Eurostar has suspended all train services in Europe amid peak travel season between Christmas and New Year, with the London-Paris route among those hit.
The train services were suspended on Tuesday after a power supply issue in the Channel tunnel, thus sparking chaos, AFP news agency reported.
“There was a power supply problem in the Channel tunnel, followed by a shuttle train coming to a halt inside,” a spokesperson for Eurostar said. “All journeys to and from London are suspended until further notice,” AFP quoted the spokesperson as saying.
Train traffic will progressively resume Tuesday afternoon, the Channel tunnel’s operator Getlink said.
Following the postponement of train services between London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels, passengers were left stranded trying to look for alternative modes of commute and routes.
Eurostar train services in Europe which are not using the Channel tunnel, including between Paris and Brussels, have also been cancelled, its website showed.
Eurostar, which holds a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France, carried a record high 19.5 million passengers last year, according to the AFP report.
Crowds of passengers at London, Paris stations
Stranded travellers, many with suitcases, led to crowds at major stations, including London’s St Pancras station and Paris’s Gare du Nord, AFP reported.
This came despite Eurostar, in an advisory earlier, urging passengers to postpone their journeys citing “major disruption”. Eurostar said the suspension were caused by a power problem in the tunnel and a “subsequent failed Le Shuttle train.”
One of the passengers said they were “disappointed”. “We were going to do New Year’s Eve in Paris,” Jessica, a 21-year-old business coordinator told AFP. “We are going to see if we can find another ticket. Otherwise we will stay in London,” Jessica added.
Another passenger, also looking to travel to Paris, had an AirBnB booked in the French capital until January 4 for her husband and four-year-old daughter. “We can’t find tickets for tomorrow. It has disrupted all our holiday. We are looking for alternative routes,” Jodie told AFP.