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Eurostar passengers have been warned that continued delays and cancellations are possible on Wednesday despite the resumption of services after a power supply issue halted Channel tunnel train trips connecting London to the European mainland.
Thousands of passengers in the busy run-up to the new year faced hours of delays after the train operator cancelled services between London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels on Tuesday due to an overhead power supply problem and a failed LeShuttle train.
Some services had resumed on the single available line on Tuesday evening with Eurostar saying there were “further issues with rail infrastructure overnight”.
A statement on the Eurostar website on Wednesday said: “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.”
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Wednesday’s first train from St Pancras to Gare du Nord station in Paris, scheduled for 6.01am, was cancelled, while the 6.31am departure was listed as delayed “due to a technical problem on another train” in the tunnel. All other services were showing as scheduled on the company’s website.
The service had warned passengers on Tuesday to postpone their journeys to a different date and warned them of severe delays as well as last-minute cancellations.
As well as the power problem, there was also a failed LeShuttle train in the Channel tunnel, the 31-mile (50km) undersea rail link between Folkestone in south-east England and Coquelles near Calais in northern France.
After warning of six-hour delays at the Folkestone terminal on Tuesday, the operator said that had dropped to 30 minutes on Wednesday morning. Six-hour waits remained in Calais, but passengers were advised to check in as planned.
On Tuesday, Eurostar staff at St Pancras station in central London were seen handing out water bottles to people waiting by a cordon who were caught up in the delays. Meanwhile, cars hoping to cross the Eurotunnel caused traffic jams on the approach to the Folkestone terminal.
A LeShuttle passenger, Tim Brown, told the PA Media news agency he had been stuck in his car on the train at the Calais terminal for more than three hours with “no access to food or water”. “The fact that nobody has come around offering everybody a bottle of water is what has shocked me the most,” he said. “I know things happen, but surely that would be an easy way to help.”
Eurostar’s site earlier showed that even services on the continent not using the Channel tunnel – such as those between Paris and Brussels – had been cancelled during the day.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France since it opened in 1994. The Virgin businessman Richard Branson has vowed to launch a rival service. Italy’s Trenitalia has also said it intends to compete with Eurostar on the Paris-London route by 2029.
Tuesday’s disruption affects Eurostar at a time when the company faces criticism over its high fares, especially between Paris and London.
