Eurostar trains running again on New Year's Eve
After heavy rainfall, train services near London are plunged into chaos: all journeys between the British capital and the European continent are canceled, affecting around 30,000 people. Just in time for the turn of the year, trains are now running again - but not without restrictions.
Rail services on Eurostar trains between the UK and mainland Europe are running normally again after the weather-related chaos. After thousands of Eurostar passengers had previously been stranded due to the flooding of two tunnels in southern England, the resumption of train services this morning went smoothly. "I feel like a lucky girl," said 27-year-old Lisa Thompson at London's St. Pancras station, who was taking the train to Paris to celebrate New Year's Eve with her parents.
Thousands of travelers were less fortunate, stranded in the London station on Saturday, some of them not knowing where to stay. The reason for this was the flooding of the railroad tunnels south of London as a result of heavy rainfall. As a result, all Eurostar journeys had to be temporarily canceled.
30,000 passengers affected
The operating company Eurostar announced on Saturday evening that train services would resume on Sunday. Previously, 41 trains had been canceled due to a water leak in the tunnels between the London Eurostar station St. Pancras and Ebbsfleet - on a day with extremely high passenger volumes due to the New Year celebrations. In the end, the company declared that "at least one tunnel" could be used and a "full service" could be offered. However, there were speed restrictions and therefore possible delays.
Around 30,000 passengers were stranded on Saturday in London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, the cities connected to London by the Eurostar. The operating company expressly regretted the impact on travelers so close to New Year's Eve. Eurostar is "extremely sorry" for this. The affected passengers should find out about compensation options.
It was the second interruption of train services to London under the English Channel within ten days. Following the end of an unannounced strike by French employees of tunnel operator Getlink shortly before Christmas, train services only resumed on Friday a week ago. Eurostar had to cancel 30 trains because of the strike.
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- Despite the resumption of train services on Eurostar, some passengers may still face delays due to speed restrictions imposed after the flood caused disruptions in the tunnels between Great Britain and Europe.
- The turn of the year was celebrated by many in different cities, but not for 30,000 Eurostar passengers who were affected by the cancellations and delays caused by floods in Great Britain, impacting travel in both Great Britain and Europe.
- International train traffic between Great Britain and the European continent was heavily impacted due to the flooding in southern England, leading to cancellations and disruptions on several Eurostar trains, affecting passengers in cities like London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
Source: www.ntv.de
