UK-France trains back after long night of delays to Eurostar and Le Shuttle
Power outage in the Channel Tunnel stopped all services for several hours
Many passengers were left stranded overnight as thousands waited at stations for updates
Adam McCullough/Shutterstock.
Eurostar and Le Shuttle services between the UK and continental Europe have resumed service today (December 31) but passengers should expect some delays and cancellations.
It comes after a power outage and issues with a Le Shuttle train, used by Eurotunnel, led to a complete halt of services in the afternoon for several hours. Many later services were cancelled or delayed.
No official explanation for the outage has been given. The BBC reports being shown a photo of electrical cables that were strewn across tracks used by Eurostar and Le Shuttle trains. Passengers were left stranded at respective Eurostar stations, with those not yet arrived urged to delay travel to avoid adding to the chaos.
Heavy traffic jams developed around Folkestone as drivers hoping to use Le Shuttle services faced delays.
Services resumed in the evening for trains that were not yet cancelled, but continued to face delays as only one of the two rail lines through the tunnel was open.
One train, scheduled to leave London at 19:01, was still on UK soil at 03:00, waiting to enter the tunnel with passengers stuck inside.
Passengers on another train heading to Brussels told how the power on their train went out leaving them stuck for around six hours, before reaching Belgium early this morning.
Drivers transporting their vehicles through Le Shuttle also faced delays, with some being stuck inside their vehicles on trains for up to three hours without access to food or water.
Hopes for return to normal today
Both Eurostar and Eurotunnel say they expect services to return to normal today but that some issues may continue.
“Due to knock-on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations,” says Eurostar on its website.
It advises passengers to check for live updates on the status of trains on its website.
The first London-Paris train this morning was cancelled, but as of 08:00 other services were shown as running as scheduled.
Eurotunnel’s live update website says delays of up to one hour are currently possible for services leaving from Folkestone, and up to six hours from those leaving Calais.
This, however, seems to apply to two overnight services (scheduled at around 03:00) that are yet to leave this morning, with services from 08:00 onwards facing minimal delays.
