The hassle will have lasted a full day. Eurostar announced, Saturday evening, December 30, the normal resumption of the circulation of its trains on Sunday, after the flooding of two tunnels in the south of England interrupted traffic on Saturday, stranding thousands of passengers the day before of the New Year.
“We can confirm that we will keep the scheduled times tomorrow. Our stations will be crowded due to the traffic interruption today”, wrote the company on. In the afternoon, Eurostar announced on its website: “Due to flooding of a tunnel on the high speed line near London, we are having to cancel all our trains on our line. (And) to London on Saturday December 30. »
According to a press release from the company, a subsidiary of the French company SNCF, 41 trains were canceled in total. This represents around 30,000 passengers, who found themselves stranded in London, Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam.
Quiet location in St Pancras
British rail operator Southeastern had predicted the disruption could last. “until the end of the day”. The last train canceled by Eurostar was due to leave Brussels at 8:22 p.m. on Saturday evening. “Flooding has occurred in both rail tunnels near Ebbsfleet International, meaning both tunnels are closed”, wrote this railway company. No train could therefore run between St Pancras International – the Eurostar departure and arrival station in London – and Ebbsfleet International, located in the south-east of the British capital. In addition to Eurostar traffic, these floods on the tracks affected the circulation of trains dependent on London and the south-east of England.
These cancellations stranded thousands of passengers. In St Pancras station, many passengers were waiting quietly, mid-morning, according to an Agence France-Presse journalist on site. Eurostar offered passengers the option to exchange their reservation for travel at a later date or cancel their ticket.
On December 21, in the middle of the vacation period, Eurostar traffic had already been severely disrupted due to a surprise strike which paralyzed the Channel Tunnel. A total of thirty trains were canceled that day, leaving thousands of travelers without a solution. Some then turned at the last moment to the car or the plane, in the hope of reaching their loved ones in time for Christmas. Traffic finally resumed on December 22.
