Chunnel power failure halts Eurostar

Holiday travellers left stranded for hours

- JENNY GROSS AMELIA NIERENBERG ANA CASTELAIN

A passenger carries a suitcase after cross-channel train services to and from London were cancelled due to a power failure, at St Pancras International station in London on Tuesday.

(REUTERS)

Eurostar, the high-speed train service connecting Britain and continental Europe, faced hours of delays Tuesday after a major power failure inside the Channel Tunnel, snarling plans for thousands of people during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

The disruption, caused by a fault in the overhead power supply and the subsequent breakdown of a train within the 31-mile tunnel, left passengers stranded for hours. Trains from Paris to London were expected to restart at 5 pm Central European Time and from London to Paris two hours later after the tunnel partially reopened, though there would continue to be delays and longer journey times than usual, Eurostar said.

“We continue to advise our customers to rebook their journey for another day if possible, with free exchanges available,” Eurostar said in a statement, urging passengers not to go to affected train stations if their trains had already been cancelled. Cancelled trains will not be reinstated, Eurostar said.

The company said it was “awaiting updates” from Eurotunnel, the company that operates the rail link between Britain and France, on what caused the power failure.