At least 14 Eurostar trains were canceled on Saturday after flooding in tunnels in southern England, stranding thousands of passengers just before New Year’s Eve.
Tunnels near Ebbsfleet International station in Kent flooded as the Met Office issued weather warnings for rain, snow and ice across large areas of the country.
Eurostar, which operates services from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam via Ashford, midway between London and the south English coast, apologized to customers for the disruption.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Southeastern Railway said: βNo high speed trains expected to run today between St Pancras and Ashford International.
“We are working to fix the flooding in the tunnels.”
In a statement, Southeastern added that βflooding between Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras International means all services are blocked.
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“Disruption is expected by the end of the day.”
It said flooding has affected both rail tunnels near Ebbsfleet, meaning both tunnels are closed.
“This means that no trains can run between London St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International,” Southeastern added.
The upheaval comes after French unions ended a wildfire strike that had stranded holidaymakers and suspended freight just days before Christmas.
The surprise strike by workers who blocked the tunnel caused chaos for hours at rail junctions in Paris and London.
Eurostar train services resumed on 22 December following an agreement.
Eurotunnel unions said the negotiations had produced “results that we are satisfied with”.
Eurostar is 55.75% owned by French state-owned SNCF Voyageurs.
It nearly went bankrupt during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was saved by a 290 million euro ($320.6 million) bailout from shareholders, including the French government.
Source: AFP