More chaos for Eurostar travellers as flooded tunnels force cancellations
World
More chaos for Eurostar travellers as flooded tunnels force cancellations
(AFP) - Hundreds of travellers were left stranded at London's St Pancras station after Eurostar cancelled all services until at least late afternoon.
The disruption affected cross-Channel trains between London and Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam.
The services were cancelled after tunnels near Ebbsfleet International station in Kent were flooded, amid weather warnings for rain, snow and ice across large parts of the UK.
Simon Shaw, 36, had been due to travel to the French Alps for a skiing holiday.
"We just arrived and saw everything was cancelled this morning... it was chaos," he told French news agency AFP.
Year of travel disruption
It is the second weekend of disruption for Eurostar, after a surprise strike by French workers on 21 December that brought rail traffic through the Channel Tunnel to a halt just before Christmas.
Unions for workers at Eurotunnel, the company that manages the tunnel, called off the strike after several hours, but Eurostar passengers experienced long delays as trains resumed the following day.
Saturday's floods top off a year of problems for cross-Channel travellers due to strikes, storms and other difficulties.
Travellers to France in April endured waiting times of up to 16 hours at Dover due to larger than expected numbers and weather conditions.
In November, Storm Ciaran saw ferry crossings and flights cancelled.
