded a tripling of their end-of-year bonus of €1,000 (£866) before downing tools – blocking the Channel Tunnel and causing chaos in Paris and London.
Employees of Eurotunnel, a subsidiary of Getlink, said the wildcat strike was motivated by a ‘terrible deterioration of the social climate’.
All service between Paris and Brussels and Paris and London was scrapped after the surprise strike started, appearing to catch even the St Pancras station reception and security off guard as they tried to clear platforms of passengers waiting to board.
Closer to home, transport has been plagued for days by inclement weather, with services across the UK heavily disrupted by Storm Gerrit earlier this week and further chaos expected this weekend.
Windy conditions will sweep across the UK on Saturday, according to the Met Office. Yellow weather warnings for ice and rain have been imposed in Scotland.