Eurostar delays enter second day as passengers stuck onboard overnight

Eurostar passengers are bracing for further disruption after a power outage in the Channel Tunnel caused travel chaos for thousands of people on Tuesday.

As people scrambled to make it to New Year’s Eve celebrations, some passengers said they were stranded on trains overnight for more than six hours due to further delays.

One man told the BBC that he boarded the train to Paris at 19:01 but was still stuck on the train at the entrance to the tunnel as of 03:00 GMT.

He said staff told him there was “a 50 per cent chance of us going to Paris and a 50 per cent chance of going back to London”.

“I think my New Year’s plan is now in the hands of the tunnel operators,” said the 27-year-old Parisian.

Eurostar said it plans to launch all its services on Wednesday but warned there could still be some delays and cancellations.

The service from London to Paris is scheduled for 06:00 GMT. canceled.

All routes were closed Tuesday due to a power outage and a LeShuttle train malfunction, causing disruption for thousands of people trying to escape for New Year’s Eve.

Some Eurostar and LeShuttle services resumed Tuesday evening, but delays remained because only one of the tunnel’s two rail lines was open.

Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel, said that work continued throughout the night to resolve the electricity problem.

Wednesday morning, An update on Eurostar’s website said: “Following the electrical problem in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some problems in the railway infrastructure overnight, services have resumed today.

“We plan to operate all our services today, but there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations due to knock-on effects.

“Please check live updates on your train’s status on the train status and schedules page.”

Dutchman Dennis van der Steen was going to Amsterdam to spend New Year’s Eve with his family and friends.

Instead, he said, he was stranded on a Eurostar train for six hours before it started moving again around 03:00 GMT.

“We’re stuck,” he told the BBC.

He said there was no electricity when the train stopped, some passengers were asleep and some were “very worried”. He was then told that his train would continue its journey.

Another passenger described feeling a “roller coaster of emotions” for hours as he didn’t know if the train he was on would make it across the Channel or back to London.

Saying that his train finally reached Brussels, he added: “I am happy to be home, I saw many families stranded.”

Images of large crowds of passengers stranded at London St Pancras International Airport flooded social media following Tuesday’s power outage.

In a photo shared with the BBC by a train driver for Eurostar, it appeared that there were electrical cables scattered on the rails.

Meanwhile, cars hoping to use the Channel Tunnel caused traffic jams near LeShuttle Terminal in Folkestone.

Tim Brown, who was trying to return to the UK after spending Christmas in Germany, told PA News he was stranded in his car on the LeShuttle train for more than three hours “without access to food or water”.

At least a dozen Eurostar services between the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands had been canceled by midday on Tuesday.

The rail operator apologized and said passengers could rearrange their plans free of charge or cancel their bookings and receive a refund or e-voucher.

On Tuesday, Eurostar urged customers to “rebook their journey for another day if possible, with the possibility of a free change”.

“We also advise our customers not to come to our stations if their trains have already been cancelled.”