Eurostar warns of delays after restarting Channel Tunnel services

Passengers travelling by train between London and Paris have been warned to expect delays and cancellations as services resumed following a cabling fault that closed the Channel Tunnel on Tuesday. 

Eurostar restarted services on Tuesday evening, but bottlenecks created by the day’s closure meant some passengers spent several hours overnight on trains that were waiting to enter the tunnel.

Others who had tried to travel had seen their trains return to their point of departure, with widespread cancellations during the day leaving thousands of passengers unable to travel ahead of new year.

The train operator said it planned to run a full service on Wednesday — including one additional train from London to Paris to try to relieve some of the backlog — but that “due to knock-on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations”. 

On Tuesday, trains were able to use only one of the two tunnels that run under the English Channel connecting Folkestone and Calais. This meant trains could run in only one direction through the tunnel at a time, halving the capacity of the tunnel and causing delays in both directions.

On Wednesday, both tunnels were open, allowing services in two directions.

One tunnel was closed on Tuesday because of a cabling fault, but a broken-down LeShuttle car-carrying train in the second tunnel saw trains unable to pass in either direction for several hours. 

Eurostar said it would provide full refunds for passengers whose trains were cancelled and an additional voucher for 150 per cent of their ticket price to people who were stuck on trains overnight or whose trains returned to their departure station. 

Eurotunnel, which is part of Getlink Group, said its engineers had worked overnight to fix the cabling issue. 

The LeShuttle train service carries an average of 10mn passengers a year and Eurostar carries 11mn, according to Eurotunnel.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said travellers would be “incredibly frustrated to have had their New Year’s Eve plans thrown into uncertainty because of train cancellations”, adding that “for delays, travellers are entitled to compensation”.

Eurostar customers whose trains were cancelled can exchange their ticket free of charge for travel on another date, receive an e-voucher for the unused ticket or request a refund.

Customers who were stranded as a result of disruption could also claim “reasonable” expenses, including for hotels, taxis and food and drink, the train operator said.

The disruption comes at what is typically a busy travel period during the Christmas and new year holidays.

It will also be a blow to Eurostar’s plans for an expanded service that can better compete with airlines.

Eurostar has outlined ambitions to extend its network with routes to European cities including Cologne, Frankfurt and Geneva, and has an order for up to 50 trains, each of which carries hundreds of people.

The operator has also set out plans to boost its operations by increasing the number of services between London and Paris.