Tens of thousands of travellers were left with ruined New Year’s Eve plans on Saturday after Eurostar cancelled all trains to and from London amid tunnel flooding chaos.
All high-speed services between Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras International were axed due to flooding in a tunnel under the Thames.
Eurostar cancelled all 41 services in and out of London St Pancras International, saying it was “extremely sorry”.
The disruption left thousands of people stranded at St Pancras International station not knowing what to do next, with many telling of how their New Year’s plans had been thrown into jeopardy.
Meanwhile, nearly all of Britain's major train operators have predicted extensive disruption to services, throwing New Year's Eve plans into doubt for hundreds of thousands of people.
The tunnel flooding is believed to have been caused by a burst pipe feeding the tunnel’s fire safety system, a water company said.
Emotional travellers were left sitting on suitcases, as people could be heard frantically trying to find alternative routes to their destinations.
Among those affected were two newlyweds visiting from New York, who said their plans to spend New Year’s Eve at Disneyland Paris were “ruined”.
Nicole Carrera, 29, and her husband Christopher, 31, had to rebook for a train on Sunday, scuppering their plans to spend New Year’s Eve at the theme park and leaving them out of pocket for a non-refundable hotel booked in Paris for Saturday evening.
She said: “We’ve been in London since Wednesday and we wanted to leave today because we were actually supposed to go to Disney Paris tomorrow for New Year’s Eve.
“So obviously those plans are ruined because now we won’t get into Paris tomorrow until about 6pm. So we’re just going to walk around the city (Paris) tomorrow when we get there and finally get to our hotel. It’s just one of those things.”
Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benyamin, 26, from Sydney, have been travelling in Europe for about three weeks and their planned final stop is Paris, where they hope to spend New Year’s Eve and day before flying home on January 7.
They were supposed to catch the 7.30am train from London St Pancras International to Paris and “freaked out” when they were told it was cancelled.
Ms Benyamin said: “Now we have to book a hotel to stay for the night here”, as Ms David added: “We’ve got nowhere to stay”.
Ms David said: “We paid for an expensive hotel with an Eiffel Tower view.” Ms Benyamin added: “We travelled Europe on a budget and then like once we hit New Year’s we’re going to go hard, watch Paris light up, I don’t think that’s going to happen… I’m going to cry.”
Brits have also been left “stranded” in mainland Europe by the problem.
Water company Thames Water said it believed the flood was caused by a “fire control system and not a Thames Water pipe”.
Some railway tunnels, including the Channel Tunnel, have water systems installed as a fire safety measure.
“We have a technician on the way to offer support to control the flow of water,” a statement added.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and offer support where needed."
⚠️UPDATE: No Highspeed trains are expected to run today between St Pancras and #EbbsfleetInternational.
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) December 30, 2023
We are working to fix the flooding in the tunnels, so please check our website here for updates on the Highspeed line closure: https://t.co/SQxYoUj6bm
A full Eurostar train will hold “nearly 900 passengers” according to the firm’s website, meaning as many as 36,000 people could be affected after all 41 services were cancelled.
New Year’s Eve partygoers have also been warned of widespread rail disruption due to poor weather.
Engineering works and driver shortages have also caused delays, with rail firms warning that there is a “high risk” of weekend cancellations because of a lack of train staff.
A spokesperson for Eurostar said on Saturday: “Eurostar has been made aware by Network Rail that flooding in the tunnels between St Pancras international and Ebbsfleet has not improved and train services are unable to operate. Eurostar has therefore had to take the unfortunate decision to cancel all services for the rest of the day. This is a total of 41 trains.
“Eurostar is extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues affecting customers today but safety remains our number one priority. We understand this is a vital time to get home at the end of the festive season and ahead of New Year and we are supporting customers in stations.
“Customers affected are encouraged to visit the website to find out what compensation they can receive.
“Network Rail is continuing to keep Eurostar updated regarding how the situation continues to evolve ahead of tomorrow. We will be in direct contact with customers due to travel to keep them updated.”
In a statement, Thames Water said: “We have been informed of an incident involving a pipe flooding the Eurostar tunnel.
“We believe the incident is in regard to a fire control system and not a Thames Water pipe/asset, however we have a technician on the way to offer support to control the flow of water.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and offer support where needed.”