All Eurostar trains scheduled for this Saturday departing from or arriving in London have been canceled by the company due to the flooding of a tunnel in the south of England, AFP reports.
No Eurostar trains will operate to or from London this Saturday. After announcing cancellations until 4 p.m., then 5 p.m., the railway company indicates on its website that “due to the flooding of a tunnel on the high-speed line” near the British capital, “we have to cancel all our trains on our route to/from London on Saturday 30 December.”
According to a press release from the company, a subsidiary of SNCF, 41 trains were canceled in total. This represents around 30,000 passengers, who find themselves stranded in London, Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam.
The Network Rail train service “continues to do everything in its power and will inform Eurostar if services can be maintained later today”, Eurostar explained earlier today. But the British railway operator South Eastern Railway was already warning that the disruptions could last “until the end of the day”.
Exchange or refund
The cancellations, which come during one of the busiest weekends of the year, will strand thousands of passengers.
Eurostar is “extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues affecting our customers and our services,” the company wrote in a statement. “We understand that this is a crucial time to return home at the end of the holiday season and ahead of the New Year.”
The company offers passengers the option to exchange their reservation for a trip at a later date or to cancel their ticket.